Two years.

It had been two whole years since Sora had seen any of his friends proper.

Two years since he had failed that Keyblade exam. The very one, his best friend, Riku had passed.

He had congratulated him that day, and had meant every word of praise given to his longtime friend.

He was proud of him. He would always be proud of him. No matter what.

So...Why does it still hurt so much?

A hand combed through spiky brown hair in silent frustration, his baggy black and silver clothes gently laid in the caressing embrace of the sandy shore as the salty sea air gently rippled through the cloth. He could feel the cooling breeze of the night air whistle gently across his face as he closed his eyes.

Wait. Night air? It was night?

The boy arose from his comfortable spot, propping himself on one arm as he took stock of his surroundings, and more importantly, the sky. A groan escaped him as he noticed that it was indeed becoming more and more dark as the seconds gradually ticked by. The soft hue of the sun slowly began to dip behind the horizon just west of his position, taking with it its soothing warmth.

“Have I really been here all day?” He asked the question, though he already knew the answer. He had in fact been there all day. Just like he was yesterday. And the day before. He couldn’t help but notice that he had been coming to their old island a lot lately.

Another sigh escaped the boy’s lips as he lifted himself off the rapidly cooling sand, dusting the particles off his shorts and jacket. “Better question is… What else can I do but stay here and train?” He asked himself.

Sora turned his attention to a set of boats lying along the beach's edge, just out of reach of the water's embrace.

He had to get home.

He took a single step toward the landlocked boats, but then hesitated, looking up at the sky as he did so. A few stars began to sparkle in the encroaching twilight.

It was getting late.

The sea would be a little more dangerous at night. He found that out the hard way when he was oh so young. Shuddering at the long forgotten memory, he turned away and looked back inland, his mind already made up.

“I guess got no choice but to sleep here for the night then...Hope my mom won't be too mad.”

He chuckled lightly as he shook his head, imagining the talking to he would get soon as he got home. It wasn’t the first time he had to sleep on the island, having done it all the time when he was growing up with Riku, Kairi, and the others.

A sigh escaped Sora once again as he remembered his childhood friends, a wave different of emotions silently hitting him. He knew he didn’t like the feelings he was getting each time he remembered his best friends, especially after all that the three of them had been through together.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he turned his attention to a large tree, holding a simple house in between its branches. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but to him and his friends, it was a home away from home.

The boy trekked slowly through the sand before finally making it to the rickety ladder that led to the floor of the one-room tree house. As he climbed up the ladder, his mind began to wander as it tends to do when he's alone.

I hope that everyone is doing okay? Donald and Goofy? Are they doing well? They better not be in any serious trouble helping out with King Mickey. I'm sure Axel is getting along with training? He laughed lightly. Hard to believe that he was a Keybearer just like him, and…

“Riku…Kairi…”

It had been some time since all of them been together in one place. In fact, the last time was a few days after Riku became a Keyblade Master.

His brow furrowed again.

He was proud of Riku. He really was. And still is. Nothing should ever change how he feels about his friends, no matter what.

But...Why was his heart hurting so much?

Before he knew it, he had reached the top of the ladder and was sitting comfortably against a wall, the elements of the night air barely affecting him as he leaned his head against the wall. As he closed his eyes, his mind began to wander once again. Riku was strong. Maybe even stronger than himself. Sora shook his head. “I had grown strong too. I even defeated Riku more times then I can count, even when he had all that dark power at his command. I defeated Ansem and his Heartless.” He sighed softly. “I saved countless worlds and defeated most of Organization XIII.” He furrows his brow. “I even sacrificed myself to release Kairi’s heart…” A head shake. “I… should be happy I have my friends back… but…”

You have yet to understand your emotions...

Blue eyes shot open upon hearing the words echo around his being. It sounded so close, and yet… so far away.

Getting to his feet, he gave the room a quick scan before calling the voice out. “Who’s there?”

Follow me...

Behind him?

He quickly turned to find… nothing. No one at all. Someone was playing with him, and he didn’t like it. He jumped out the door leading to the now thoroughly cooled sandy beach below. As he did, the voice sounded again, this time far from where he was before, yet still so close.

Over here…

Sora shuddered a bit, rather it was from the cold air...or the excitement of something other then his normal routine happing he wasn't quite sure.

Turning, the boy could see a pale glow escaping the small hole within the rocks leading to the Secret Place, a small cave that held a most peculiar door within. As quick as he feet would carry him, the boy ran straight for the opening in the side of the cliffs. He navigated the small crevice that was the opening for a few feet before coming to a moderately large cave. His eyes turned to the wall, eyeing childhood doodles he remembered drawing with his friends oh so long ago. His eyes softened a bit, seeing his two friends in so many of the markings.

Sora…

The voice startled him once again, quickly making him remember the reason he was there. Steeling himself, he gave the room a quick scan, only to find two doors against either side of the wall. Visions of the first day he gained his Keyblade flooded his mind.

That door… and that man… They were the start of his adventures. How he had encountered so many wonderful worlds.

Sora paused.

Wait, two doors? There were never two doors before.

His gaze drifted toward the new portal, taking in its shape. It was wooden; that much he could tell, but instead of deep brown, the door glistened with pure white, almost as if the wood had been white to begin with. Beautifully crafted, the door stood at least six feet in height and upon its center was a symbol of a bright orange sun. It seemed to glow with its own natural light, drawing him to look closer. A sense of awe washed over his being as his bright blue eyes looked upon the bright white door.

Open it…

“What?” his eyes widened as he pulled away from the door a bit.

Please...Open it...

He gave the door an apprehensive look. Whoever or what ever was this voice was, he was sure it needed him. But why. Why him?

Sora bit his lower lip, his hand clenching tight as he got ready to summon his key-shaped weapon. "I...Should I?"

Sora...Please...

The boy's gaze drifted back towards the white door, a steely glint formed in the depths of his eyes. He knew what he was doing was stupid, especially since no one knows what he was about to do, but the need to heed this call was just too much for him to pass up, Master of the Keyblade or not.

"If you are going to do something stupid then do it without thinking."

The boy summoned his Keyblade, and pointed the tip at the door, a soft light emanating from the tip towards the new door. The was a soft click before the door shot opened violently, pure light illuminating the whole of the cave and engulfing Sora with its brilliance.

It lasted for only a second before fading out, leaving nothing but an empty room with one lone brown door left in its wake.

SPIIIIIIIKE! Wheres that book!?

A lavender unicorn bounded from one book case to the other, quickly glancing over the binder of each within her collection as fast as her eyes would allow. A soft growl emanated from her as she turned to a pile of books on the floor. “I promise to Celestia, Spike, if you’ve burnt it like the last one...I...I...I don't Know what I will do but it won't be nice.“ she warned, several strands of her normally straight deep purple and pink mane coming out of place as she glared at the with a noticeable twitch in her eye.

“GOT IT!”

Purple claws raised up high out of the book jumble. Within them lay an old thick tome. It wasn’t too long before a purple aura enveloped the book completely, lifting both the book and what could only be described as a purple reptile with green spines and eyes high into the air. Both the creature and the book levitated toward the unicorn, the former being placed onto her back, while the latter went into an open pocket of her saddle bag.

“Thank goodness you found it, Spike, I was about to suspect the worst there for a second,” the unicorn said with a relieved look, gaining a roll of the eyes from the purple dragon.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Twilight. Can we just get going? We don't want to be late to the party, do we?"

"In a minute, Spike. First things first." A checklist appeared in front of her in a spark of purple energy, accompanied by a quill held within the same aura. “Right then, let me see... Book on nighttime constellations? Check. Plenty of paper on which to take notes? Check. Annoyed purple and green dragon?” She looked behind her towards said dragon, who, by the way, had an extremely unamused expression upon his face. “Annnnnnd Check! Alright, Spike, I do believe we are ready for the Star Gazing Celebration!”

“Finally!” the dragon sighed. “I can’t believe that we’re going to be the first ponies to see the first annual Star Gazing Celebration. We get to stay up late and watch as the stars dance in the night sky and everything! It’s going to be so epic!”

“YEPYEPYEP! And I get to be the first to create a whole bunch of nighttime party games! Like Star Dance Revolution! Or Star Light Tennis! OH! OH! I Know! Constellation Shuffle! Isn't that going to be fun, Twilight! Huh!? Huh!? HUH!?”

Both the unicorn and the dragon were way too busy clasping a hoof/claw to their hearts to listen to the insane ramblings of the new pony that had randomly popped of another pile of books beside them.

“PINKIE!” Twilight yelled in a threatening tone, a hoof stomping on the floor as she addressed the pink pony .

“Yes, Twilight~?” replied said pink mare innocently, her eyelids fluttering at her lavender friend.

Though Twilight tried her best to give her silly friend a stare hard enough to cut though diamonds, all she received was an unrelenting smile. Sighing deeply in defeat, Twilight turned away from the happy-go-lucky pink mare and made her way to the door. “Okay...Sure. Let’s just get going.”

It took Twilight, Pinkie and Spike little to no time to find the set meeting place to gaze at the sky. Upon doing so, they were greeted by two other ponies; one a pure pure and pristine white unicorn, her soft curly locks bouncing every so often as she was conversing with another pony, a butter-yellow pegasus gently sipping her hot coco, being careful not to get her long soft pink mane in the way. Both ponies would smiled as they turned to face the encroaching trio.

The white unicorn waved a hoof as they neared, doing so with lady like grace. “Yoo-Hoo! Over here, Twilight, Pinkie, Spikey-Wikey!” Her voice, while difficult to pinpoint in accent, was very eloquent and posh. “We saved seats for just for you darlings!”

Spike, hopping off the lavender mare's back, plopped himself right next to the white unicorn, doing (and maybe failing) his best to not steal glances toward her every time he believed she was not looking. Twilight set her bag down and sat down beside of the yellow pegasus. Pinkie was too excited to just sit still and opted to bounce around in a circle around the pile of ponies.

“Can you believe it?" the pink mare began. "I know I can’t! We get to attend the Bar Hazing Collaboration!"

“Star Gazing Celebration, Pinkie! How in Equestria-?”

The lavender unicorn was cut off as Pinkie continued her rant, unfazed. “I can’t believe we’re gonna be one of the first of hundreds of ponies to see the dancing of the stars! They’re gonna be all bright and shiny and sparkly, and Twilighty!" Pinkie Gasped as a new relization seemingly dawned upon her. "Hey! Oh my gosh! I totally get your name now, Twilight!” She giggled. “Twilight Sparkle! Twilight Sparkle! Twi-mumph!”

A hoof forcefully stuffed an apple fritter into the pink pony’s mouth, semi-ceasing her ranting. “Ah think they get it, sugarcube,” said the culprit, an orange wingless and hornless pony said with a country girl accent. Turning her head to the others the dirty blond mare tipped her stetson in greeting. "Howdy, Twi. Howdy, Rarity. Spike. Fluttershy.” She let everypony (and dragon) greet her in turn before speaking again, addressing the butter yellow pegasus. “Hey Fluttershy, have ya seen Rainbow anywhere? Ah can’t find her for the life of me.”

Fluttershy nodded shyly as she set her cup down upon the blanket. “W-well… yes. That is… I did see her. Not too long ago in fact. She said she would be here shortly. She had to clear some clouds in the northeastern part of Ponyville so the ponies could have a clear view of the show.”

Applejack facehoofed. “Wasn’t she supposed to do that this morning? Ah swear, that pegasus is lazier than a sack o’ potatoes.”

“Hey! I resent that!”

All heads turned to find a cyan pegasus hovering a few feet away, her rainbow mane flowing behind her and a small smug smile on her face. Applejack jumped to the forefront glaring at her her pegasus. She was fully prepared to give her the full force of a verble beatdown on how one should do the work that was given to them in a timely matter, but, to her dismay, the pegasus dashed past her, plopping herself on the other side of Rarity and comfortably resting her back against a tree.

Giveing up, Applejack rolled her eyes as the farm mare sat beside Twilight. “So Twi, what’s all that there paper for?”

“Well,” Twilight began, beaming brightly. “I’m going to take notes on the various dance formations of the stars. I’m hoping that with said data I can ascertain the perc-“

“Oh geeze Twilight, you’re the only pony I know that would take their homework to a party.” The glare Twilight gave Rainbow could cut steel.

“Come now, Rainbow dear. How Twilight chooses to spend the celebration is up to her,” Rarity proclaimed with conviction.

Twilight smiled at Rarity in thanks as Rainbow eye rolled.

“Oh! Oh! Look! It’s starting!”

Everypony turned their gazes skyward as the pink pony pointed a hoof upward towards the starlit sky. The beautiful bright lights slowly began to flicker at various degrees. As they did so, they steadily began to sway ever so slightly looking as if the sky itself was dancing to its own beat. Soon, the stars changed color. Some red. Others blue. Green as well. Almost every color imaginable burned in the dark sky, creating a cascade of rainbow color.

And then… Black. Only the soft glow of the moon was shining on Ponyville and other cities and towns.

“Hey! Is that it?” A voice called out somewhere nearby.

The answer came as the night sky exploded with stars; some glowing like a rainbow, others darting across the sky. All looking like fireworks in motion.

“Wow…” Applejack whistled. “Just… wow.”

Rainbow was equally as impressed as the others, their eyes never leaving the night sky.

Twilight alternated between watching the spectacle and taking notes on every detail of the dance. “It seems Luna has been recovering nicely. It looks like she hasn’t even been gone for over a thousand years at all.” She leaned over to pick up a cupcake when something strange caught her eye.

A star, or what looked like a star, was steadily growing bigger, edging closer to the ground. Her eyebrow cocked and her head tilted at the strange sight. It wasn’t long before she realized that the star was in fact heading for the ground, and if her calculations were correct…

She turned to call to the others, but they had their eyes glued to the sky, the sounds of star burst drowning out the unicorn’s voice.

Cursing inwardly, she turned her head back to the falling star just in time for it to silently hit the ground.

That didn’t sound right.

She squinted her eyes. Where was the boom? There had to be at least a rumble. She rose, watching the light slowly flicker and then dim until it disappeared altogether.

She looked back at her friends, before looking back at the point of impact. Something… urged her to take a step forward. And then another.

Go...

Twilight bit her lip. If she was going to do something stupid, she had best do it right.

It wasn't long before the mare was in full gallop, not knowing what awaited her in her destination.

Sora slowly started to come to, his senses returning to him.

And he fervently wished they hadn't.

His whole body burned, as though it was on fire. He could feel every aspect of his being alight with internal flame that he couldn't escape. His eyes closed tightly as he bent over, gripping his stomach in an attempt to pacify the pain. Needless to say, it was all in vain.

He cursed the door.

He cursed himself.

He cursed his weakness.

If it was Riku that was in his position, then...

“Hello? Is anypony out there?”

A voice?

A voice!

Someone was close by!

He tried to call out, his voice catching in his throat. A fit of coughing and a fresh wave of pain erupted all over him. His strength began to fail him little by little, and he slowly began to slip into unconsciousness. With one last desperate heave, he raised his arm and called at the top of his lungs.

“Help! P-Please!”

As the darkness of fatigue began to overtake him, the boy's gaze would shift towards a purple object quickly making its way towards him.

“Is that...A horse?" was all he could say before nothing but darkness filled his vision.

The summer night sky died down to its normal twinkles, ending the first annual Star Gazing Celebration. A deep blue pony, one of majesty and grace, panted heavily as her horn began to slowly dim before dying down completely. Sweat trickled down her brow, adding an undignified look to her normally regal form. Even her usually flowing mane and tail hung limply behind her in her tired state, alongside her limp wings. The sound of hoofsteps from behind her caused her ears to perk and her head to turn slightly to her right, knowing all too well who was behind her.

“I do believe… you overdid it, Luna.”

The pony named Luna turned to see a slightly taller white unicorn with wings, much like her. Her mane, an ever-flowing green, blue and pink, gave her just as much, if not more, of an exotic feel.

“Thou said, Celestia, to make sure they did not see him coming,” Luna spat out, though not too maliciously. "I was only doing as thou told me, dear sister."

“Be that as it may,” Celestia began. “You overextended too much power, leaving me to make sure the night lasts.” She pouted a little. “I rather began to enjoy my extra sleep, Lulu.”

“Cry thyself a river, Tia,” Luna scoffed before she looked in the direction of Ponyville. A look of concern began to play across her features. “Art thou sure he can do it, sister? He seems so much younger than I expected a 'Hero of Light' to be.”

“And so is Twilight.” She slowly trotted up to Luna, draping a wing over her. “My dearest sister, we have to believe. He has been recommended, and I trust my friend’s judgment.”

Luna scoffed. "Yes well... I have yet to trust the same pony you won't even let me talk to."

"One day, Luna, I'll show you, but for now..." A yawn from Luna caused Celestia to smirk lightly. “Off to bed with you. Come on.”

Luna grumbled slightly at being treated like a child, though she relented nonetheless. As both sisters made their way inside, Celestia hesitated, turning her eyes to the night sky.

“I just hope we can help him before he is lost as well… and pray that it’s not too late to keep this world safe.”

Sora slowly regained awareness, only to be overwhelmed by a concoction of strange sensations to all of his senses. He had opened his eyes to find nothing but darkness surrounding him. The odd feeling of falling filled him to the deepest depths of his soul.

Or was it sinking? He really couldn’t tell.

Sora closed his eyes as he allowed himself to be pulled by this strange yet familiar place. It wasn't long before his body gently landed against a hard surface, the feeling of the warm floor welcoming him despite the emptiness all around him. It almost felt like an embrace, like someone had been waiting for him all this time.

Sora...

His eyes instantly snapped open at the sound of his own name calling out to him. Was it the same voice from before? He could not tell.

The boy slowly stood up on his four legs and took stock of his surroundings. He was surprised to find that what he stood upon was like a glass window of some kind. Displayed upon it was what looked like a giant purple star of some kind. Surrounding said star, were five different pictures.. Diamonds and Butterflies, some apples and balloons. And last one was a lighting bolt. Each one was simple in design and yet...He couldn’t shake the feeling of power coming from each and every one of them.

Taking his eyes off the ground, he inspected the rest of the world he was in, finding nothing but darkness surrounding him on all sides.

Sighing, Sora raised a hoof and ran it through his spiky… brown… mane?

“W...what the?”

The boy frantically tried to raise both of his newly acquired hooves to his face but would soon regret it wholeheartedly as he tumbled face first into the glass floor. With a groan, Sora lifted himself up and sat on rump, steadying himself to get to a better look at his fingerless limbs.

He ran a hoof along his foreleg, allowing it to ripple the fur underneath, its caramel tint shining lightly under an unknown source of light. He only stopped rubbing his fur when he reached his jacket, finding that it had somehow changed to fit his new body.

As he continued to examine his being he discovered, along his side, a pair of feathery wings, folded neatly against him. A spiky tail swished back and forth under him, greeting its new master happily.

the really weird thing was that upon each side of his butt was a tattoo of what looked like a crown, yellow in color and neatly created. He frowned, gave his hoof a quick lick, and began rubbing at one of the marks harshly. To his surprise, the picture did not even look like it was affected in the slightest..

Giving up of his new body art, the boy folded his forehooves across his chest and closed his eyes in deep thought. Just what the heck was going on? Where was he? Why was he a… a… horse? Who brought him here?

No. He knew who brought him here.

That voice that came out of the Secret Place.

But to what end?

S-S-So-or-ra…

Sora raised an eyebrow as the voice sounded again, but for some reason it was distorted, and fading fast.

S-S-Sora-ra-ra…

He stood on all four hooves and looked around, trying to ascertain where it was coming from. In his quest to do so, he found something else. Something familiar.

Darkness, and lots of it, was slowly inching its way toward the transformed boy.

Run!

Sora turned to do just that, but found his way impeded by more of the inky blackness. To his horror, the darkness seemed to double its efforts to capture him when it saw that the boy had taken notice of it, eating up the inches faster and faster.

Sora tried to call out for the Keyblade, but found his efforts were in vain when it did not, or could not, heed his call.

It was then that fear filled Sora without mercy.

A small whimper could be heard coming from the trapped boy as his space diminished under the form of the shadows. As they closed in, a chilling voice filled Sora’s every sense, shaking every fiber of his being. He looked up in time to see a set of piercing red eyes fill the once-void darkness. Eyes he was familiar with seeing.

Eyes of everlasting evil.

Black tentacles could be seen coming from the black ooze that surrounded the boy, each one pointed threateningly at him.

Sora’s ears folded to the back of his head as maniacal laughter filled the air around him and the tentacles came crashing down onto him without remorse.

A loud thump filled the air as Sora fell out of the bed with a yelp. Blue blankets draped over his frame, obscuring his view of his surroundings completely. He wrestled and fought with them, grunting in frustration as he tried to rid himself of the confounded cover. Footsteps could be heard coming from somewhere close by, followed by the opening of a door, more than likely to the room he was in.

“What’s going…? Oh my gosh! Are you okay? Here, let me help you.”

That voice. Where did he hear that voice before?

Before he could think any further on it, the blanket, the very one that was subduing him into submission, was tugged from around his being. Freed from the dark clutches of the cloth, Sora found his vision obscured by the bright flash of sun beams pouring in through an open window. His eyes closed tight in defiance at the light that threatened to blind him.

“Are you OK? Did you hurt yourself?” The voice from before was filled with concern and, if he was correct, slight amusement.

“No I’m fine. It’ll take a lot more then that to take me down” he answered. His eyes slowly adjusted as he turned to face his savior. “But thanks for the...help?” What he thought he would find was a human female, one that was more than likely about the same age as him himself, was instead the figure of a lavender horse-looking thing with a horn sticking out of her head, bright and vibrant, purple eyes stared down on him, though a smile seemed to grace her kindhearted features.

The sight of her caused him to, in reflex, look at his own body. What he found was that his body had, in fact, changed into what he had been in his dream, complete with a whooshing tail and butt tattoo.

Keeping his tone light despite his slight unease, he looked back toward her. “I guess you’re the one who brought me,” he gestured around the room he was in,” here, Ah...?”

The mare giggled softly hiding her smile behind a hoof. “I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? Of course, that’s a given since you did just wake up. Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and you are?” She held a hoof out, offering it to the stallion to help him up.

The boy looked down at the lavender creature’s appendage, before reaching out and wrapping hers within his own, gripping it surprisingly well. After getting to his hooves, he would beam a kind smile back at her in return.“I’m Sora. Just Sora.”

When he released her hoof, he tilted his head slightly as he examined her.

Her lavender fur.

And deep purple mane.

That cute little pink stripe running down the middle of it.

He couldn’t help but think that this was the most adorable thing he had ever seen in his travels, and that includes the Dream Eaters.

Forgoing that thought for the moment though, he began to really ponder his predicament now, now that he had time to come to grips with where he was and why he was like this. He should have expected things like this in his line of work. How could he forget about the time he changed into a lion? Or a mermaid- merman? The boy smiled. Of course. It made sense now. He changed to match the environment of these creatures. Since Donald was nowhere to be seen, he could only surmise that it was his clothes own power that-

A revelation hit him so hard that a baseball bat would have been jealous.

He looked down at his body to find that he was completely and utterly naked. A deep blush formed on his face as he scrambled to jump across the bed to hide his shame.

“My- My clothes!!” he sputtered. “Where’s my jacket?!!”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the brown stallion’s strange actions before answering. “They’re at Rarity’s. They had gotten pretty messed up when we had found you and I took them to her to fix. But enough of that.”

Sora watched as the horned creature moved to the side of the bed and sat down upon it. As she did so he could clearly see that she, like himself at the moment, wasn’t wearing any clothes whatsoever. His eyes strayed over her lavender body, taking in the sight that was her. He stopped upon her rump and saw something familiar and yet he couldn’t quite place where he had seen it. It was a purple star with five white stars surrounding it. He was about to say something when a hoof waved for him to come over. Hesitantly, he did as she asked, feeling only slightly better that if she was okay going around that way, he should be too. Not like it is the first time.

Just as he sat down beside her, he felt hot fur press lightly against his body. The poor boy went rigid as he felt her head rest gently against his chest, her ear flicking ever so slightly, tickling him somewhat.

A gentle “hmmm” vibrated against his being, followed by the words “Only one.” She removed her head from his body, and he released a breath he had no idea he had been holding up until now. The girl gently placed a hoof to her chin and gave Sora a thoughtful expression. A moment or two had passed before she moved again, raising the same hoof to tap the top of his head none too pleasantly.

“Ow.” He raised a hoof of his own to rub at the spot she hit. It didn’t hurt, but it wasn’t welcomed at least.. “Hey, Twilight, mind telling me why I’m getting checked up like I’m at the doctor’s office?” He paused for a second before adding, “And where am I, anyway?”

A blush of embarrassment formed on Twilight’s cheeks as she smiled sheepishly. “Oh! Heheh. Sorry, I was just making sure that you weren’t an alien or a changeling.” Her embarrassment peaked as the boy tilted his head questioningly, repeating what she said in the form of a question. Looking away, she continued. “As to where you are, you are currently in Golden Oak Library, which is in Ponyville.”

“Pony… ville?” Sora’s eyes widened. “Wait. You’re a pony?”

Twilight blinked, slightly confused at the question. “Well… yeah.”

“Then if that’s the case, that makes me a pony as well… right?”

“Yeeeees?”

Ignoring her for the moment Sora went about folding his forelimbs about his chest and closing his eyes in deep thought.

He was a pony now. OK, he could live with that. He would have much rather been a lion like before, but at least he wasn’t a mermaid-Gah!-merman. The question now was, how did he change if it wasn’t the work of his clothes or Donald?

Sora rubbed at his temples. He really wished that crazy duck was here now so he could explain.

“Are you okay, Sora?”

The boy-turned-pony epped, finding he had completely forgotten that Twilight was still there with him in the room. He rubbed the back of his head apologetically as he responded. “Hehe...yeah. Sorry about that. Just thinking.” Then a question hit him. “Are you the one who found me… wherever I was?” When she nodded, he continued. "Do you remember seeing anything strange around before you found me? Was there anything odd nearby? For that matter, where was I when you did?”

It was Twilight’s turn to be surprised, slightly overwhelmed by the onslaught of questions for the young stallion. It didn’t deter her long, however, as she recovered quickly and gave the stallion a glare that could melt ice..

“Now hold on a minute; I’m the one that should be asking you questions. Where did you come from? How did you survive that fall from the sky? What’s with that giant key?”

“Giant key?”

Twilight sighed, exasperated but still nodding at his question. “The key that was lying beside you. Yellow and silver. Little circles on the end of it. Ring any bells?”

Sora’s eyes went wide. His keyblade was out. Why had it been out? He couldn’t summon it before back in the dream. The boy frowned as before holding out his hoof towards her, which Twilight flinched from. She would have said something, but a yelp from downstairs caused her to look toward the door in surprise. She turned to face Sora just in time to see that very same giant key that she had been looking over down in her study, appearing instantly in his mouth.

“What the!? How did you do that?! Where did it come from?! Is that magic?! That’s impossible!” The poor mare stuttered as her eyes nearly bugged out of her eye sockets.

The sound of thumping on the stairs caused both Twilight and Sora to turn just in time to see Spike bursting through the open door, a frantic look in his eyes.

"Twilight! That key thing just up and disappeared!” And for good measure, he added, “Also, I wasn’t touching it! I swear!” Spike’s well thought-out and planned explanation stopped as his eyes took in the scene in front of him.

In reality, Sora had his hoof held out due to his belief that the giant key would appear there. This was not the case, however, as said key instead appeared in the pony boy’s maw, and if he was being honest with himself, quite comfortably.

Spike-o-Vision held a different scene. What he saw was his friend/sister about to be ravaged by a malicious and strange stallion they had not too long ago taken in out the kindness of their hearts.

Needless to say, Spike-o-Vision is a great anger inducer.

“Twilight! Watch out! I got ‘im!” Spike leapt forward, claws stretched out and ready to defend his sister to the bitter death.

So unprepared was the poor stallion that an easily dodged attack of this magnitude was, instead, just looked upon by the one getting attacked. With wide eyes and pinprick pupils, only one thought crossed Sora’s mind.

This was going to hurt… a lot.

“I’m sooo sorry, Sora,” Spike said for the tenth time tears brimming in his eyes as he begged on his knees for the young stallion to forgive him

“I said it's alright Spike. Geeze.” Sora replied for the tenth time, though he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him..

Twilight, Spike and Sora had taken up residence in the downstairs library, the former dabbing the latter with a cotton ball soaked with alcohol as she tended to the scratches the former had acquired. He had received one good scratch across his forehead before Twilight used her magic to pry the raging dragon off of the flailing stallion.

Explanations were made and apologies ensued.

Before Spike could follow through with an eleventh one however, Twilight interjected with a simple question.

“Alright, Sora, now's the time for you to explain. Who are you and what is that thing?” She ended the question by pointing to the giant key sitting on the table beside them.

Sora was never one to worry about the world order before, it was something that Donald and Goofy had to remind him off constantly, Still, now that he was alone, in a world that had never seen a keyblade before, he really thought that he couldn’t mess this up. ”I am a Keybearer, and that,” He pointed to the giant key. “Is a Keyblade.”

“A key… blade?” both Twilight and Spike said in unison.

“It’s a weapon I use to… well… monsters, basically.”

“Oh! So… Are you some kind of knight?” Spike asked.

He shrugged. “Never really thought about it..”

Twilight tilted her head as she looked the stallion up and down. “I don’t think that's the case anyway Spike. He looks no older than Rainbow Dash.” Her brow furrowed. “And I don’t think Celestia allowed ponies into the royal guard until they were at least past 20. You have to be at least seventeen. Maybe eighteen.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. “Ce-les-tia?”

The lavender unicorn gasped, “You do know who Celestia is, right? The monarch of Equestria. Princess to all of ponykind. Has been so for over one thousand years."

Sora just tilted his head further in confusion at that bit of information.

Twilight’s had to reframe her eye from twitching wildly at the pony’s lack of understanding of basic pony knowledge. Sensing the oncoming storm that was Lecturelight, it was Spike decided it was his job to save Sora. “So, Sora. How did you make that key thingy teleport? From what I’m told, pegasi can only use wind magic, and that’s only to fly and move clouds. Teleportation is something that only unicorns can learn.”

Sora turned to look at both of the wings he had recently acquired, believing that he was now a pegasus. “I’m not sure. It could be magic. Never really thought about it to tell the truth.” He placed a hoof on his chest. “I guess you could say that it's part of me.” He tapped at his chest “Or...It’s part of my heart...I think. Wherever I call for it, it comes.” the young stallion shrugged his shoulders. “I guess that's the best way I can explain it. Not the best when it comes to how things work.”

Twilight processed the information carefully before picking up the conversation. “That is...weird...But I have seen magic do strange things before. Going off that topic though, do you remember anything about last night? You just fell from the sky without so much as a warning.”

Sora shook his head. “Sorry but I don’t know if i can help you. I remember hearing your voice but other then that, the only thing I remember about what happened before I woke up was that I was in a cave on the beach, and the next time I woke up, I was here.” In truth, he wanted to tell them that he wasn’t a pony either, but he needed to practice what Donald taught him.

A loud gurgling sound interrupted the conversation after that, and a caramel hoof was placed on a caramel belly.

All three were silent for a while before Sora started to chuckle, Twilight and Spike joining him as all tension was broken with the sound of a hungry pony’s belly.

Twilight was the first to recover as she gave Sora a smile once again. “How about we can continue this later. You must be famished and so am I. Plus telling the other girls you are awake would be good too.” She made her way to her saddlebags, levitating them onto her back along with a book and a bag of what he believed to be coins. Once ready, she turned to the baby dragon. “Spike, do you want to join us?”

“Would I ever,” he smiled brightly and hopped onto Twilight’s back, setting himself at the base of her neck.

With the strange pony in tow, Twilight led him out of the library, closing the door behind her with her magic.

Which was unfortunate, because just as they left, a small black tentacle could be seen reaching out toward the Keyblade. It was small and rather unnoticeable to the untrained eye. As it touched the blade’s smooth surface, it instantly dissipated, destroyed effortlessly by the ancient weapon.

Sora was very apprehensive about walking… no… trotting in public with no clothes. This, to him at least was strange due to the fact that he did it all the time back in the Pride Lands with Simba. It wasn’t until he saw that most of the town folk, if not all of them, were indeed naked as well. It made him feel a little better about being so too.

He still wished he had his jacket, though.

The caramel stallion could see more than a few ponies looking toward their little group, though he felt that most of the looks were directed toward him. They all bore curious but friendly smiles every time he caught their eyes, which he returned with one of his own. Ponies of every color and size filled the dirt road of Ponyville, each one seemingly as friendly as the last. He could see that quite a few of them, if not all, had a butt tattoo that was different from Twilight’s and his own, and others, mostly the little ponies, didn’t.

This realization led to a question.

“Hey, Twilight, what’s with that mark on everyone’s butt?”

Said lavender mare would almost trip over her own four hooves as the “innocent” question left the boy’s lips. “W-What? Don’t tell me you don’t know what a Cutie Mark is?”

“Cutie Mark? That’s what you call it?”

“Of course. You should know that. You have one.”

Before he could respond, his answer was interrupted as the stallion’s gaze would catch sight of a trio of little ponies on the other side of the road. Two of them, one being an orange-coated pegasus with a magenta mane and the other being an off-white unicorn with a two-tone purple mane, were talking animatedly with each other. It was the third, however, that had given him pause.

A sun-yellow regular pony, with a mane as red as an apple and a bright pink bow tied expertly behind her head, had been looking in his direction. Her amber eyes were wide, and, he could have sworn, sparkling. He tilted his head to the side which caused the yellow filly’s cheeks to flush bright red. She quickly turned away from him, busying herself with listening to the other conversation.

“Sora? Hey, you okay?”

Sora nodded as he looked forward, finding Twilight waiting for him a bit of a ways off. “Yeah. Let's get going. Food is waiting right?” He trotted up to Twilight, following after her. He took a quick look back over his shoulder to see the gaggle of fillies once more, huddling close together.

Applebloom’s heart was fluttering faster than a hummingbird in spring as she watched the stallion follow Twilight and Spike. The poor filly could not stop the blush that had hit her freckled face as her gaze never left his retreating form. And when she saw his face, she couldn’t even explain the feelings that she had gotten.

No…

That's not true…

She knew exactly what it was.

“Girls…” she said, barely above a whisper, but they stopped talking all the same, giving her their full attention. “Ah… Ah think I’m in love.”

To say that both of the ponies Applebloom confessed her heart out to were more than a little surprised would have been the understatement of the century. In fact, they could only think of one word that could ascertain the amount of shock and awe that the pegasus and unicorn were feeling at that very moment. One simple four letter word that, with enough volume, could properly portray their flabbergastery.

“What?!”

The little white unicorn turned towards her orange pegasus friend and began to “whisper” into the filly’s ear. “Tell me we didn’t just hear what I thought we heard, Scootaloo.”

The purple maned orange pegasus nodded grimly, “whispering” back with a serious frown. “I do believe we did, Sweetie Belle. I do believe we did...”

“Which means…” Sweetie Belle’s face grew into a devilish smirk as she let the statement hang in the air.

“Oh, I concur…” Scootaloo confirmed with a sly grin of her own.

Both fillies, in a blur of orange and white delight, began bouncing in a circle around Applebloom, both repeating the words passed on from one foal to the next.

“Applebloom’s in loOve! Applebloom’s in loOve! Applebloom’s in loOve!”

The sun yellow filly’s face flushed crimson as her so-called friends, now mortal enemies, picked on her. “Come on, ya’ll! Cut it out!!” she said, lashing out at them with a hoof in a desperate plea for them to stop the madness.

Sweetie Belle avoided the half hearted swipes and stuck her tongue out before asking, “So who is it, huh?” She gasped lightly. “I bet you it’s Featherweight!”

Applebloom shook her head.

Scootaloo bounded in between her friends and grinned widely. “Don’t tell me it’s Lickity Split. He may not be as cool as Rainbow Dash but the way he bounces that ball does make my wings flutter.”

Once again, the head said no, though Applebloom and Sweetie Belle made a mental note to save that bit of infomation of Scootaloo’s admiration for Lickity Split for ammunition.

Still that left both pegasus and unicorn stuck on to who it actually was. Both friends looked toward each other for a moment before turning their attention back to Applebloom. They surprisingly spoke in unison with confused looks on their face

“Sni-“

"No way!!" Applebloom snapped. “Why in tarnation would ya even suggest that!?”

“Well, who is it?” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

"Yeah, come on! Tell us!" Scootaloo added.

“Okay but ya’ll gotta promise to keep it a secret okay?” When both friends agreed with a the customary Pinky Promise, the yellow hoof raised, pointing down the dirt path. “It’s him…”

Her friends followed the hoof until they caught sight of a tall caramel stallion with an impossibly spiky chocolate mane and tail. From what they could tell from where they were, it appeared that he was in a conversation with Twilight.

Sweetie Belle was quick to point out the obvious from the get go. “He looks twice your age.”

“That and I’ve never seen that pegasus before," Scootaloo added. "Must be new to Ponyville.”

The love-struck filly pouted as she stomped her hoof hard on the ground. “So what? You don’t think he looks cute?”

Her friends both looked toward the retreating form of Applebloom’s interest.

“Well…” Sweetie began, “I guess he does have a nice mane and all.”

“And,” Scootaloo continued, “He doesn’t look that much older than us. Maybe sixteen or seventeen?”

Sweetie Belle gave her friend an apprehensive look. “Still… I don’t know, Applebloom…”

The southern filly slid on her knees in front of them, grabbing them by their forehooves. Tears threatened to fall from her face as she stared up at her two shocked friends. “Pl-leeeeaase? Ya’ll just gotta help me! H-Hes the first colt that that ah ever had feelings like this for!”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked upon the teary-eyed expression that accompanied their friend’ pleading form. After the third or fourth ‘please’, and mentioning possibly getting their cutie marks in matchmaking, the girls finally relented.

“Fine!” they both said together before Scootaloo picked up the conversation. “We’ll help, but only because you are our best friend.”

Applebloom beamed a brightly lit smile as she hopped around them repeating “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!”

Before either of her friends could respond, she leapt high into the air and raised a hoof over her head, proclaiming loudly, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS: MATCHMAKERS! YAY!” With her battle cry announced, she sped off, leaving her two friends to follow in her wake.

Scootaloo sighed inwardly. “This can’t end well…”

“Gonna be fun though!” Sweetie squeaked.

The doors to the confectionery shop known as Sugarcube Corner swung open with a jingle of a bell, allowing Twilight, Spike and Sora to enter into Ponyville’s famous pastry store. To Sora’s credit, he held himself in check as soon as he saw the oversized sugary-looking building. He knew that it was more than likely just for show and constructing a cute building out of real gingerbread was downright stupid. Still, somewhere in the back of his mind he really wanted to rush headlong toward the house with mouth wide to see if he was wrong. He was quite happy that he held out because the prize for doing so was so much greater.

Sora’s eyes sparkled as he gazed upon all the amazing treats that were on display, his mouth on the verge of slavating shamelessly. Brown eyes darting to and fro, he spotted every flavor of cake imaginable with various degrees of icing on each. Muffins ranging from blueberry to strawberry lay neatly in a basket close by. At the counter, inside its glass casing, the stallion found cookies of every shape and form, each one beckoning him with their own flavored scent. Never had he seen so many delectable sweets in one place; while he was awake, at least.

Sora turned to face Twilight, who had quite the amused look on her face. He gave her an expectant pleading smile, to which she nodded, knowing full well what he wanted. Quick as a flash, he zipped toward the counter and pressed his muzzle against the glass exterior. With longing eyes, he stared with amazement at every confectionary with increasing interest. The young boy really didn’t know where to start.

“You should try the Double Chunk Chocolate Chip Delight. My personal favorite.”

“You think so?” His eyes shifted to the left. “Those icing cookies look just as tempting, though.”

“So you’re an icing stallion, huh? Then you should definitely try the Deliciously Delectable Dreamy Drop Madness.”

“Aww geeze. Even the name sounds delicious.“

Sora had turned his head to speak to his lavender unicorn guide, only to find out that the one he was talking to wasn’t so lavender… or a unicorn for that matter.

The first thing noticed by the stallion was the curly, bouncy mane curving at an arc in front of her face, it being a deeper shade of bubblegum pink than her coat. Bright blue eyes stared back at his own, silently judging him, as if weighing her options on how to treat the stallion.

The white toothy smile she gave quickly clued him in on her answer.

Quicker than he ever expected anyone could move, or at least anyone in this town, the bubbly pink pony pulled him into a tight embrace, lifting the stallion up in the air slightly. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! It’s nice to meet you, stallion-who-fell-from-the-stars!”

Sora, despite the aroma of soothing bubblegum she gave off, concluded that oxygen was something he would never take for granted again.

With gasping breath and blushing cheeks, the stallion tried to gasp out to the pink pony, but no words came due to the hooves that had cut off his much-needed air supply. With pleading eyes, the stallion threw his gaze toward Twilight and Spike, both of whom were stifling giggles and laughter. After a moment or two, the unicorn made her way to the pair and tapped Pinkie’s shoulder lightly, gaining her attention.

“Pinkie, this is Sora,” Twilight giggled as she looked toward the struggling pegasus. “And I think you’re crushing him.”

The pink mare stared at the lavender one for a moment before dropping the stallion into a gasping heap on the ground. With her smile still present, she ran toward the entrance of the kitchen and called out for someone named Mrs. Cake.

A pleasantly plump blue pony with a swirly pink two tone mane made her way to the front counter at Pinkie’s call. A warm smile graced her lips as she greeted them with an accent that the Sora couldn’t quite place, but still felt the warmth of it all the same.

“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner dearies.” the mature mare gave Sora an extra friendly smile. “And I don’t think I’ve seen you around town before?”

Before either Sora or Twilight could respond, Pinkie appeared in front of them, her smile as bright as ever. “Hey, Mrs. Cake. I’m gonna take off for a bit to prepare for the party.”

“Party?” Sora looked towards Twilight. “You celebrating something today?”

Pinkie popped in between the two ponies, wrapping a forehoof around Sora’s neck in the process. “Duh! Of course there’s a party, silly. You’re new to Ponyville, and new ponies always get a free Pinkie Pie Bash from the one and only Pinkie Pie herself.”

Sora was thoroughly confused. “Wait. I get thrown a party… just because I’m new?

Pinkie nodded.

It only took Sora seconds to comprehend, the widest smile one has ever seen forming on his muzzle. “Cool.”

The pink party pony smiled just as wide at Sora’s words. “Oh, I think I’m gonna like you.” She turned towards the door, bouncing her way towards it. “See ya later, everypony!” Stopping just in front of it, she turned to the lavender mare. “Twilight, make sure to bring him by the barn by eight.” And as an afterthought she added “Oh, and can you get Rarity? I’ll take care of collecting the rest of the girls. Okthanksbye!!” Before Twilight could respond, the pink pony dashed out of the building, leaving a cloud of dust to dissipate in her wake.

Sora gave Twilight a quizzical look, to which she responded only by saying, “She’s Pinkie. Get used to it.”

With a rather unsure nod but a kind smile all the same, Sora turned his attention back to the counter of sweets.

An hour or two later, the trio that was Twilight, Spike and Sora left the confectionary shop with happy smiles and full bellies. Sora had been slightly apprehensive about any of the flower-related baked goods, but after the first bite he couldn’t help but tear into every bit of the plant life. Why he thought flowers were tasty to begin with was lost on him. More than likely it had something to do with his new body, but he decided not to dwell too much on it. No use fixing something that wasn’t broken. At the very least he didn’t have to worry about starving in this new world.

Of course, that line of questioning brought up some good points. Despite his time in the Pride Lands, he thought for sure that he would have had more trouble getting used to his new limbs then he had. That was not the case, however. He was amazed that he walked on four legs like he had been doing so his whole life. In fact, it just felt right for some reason.

Twilight’s voice rang gently in his ears, pulling him from his inner thoughts. “So Sora, did you really not know what a cutie mark was?”

Sora smiled sheepishly at the question. “W-well, I… uh… I’ve never really gone anywhere to learn about them.” That was the truth, for the most part.

“Well,” Twilight continued, “I guess I can understand that, still weird though.” She looked back toward her own flank. “I only ask because a cutie mark is supposed to represent a pony’s special talent, like how mine represents my love of stars and magic. I really don’t know what to make of your mark though.”

Sora looked back at his flank, with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t know either, Twilight. To tell the truth, I really don’t know why I have it. But for some reason it looks exactly like… my…”

Sora’s eyes shot opened at the realization. He frantically patted at his neck before shock turned panic. Bending over the ground, he began to shuffle along it in a frantic search. “W-wait...W-where is it?”

Spike raised an eyebrow as he peered around Twilight’s neck. “Where’s what?”

“My necklace!” He blurted out. “I can’t find it!” He rose up to only dash back and forth, trying to find some glimmer of hope in his dire situation.

“Necklace… Necklace…” Realization dawned on Twilight. “Oh! You mean that silver crown? Like I mentioned earlier, your clothes were ruined a little when we found you. I found a chain that had a little crown thingy latched onto it. The chain itself was snapped, you see, so I had given it to Rarity to fix as well. Hey!”

Sora had jetted off as he spoke. “Sorry! Gotta get my necklace!”

“But Rarity’s is in the other direction!” She barely had time to move out of the way as Sora ran past her.

“Sora!” Twilight called out. “Wait for us!”

The opening of the bedroom door marked the exit of one pearl white unicorn, a pink robe tied delicately around her slender frame. After a long night of working and only a few hours of sleep, she had decided to forego breakfast for now and had let the warm embrace of hot water envelop most of her morning.

Now thoroughly refreshed, she slowly made her way down toward the stairway, but stopped as soon as she caught a glimpse of the object that had had her pull an all-nighter.

Rarity always considered herself to be quite the fashion connoisseur, always looking for that next big design after the next one, even going so far as to study different styles to find if it would make a comeback next year or not. She knew all the greatest artists and all of their styles, but she had never seen the likes of what had been graced upon her by her lavender friend. The outfit itself was dirty and torn in certain places, but those were easy enough to repair.

The simple two-piece outfit was quite the sight to behold when she was finished with it. The hoodie, onyx black in its coloration, was lined with white trimming along the bottom of the sleeves and rim of the cloth. What really caught her attention was along where the shoulders were to be; there were two hardened silver cloths that almost resembled the shoulder pads of armor, giving it an almost edgy, knight-like appearance to such a simple design.

The shirt underneath was navy blue in primary color, with a splash of red curling inward toward the chest. It was, like most of the outfit, simple, but done so in a way that brought life to the overall outfit, making the viewer take a break from the overall dominating dark colors the clothes so thoroughly loved.

Attached to the hood were straps of a yellow buckle-like material, which, in her opinion, were just daring enough to work.

The overall repair of the outfit took no more than an hour, hence it was not the cause of her nearly sleepless night. No. The reason for her late night was due to the fact that such an outfit had never been seen in all of Equestria before, and not being one to pass up inspiration, she had instantly set to work sketching and taking notes, her mind racing with one idea after another. Whoever had designed this was keeping such work to themselves. She was not going to let that go unanswered for. Not one bit.

A smile crept onto her lips as she walked past the clothing and down the stairs. Just before she reached her intended destination, a knock came upon her front door. She had figured it might have been Twilight due to the fact that it was she who had given her the clothes in the first place. She had so many questions for the mare that she couldn’t help but rush to the door and open it wide for her purple friend.

She had expected somepony.

She had not expected a stallion.

Caramel brown fur greeted her vision causing the fashionista’s eyes to widen by degrees. Despite her being only slightly shorter than the one in front of her, she couldn’t help but notice that she was staring straight at the chest of a clearly male pony. His chest was moving in and out deeply but steadily, slowly but surely regaining the breath that it must have lost. He seemed more slender than most male ponies she knew; perhaps it had something to do with him being a pegasus. Despite his slender form, she could clearly see that he was more muscular than he let on. She shifted upwards slowly, taking in every inch of the stallion in front of her.

Ocean blue eyes met those of sky coloration. She watched as the morning breeze gently played with his milk chocolate mane, as well with the fur on his face.

Dear Celestia, his face!

Though he looked her age, she couldn’t help but see that he still held much of his foalhood within his features. It gave him an almost marish quality that matched well with the rest of his figure.

She prayed to all that was holy that he wasn’t a coltcuddler.

Both ponies stared at each other, neither one moving an inch or saying a word as they did so. Rarity was, out of instinct, about to greet the stallion, but her eyes soon went from wide with admiration to wide with embarrassment and horror at a sudden realization.

She was still in her bedroom robes!

Before the stallion could even speak, Rarity quickly slammed the door on him and ran right away up the stairs.

To say that Sora was confused was an understatement.

It was more like the poor stallion was so utterly confounded that he was unable to form any conscious thought due to the lack of energy that was necessary for him to do so.

Twilight fared no better. The flushed-face unicorn mare staggered slowly toward the pegasus stallion, huffing and wheezing as she went. She had spent the better part of 10 minutes guiding the rushing pegasus from behind toward their intended destination. After a while, she fell far behind, and by the time she had caught up, she only saw a glimpse of the exchange that the two ponies were party to.

Spike had been riding on Twilight, so he was hail and healthy.

After a moment or two of catching her breath, Twilight made her way to the side of Sora’s flank. “W-what -huff- W-what d-did you -huff- do?”

The pegasus in question, after regaining his own composure, turned to face the lavender unicorn. “I… didn’t do anything. One second we were looking at each other and the next all I see a wooden door.”

Twilight, now breathing normally, moved past the stallion. “That’s… odd. I’d better go see if she is okay.” Before she could use her horn to open the door, a light blue field enveloped it, doing the deed for her. A brightly lit, posh-looking room graced their presence as they peered into the now-open doorway. Sora couldn’t help but think that the place screamed of femininity. Pony displays showcasing various outfits lined the edges of the room.

His gaze shifted from left to right until it fell upon a stairway where a dainty white hoof could be seen coming into sight. The owner of said hoof followed suit. Slick white fur clung to its owner’s body, shining lightly thanks to an unseen light source. Bouncy violet locks came into view next, having their own shimmer to them. Soon the head of the white unicorn came into view, her muzzle shifted upwards in a ladylike fashion. She came the rest of the way down the stairs in a graceful fashion, though Sora (and Spike for that matter), for the life of him, couldn’t help but notice that her hips were pumping with each step she took.

Gone was the pink-robed beauty, and in its place, a pony goddess.

A gentle voice, as lovely as silk, greeted the stallion. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique. Where eve- Twilight!?”

The white-coated unicorn had failed to notice her purple friend happily waving a hoof in her direction. “Hello, Rarity.” Stopping her gesture, she cocked an eyebrow. “Are you OK? You kind of shut the door on Sora there.”

Rarity turned to look toward the pony in question with cheeks burning with embarrassment. “Oh, I am terribly sorry, dear. It was absolutely uncouth of me to do that to you. You see, I was up all night doing a request my friend Twilight gave me and I suppose I overslept, resulting in what you had seen not too long ago.” She gave him a sorrowful look. “I do hope you can forgive me.”

The boy smiled a bright toothy grin that, much to Spike’s questioning gaze, sent Rarity’s cheeks blushing brighter than ever before replying. “Hakuna Matata.”

“Hakuna a what now?” Twilight asked, giving him a questioning look.

“It means no worries.” Sora trotted towards the white mare, extending a hoof. “And I think that the stuff that you were working are mine..”

Gently taking the hoof in her own, Rarity would give the stallion a questioning gaze. “You mean you’re the mysterious visitor Twilight found in White Tail Woods?”

“Guess so. You know about what happened?”

The white mare waved a perfectly manicured hoof. “Only in passing, dear. I had to tend to my sister and her friends after the commotion you caused last night.” Rarity paused to look towards Twilight. “To which she did not tell me that the one who fell from the sky was such a handsome young stallion.” Her voice produced a sly tone. “Trying to keep him all to ourselves, are we, Miss Sparkle?”

“What!?” Twilight’s face grew beet red at the accusation. “NO! I was just…! I mean, it was…! What!?!”

Rarity had a hard time stifling a giggle that threatened to escape her lips. “Now, now, Twilight, I’m just teasing.” She raised a hoof to meet his own, and smiled brightly. “I am Rarity, or Miss Rarity if you would prefer. It is a pleasure to meet you, dear. Now then, about your outfit…”

Sora’s eyes widened, remembering the reason he had come here in the first place. “Oh yeah! Rarity, right?” At the nod he continued. “You’re the one who Twilight said was fixing up my outfit.”

She smiled and nodded. “Right you are. If you would allow me one second to fetch your things.” She stopped just before she reached the stairs and turned a furrowed brow in his direction. “Please forgive me, but I never caught your name.”

“The name’s, Sora.”

“Sora…” Coming from her, he could have sworn it sounded more like a soothing coo. “My, my, such an exotic name for a stallion such as yourself.” She turned and made her way up the stairs. “I’ll be no more than two ticks, dear.” Sora’s eyes widened as he watched her climb the steps. This time he could clearly see that her flanks were indeed pumping back and forth with each step, and he couldn’t turn away from the sight.

That was until he felt the stare of murderous intent beside him. Looking to his right, he saw the darkened glare of a certain purple dragon staring him down as though he was a demon in need of defeating. Sora, despite his taller size and greater strength, decided that it was not safe to stand within striking distance of the baby dragon.

Before he could move, however, Rarity returned with his clothes in tow, wrapped in a pale blue light like the door had been. “There you go darling, good as new. I have to ask, where did you acquire such magnificent clothes? Never in my life have I seen such a style produced before.” She stretched out the clothes, letting him look over them for any blemishes. “And I was amazed by the amount of enchantments surrounding it. Durability, longevity, and even minor protection against physical and magical trauma.” She lowered the outfit toward Sora, prompting him to stretch out his cannons. “The pony who created them knew what they were doing, and then some. And don’t get me started on the design! It’s so modern! It’s so refreshing! It’s so-“

“Umm… Hey, Rarity?”

The mare was slightly caught off guard by Sora’s gentle tone that pierced her revelations. “Ah… Yes, Sora?”

Sora twisted and turned the cloth around in his hooves. He was at first looking for his shorts, but he figured that if they were gone in that dream he had, then they wouldn’t be around if he got his clothes back. There was a more pressing question eating at the corner of his mind.

“Is my necklace fixed too? I was told it was broken as well.”

Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin before widening her eyes. “You mean that silver crown? I have to say, it was rather, how do you say, plain, compared to the rest of your outfit.” She made her way to her dresser and used her magic to produce a still-broken silver chain with a little crown hanging from it. “I was going to get around to fixing it but after seeing the owner, I do believe that it’s just too garish for you. How about something deep blue? I was thinking that-“

She stopped talking as soon as she saw the stallion shake his head. “Sorry, Rarity, but…” He paused as his gaze shifted from her to the necklace. “That necklace is just too important to me.”

Both mares and one dragon raised an eyebrow as they all said in unison, “Important?

“A friend of mine gave it to me the very first day we met.”

Twilight gasped softly. "Your friend?"

Sora nodded. "I was always bullied back before I met him. Two big colts would always pick on other kids and...I told on them."

"As you very well should." Rarity said, now quite mad at said bullies of such a nice young stallion. "I would have strung them up by their tails if I was their mother."

The keybearer placed both of his forehooves behind his head, smiling, though it was more subdued. "That just kinda made me more of their target then anyone else."

Sora was slammed harshly against the ground. The white shirt and red shorts the six year old wore were muddy and slightly tattered, but despite that and the tears welling up in his eyes, he stared defiantly at his aggressors. One who was outlandishly tall and another who was rather pudgy flanked a rather tall boy with raven black hair. The boy in the middle chuckled evilly, signaling the others behind him to do so in turn.

“Whoops. Sorry, little Sora. Did I make ya cry?” He laughed again, as did the others. Sora, to his credit, tried to stand back up, but was kicked back down by the boot of the older child. “Did I say you could get up, pig?” Sora cursed inwardly as he clutched at his stinging chest. “No… I don’t think so. Ya see, little Sora, I don’t take too kindly to being told on. You know what I had to go through?! I was grounded for a week!!” The boy’s voice grew in volume as he spoke, his voice becoming harsher.

Sora couldn’t help himself. “Heh… A week? I would have made it a month if I was your dad.” Another kick to his gut knocked the wind completely out of the brown-haired boy.

“You know what? I was just gonna rough ya up. Now... oh now you’re gonna pay for that one!” Sora closed his eyes just as he saw a kick aiming straight for his face. He heard a smack and then a thud, but felt no pain. Chancing a glance, he opened one of his eyes... only to find someone standing in front of him. This boy was just a bit taller than him, short silver hair draped slick down his head. His clothes were normal enough, but the thing that caught his attention the most was the silver crown that hung from the hook of his pants.

His savior held a fist out to where the black haired boy was before, the boy in question now splayed on his back, nursing a bruised cheek.

“What the?!” The black haired boy was livid. “Who are you?!”

The newcomer let his fist fall to his side. “Riku.” Riku’s icy glare stared straight at the boy on the ground, not faltering for a second. “Gotta say,” Riku’s voice as just as cold, despite the youthfulness of it. “Three against one was never fair to me…” Riku placed a fist into the palm of his hand, cracking it threateningly. “Hardly a challenge, to tell you the truth…”

All three boys barely had time to react as Riku blasted towards them with his fist raised, ready to strike.

“That was unreal…”

Riku couldn’t help but smile at Sora’s description of the fight. It had taken some doing, but Riku, despite his smaller size compared the three bullies, was able to send them packing with their tails between their legs, much to Sora’s enjoyment.

Two thoroughly roughed up and bruised boys sat at the edge of the pier, both enjoying a new flavor of ice cream. It was sweet and salty; two flavors they thought would never go well with such a cold treat, and yet, at the moment, it was the most amazing thing in the world.

Sora, after taking a big bite of his ice cream, turned to face the silver-haired youth. He had never really had anyone stick up for him before, and here comes some random boy he never knew doing just that. He smiled brightly which caused the boy to turn to his direction.

“You look like an idiot.” Sora nearly dropped his ice cream into the sea below at that remark.

The boy turned and gave an accusing pout Riku’s way. “Is that what you say to everyone you save?!”

The silver-haired boy thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Naw… Just to you.”

Silence filled the air before a series of laughs broke out between the two boys. When it was done, Sora smiled brighter than before. “Where’d you learn how to fight? Taking on three guys at once was… well… pretty cool.”

Riku didn’t say anything at first, but decided to pull the silver crown symbol off his belt and held it out expectantly to Sora, which Sora took with little hesitation. He raised it into the light of the setting sun watching it gleam in dull radiance.

“What… is it?”

“Crown of the Kingdom,” he spoke with an air of mystery. “They say wearing it makes you ten times stronger.”

“Really?!”

Riku laughed. “No. It’s just some junk I found in my attic. You’re pretty gullible, you know that.”

Sora’s pout returned as he tried to glare daggers at the new kid. "Did you only help me to pick on me too?"

“Saw you not back down from those guys and that's why I decided to help you out.” Riku smirked and leaned back into a laying position, letting his arms rest behind him. “But you are too weak. So you have to wear that every day or else I won’t train you at all, got that?”

Sora stared dumbfounded at Riku before smiling once more. He quickly placed the chain over his head, wearing it like a necklace. The boy fidgeted slightly before asking. “So… are we… friends now?”

Riku opened one eye at Sora’s question before closing it again, a smile of his own forming on his lips. “Heh. Yeah, sure… I don’t mind.”

"Oh my." Rarity said softly as she placed a hoof over her heart. "You scared me in the first half but the last was ever so adorable to picture."

Twilight nodded, "Yeah. While I don't approve of the fighting, the fact that you and colt would become friends after that. I think that such a thing might just deserve a friendship letter sent to the princess."

Sora smiled lightly at their words, his gaze shifting back towards the broken necklace. Riku had just moved into the area when he had saved him from those bullies. His friend could have just as easily chosen to side with them instead, but he chose him. He was happy to have him as a friend, but as they grew, he became more and more like a rival, with Sora always challenging him, wanting to prove how much stronger he had become and each time losing, sometimes badly. Even now, he was still left in the dust by Riku, despite his best efforts.

A familiar feeling made Sora cringe slightly. It was the same feeling he felt when he was on the beach just the other day...Useless...Worthless...Not good enough...Was I...ever...

“Sora, are you ok?”

The stallion was unaware that he had been staring off into space for a moment. He was brought to this conclusion as he spotted three pairs of eyes looking at him, each with the same emotion on their own features, all conveying the same thing.

Worry

He raised a hoof and rubbed the back of his head. “Heh, sorry… Kind of spaced out there.” He turned to Rarity, smiling gently at the mare. “Sorry if I sound kinda selfish, but...Do you think that you could fix it for me?”

Rarity cleared her throat as she fought to keep a blush from coming upon her cheeks once more. That smile of his could kill a lesser mare. Taking the necklace within her magic, the mare would muse, “Well, while I still say it is not the best accessory in the world, I think your history with it more then makes it special in anyponies eyes.” She set the necklace on the counter before smiling towards the young stallion. “I’ll have it right as rain later tonight, so don’t you worry about a thing, dear.”

Twilight gasped. “Oh geeze, I forgot. Pinkie said Sora’s welcoming party will be tonight at eight over at the barn.”

Rarity’s eyes brightened considerably. “Perfect! I shall be done by then and shall present it to you there. Is that alright with you Sora?”

Sora smirked as he pumped his fist. “Fine by me! See you later then, Rarity.” He set the clothes onto his back, making sure they were balanced before following Twilight out of the store.

She watched them leave, her gaze slowly shifting toward Sora’s retreating flank. “Yes… until then.”

After spending a lovely afternoon with Rarity, the trio that was Twilight, Spike and Sora all decided to return to the lavender mare’s library and wait for the upcoming Welcome to Ponyville party.

Though they had all agreed to the same destination, they all had their own reasons for wanting to return.

Twilight’s reason, with Sora’s permission of course, had been to study the strange object that was known as the Keyblade. Without wasting another moment as soon as she stepped though the door, she had immediately set to work using both magical and non-magical tests to ascertain its make, properties, and overall essence. She needed to know what it was. Why something like this was never in any of the history books. It was clearly a weapon of great power, and giving a pony the power to teleport an object to them, rather they can use magic or not, was quite amazing in its own right and it was not something that she could honestly pass up studying. If she was able to figure it out… Oh the possibilities.

Sora’s reason was simple, yet proved to be, at least to him, the most difficult.

He needed to put on some clothes.

Being a boy of seventeen years of age, he knew he would be able to dress himself. Being a boy pony of seventeen years of age with hooves instead of fingers and thumbs to work with, could prove more of a challenge. Despite this he figured that if he was going to be in this pony world for a while, he would need to learn how to dress himself and, he hoped, learn how to get by without fingers. So, under the guise of needing some rest, the ponyfied Keybearer was allowed to return to the room he had awoken in and set to work equipping and removing his attire.

As for the dragon Spike, after doing his chores for the day, the drake had decided to catch some Z's on a nearby couch. He was a baby dragon after all and baby dragons need their sleep. Besides, he figured he would need all the energy he could muster if he was to fully enjoy the Pinkie’s Welcome to Ponyville Party.

After several successful attempts at putting on and removing his clothing, Sora made his way down to the lower level, fully dressed and ready for anything. He was very proud of himself for finding such a creative way getting them on too, even with the handicap of having no fingers.

The clip-clop of his hooves alerted Twilight of the stallion’s presence and she couldn’t help but smile lightly, looking the once human boy over with an appreciative gaze. “Rarity did an amazing job on your outfit Sora, you really do look good. Hard to believe that I could hardly recognize it before, tatter as it was.”

The keybarer smiled as he blushed slightly. “Hehe. Thanks Twilight. I need to thank Rarity again for helping me out.” His gaze would scan over the room they were within. Aside from the few chairs, the whole area seemed to be surrounded by bookcases full of books, which made sense because of where he was. He would turn towards his keyblade, noting the impressive amount of books, notes, and test tubes surrounding it. “What's all this stuff anyway?” He asked, bending down to gently tap one of the glass jars.

Twilight released a frustrated sigh. “Normally it is magic compounds that would tell me the make and material of metals, a lot good those did though. The enigmatic nature of this clearly impossible object won't be giving me its secrets anytime soon.” Her horn began to glow and she used her magic to levitate a pile of her notes towards him. “According to THIS, your Keyblade contains magic I have never seen before in Equestira, and yet it clearly is magic.” She shoved a piece of paper in his face. “And THIS! The material it’s made from! There is no such material like it in all of Equestria! It looks like simple metal, but it's so much more than that!”

Sora, not really able to make heads or tails of the notes he was looking at, could only respond with “Is that so?”

“Yes it's so!” She returned the research back to the table (In alphabetical order mind you) before turning back to Sora. “Are you sure that you don’t know anything else about your Keyblade? I mean... it is YOUR keyblade right? You have to know something”

"Of course it is.” Sora told her. “But besides the fact that it's connected to my heart, I never really thought about where it came from and all that. I just use it and that's that.

Twilight sighed frustratingly, clearly not happy with his answer but she figured as much. She didn’t take the colt as someone who listened diligently in class, not that she would ever tell him that. The sound of her clock chiming six times clued her in into the time it was at the moment. She figured that they still had at least two hours left until they needed to be at the party. Well and hour and a half at least. It would take some time to get their party destination, so she did account for travel. She wanted to study the keyblade more but without anything to start from, that would just prove more stressful than useful. It was even worse when the owner of said keyblade knew as much about as she did. Scratch that, she more than likely knew more than he ever did..

"Wait!" Twilight exclaimed, looking towards Sora as an idea hit her. "How about you tell me how you got it and from there I can maybe have something to work off of."

"How I got it?" He thought for a moment before smiling. "Well... I guess I can do that." plus it's not messing with the world order when you are talking about yourself.

Twilight squealed happily as she poofed a scroll and a feather into her magic. “Ok! Then let's start from the beginning. Where were you when you received your keyblade?”

Sora looked upwards as he tapped his chin in thought. “Well...It was a dark and stormy night...”

"Really? You’re gonna start off with that cliché?"

Sora blinked before he gave the lavender mare a sheepish smile. "Well it was. I can’t help it if that's how it happened." Twilight sighed before motioning him to continue. "Ok... So it was a dark and stormy night; four years ago from today. I could see from my house that Destiny Island was about to get hit bad."

“Destiny Island?" Twilight interrupted. "I never heard of it. Is that where you lived?”

Sora shook his head. "No... It’s an island that sits not too far from my village in the middle of the ocean."

Twilight’s eyes brightened and she quickly zipped in front of him, her muzzle nearly touching his. “The ocean?! You’ve actually seen the ocean?!”

Sora smirked as he held up his head high in a rare instance of pride. “Yep! I’m an islander though and through. Born and raiss-Hey!”

Before the stallion could protest, a very excited Twilight teleported them both to sit at her nearby table. It was an odd feeling. Being teleported. It honestly reminded him of when he went into the computer world not too long ago. Still it was very disorientating and he was left dazed for a few moments. When he recovered he could see the lavender unicorn staring across the table at him, quill and parchment working furiously at what he told her so far. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she smiled brightly at the stallion.

“Tell. Me. Everything.”

The boy couldn’t stop the smile from leaving his muzzle. "Hehe... sure..." Backing away slightly to give himself some room, the stallion began to speak again. "Well The island seemed to be in for it pretty bad and I feared for the raft that me and my friends were building was gonna get washed away. I left my house and took a boat to make sure that it was ok."

"Wait... If you had a boat, why did you need a raft?"

Sora was about to answer but then stopped himself. "I... Ah... I really don't know... We were planning on using it to travel around the world..."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "But a raft would not be very good for travelling long distances, especially in the ocean."

The young colt pawed at the ground, looking somewhat foolish as he really began to think about how silly he and his friends were way back when. "Well since you put it that way..." He shook his head. "Well anyway we never got a chance to even test it out in any case."

"Why not?"

Sora smiled brightly, "Because that's where things got interesting..."

A hooded figure watched from their vantage point within an alleyway, a soft growl escaping their lips. "Was it the mare that dispatched the one I sent in?"

WIth a flourish of its cape it turned to make its way down the darkening streets. "If I cannot get HER, then I must change my plans a bit..."

Twilight led Sora through the darkening streets of Ponyville with Spike riding upon her back. She was happy to see her assistant and the stallion in deep conversation. Spike had woken up not too long ago after Twilight and Sora had started their conversation about his adventures and Spike was totally hooked on to the story. Though quite a bit about what he talked about made her very skeptical.

Really! Her mind screamed. How can a single pony take on and defeat a hydra, all by himself?! Me and my friends barely came out of it alive… and we were running from it!

Despite not believing a bit of the story, she could see that Spike seemed to be greatly interested in his tale. Truth be told it also served to pass the time as they trotted down the dusty road of Ponyville and before they knew it the trio hand made it to their destination.

“With time to spare!” Twilight was quick to point out.

The dim light of a bright moon served as the only source of illumination for the three of them. Sora could vaguely make out the appearance of trees, and, from what he could tell, there were a lot of them. From what he could tell, they seemed to have some kind of fruit in them.

Twilight gently nudged the young stallion with her flank, gaining back his attention. “This is Sweet Apple Acres. An apple farm ran by the Apple family. One of my best friends is in charge of the place.”

“An apple farm?” He squinted his eyes. Sure enough he could make out the vague shapes of the fruit in the trees now that he was told what they were. “Wow. Never seen an apple farm before.”

“Really?” Spike eyebrow rose. “They don’t have em’ on… what was it called… Destiny Island?”

Sora shook his head. “Nope. The only fruit on the island were coconuts and Paopu fruit.” When he had gotten a questioning look from the baby dragon he added, “It's a star shaped fruit me and my friends would always eat.”

Spike shrugged, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

Twilight guided them towards a giant red barn nearby. Well Sora was guessing it was red. Most barns were where he came from.As they approached the first thing he noticed was the complete lack of light coming from any of the windows. He also noticed that he couldn’t even hear a sound. Not a word, peep, or whisper. It was very strange to say the least.

“Twilight…” He tried to keep his voice even, despite the sense of foreboding he was beginning to feel. “You sure this is the place where the party is supposed to be? It looks… well… empty.”

Twilight ignored the statement, giving the stallion a sly smile. Moving past him, she opened the door wide enough to enter, leaving Sora in the elements of the night. A look of apprehension came across his features as he slowly but surely followed after the lavender unicorn, if only to make sure that she was ok.

“Twilight!” His voice was just barely above a whisper. “Twilight! Where are you!?” A random flash of light beaming down upon the stallion caused him to stop in his tracks. It took time for his eyes to adjust to the sudden disturbance and when they did he found, to his surprise, a familiar pink pony standing on what he assumed was the other end of the barn. Her curly mane had been wrapped in a light blue cloth, fruit of many kinds balanced expertly on top of her head. What really surprised Sora was the fact that she was standing on her hind legs, a similar colored cloth wrapped snugly around her hips, only showing off one of her legs in a manner that made Sora want to avert his eyes due to modesty.

He looked toward her face which wasn’t smiling in the slightest, which seemed odd to Sora, due to her doing nothing but smile when he first met the mare. Instead her muzzle was in the air and her eyes closed, resembling how a fancy person would look when walking down a street in comics he read.

Her name was about to escape his lips, but before it could, she suddenly raised both of her forehooves and clopped them together twice. In that same instant, as if on cue, a stream of spotlights appeared behind her, revealing a previously hidden band, each member dressed in some kind of tropical attire. Music suddenly played as Pinkie looked Sora’s way, her face once again lit by a nice bright smile.

And then… She started to sing.

As she started on the next verse she began to walk, yes, she was walking due to her standing on her hind legs, slowly towards Sora. Her forehooves were placed on her hips completely overemphasizing her steps. Once again, it made Sora’s face light up like a Christmas Tree.

Pinkie had quickly closed the distance between herself in Sora. The boy in question could clearly see a look of complete happiness upon her face. For some reason he just knew that she was and that she was enjoying herself to the fullest, a real party pony as it were.

When she was just a few feet away from him she raised her hooves high in the air, causing the light to cast the darkness into submission, revealing a whole gaggle of ponies that were previously hidden by the darkness. They all had bright smiles on their features as well, each one welcoming Sora with open hooves. Said stallion smiled back, completely embarrassed but not stopping himself from enjoying everything as Pinkie’s voice once again rang in his ears.

The pink mare gripped him by his fore hooves and began to twirl him about. The boy couldn't help but laugh as he joined in on the song as well.

Pinkie smiled brighter As she picked up the next verse.

Both Sora and Pinkie began to sing once again, this time together.

As the last note was played she happily wrapped her hooves around the stallion in a welcoming embrace, causing everypony to cheer happily.

Well… Everypony except one very familiar white unicorn who instead gritted her teeth in a very unlady like manner.

The scent of bubblegum once again assaulted his scenes before she pulled away, a bright smile still on her bubbly face. “So, Sora! Did ya like the song? Did ya?! Huh!? Huh!? Did ya?” Her smile was bright and welcoming, soothing even.

Sora smiled as well as he looked into her bright blue eyes. Fishing for compliments huh? Kinda cute. “You kidding Pinkie. That was amazing… and also vaguely familiar for some reason.”

“Really? That’s weird! I started making up the song the first time I saw you. Maybe you were thinking about it at the same time I was.”

Sora raised an eyebrow but smiled none the less. “Hehe...That doesn’t make since Pinkie, but thanks all the same.”

This answer gained Sora a happy “Dawww!” and another tight hug.

“Ahem!”

Sora, Pinkie, Twilight and Spike (The latter two just entering into the conversation) turned to find an irritated Rarity staring indignantly at Pinkie.

“Pinkie… Dear… Could you please release Sora so that you don’t ruffle his clothes too much. I would like to see them in their full glory if you do not mind.”

Pinkie obliged after giving Sora one more quick squeeze for good measure. Letting the stallion go, the pink party pony bounced away mentioning something about checking in on the other guests. The ponies that were left in her wake watched her bounced off, disappearing into the crowd.

Rarity shook her head before looking apologetically towards Sora. “So, sorry about that dear. Pinkie is always happy to meet new ponies. Sometimes though she can be a little… ah… how should put it…”

“Its okay. I had fun.” Sora said with a smile.

Rarity smiled kindly at the stallion’s words. “I’m glad to hear it. First things first though.” The white unicorn began to circle the caramel stallion, her eye for detail taking in every inch of his pegasus frame. “Oh my, I’ve always believed that a pony can make the outfit and here you are, the living example of that saying.” She made her way around to his flank, slowing down just a tad to admire his… Cutiemark.

She fought the blush appearing on her cheeks as she came back to his side. “It’s such a perfect fit. It’s like it was made just for you.”

Sora raised a hoof to rub the back of his head, blushing brightly at the praise. “Heh...Thanks. Don’t know too much about fashion myself but if you say it looks good Miss Rarity....”

Three clicks of her tongue and the shake of her head warned him that he may have done something wrong. His ears folded back as he looked worriedly towards the mare. Thankfully a white hoof fell on his shoulders gently dispelling his worries.

“Sora, darling” The silkiness in her voice returned, a soothing sound that graced all ears that were in the vicinity of it. “You can just call me Rarity.” She purred

Sora’s really didn’t know how to react to this. He settled on blushing brightly and dipping his head once in a nod. “Oh… uh… O-Ok Rarity…”

Twilight’s quick thinking of grabbing the little dragon by the tail with her magic saved Sora a lifetime of burns he may have received from his little interaction with the white mare..

“Now then darling, I do believe I have a present for you.” Rarity produced, using the blue hue of her magic, a silver crown attached to a simple chain. “I hope you like it darling. I polished it using a special formula I created to give my jewelry that extra sheen.”

Sora furrowed his brow as he looked upon the floating necklace which inadvertently caused Rarity to shrink back a little.

Her voice was slightly shaky as she spoke. “Y-You don’t like it do you?” She raised a forehoof toward her brow, and cried… whined? He really couldn’t quite place it. “Oh I knew I should have just attached a new chain to it, but I just thought that you might-“

“Rarity.”

His voice wasn’t loud but it still cut her off and snapped her attention towards the caramel stallion. She was surprised to see that the frown had instantly turned into a bright smile.

“I love it.” He moved closer to the floating object, seeing himself reflected in the silver pool of the crown. “You really didn’t have to do that for me,” His sky blue eyes turned to stare into her ocean blue ones, the smile on his muzzle, while simple, was devilishly charming. “But I am happy you did. If there was any way to repay you…”

Rarity, raised a hoof, stopping him from speaking. “Oh, Nonono, Darling, I was happy to do it. Besides you’ve helped me more than you know.” Before Sora could even question what she was talking about music started blasting all about them causing the three ponies and the dragon to look around in confusion. Ponies all about them began, what Sora believed, to dance all around them.

“Wow.” Twilight mused loud enough so that she could be heard. “Pinkie really went all out for this welcoming party. So-” She paused finding the spot Sora just occupied only to find it unexpectedly empty. Neither Rarity nor Spike had noticed that they were down one pony. “Hey! Where did Sora go?”

Both the white unicorn and the baby dragon turned in unison to the place they last saw the caramel stallion.

“Huh? B-but… he didn’t even grab his necklace. Where could he- PINKIE!! YOU BRING THAT STALLION BACK HERE RIGHT NOW” Rarity chased after the pink pony who was busily swinging Sora around in a circle by his forehooves.

The crisp night air cooled Sora’s tired body. Between Rarity’s undivided attention and Pinkie Pie’s… Pinkieness(?), most of his energy had been spent. He was having a blast of a time at the welcoming party but he did feel he needed to get at least a little time to himself, mostly to think. He slipped out at the first chance he was given, making his way to an apple tree nearby the barn. With tired limbs, he rested himself under the canopy of leaves letting his mind wander a little.

He really needed to get some answers to some rather difficult questions he had let slip his mind. What was that door? Why did it really lead him here to this world full of ponies. For that matter why was he a pony? He knew that it wasn’t his clothes that changed him so what did?

A headache made him cringe slightly. He really hated thinking about the hard stuff when he was alone.

Sora sighed deeply and closed his eyes, letting the soft scent of apples lure him into a state of contentment. Mayhap he could fall asleep right here, just for a-

“Howdy!”

Sora’s eyes snapped open to find a bright pair of amber ones staring up at him. He couldn’t help but reel back in surprise, effectively hitting his head against the trunk of the tree he was under. Adding insult to injury, several apples strategically dropped onto his noggin causing the stallion to sit in a semi-slurred daze.

“Haha...Smooth mister.” A slightly tomboyish voice whistled.

“Yeah. Smooth.” Another voice, this one rather high and squeaky, agreed.

Sora shook the daze from his head, forcing his mind into full wakefulness. When he was done he found three little ponies, one orange, one yellow, and the last white, staring up at him.

“Ah… Hey there…” His voice was very unsure about the current predicament, that was for certain. “Can I help you?”

The orange filly with the magenta mane smiled deviously. “Well...I don’t know about myself, but I’m sure that you can help Ap--“

She was unable to finish her sentence due to getting smacked away by the yellow filly’s abnormally strong rump. With a bright and innocent smile, the earth pony filly would carrying on as though she did nothing wrong. “Heh, heh. Don’t mind her. She always says silly things. My names Applebloom by the way. This here is Sweetie Belle.” She pointed a hoof at herself and the white filly respectively. “And over yonder is Scootaloo.” Named filly was currently preoccupied with prying herself from a hole in an apple tree. “We're just here ta welcome ya ta Ponyville.”

“My name is Sora.” The stallion replied with a kind smile. “And thanks. I’m really enjoying myself so far. Everyone is nice.”

Sora looked between the three fillies stopping on Applebloom. Her cheeks seemed to light up extremely at his actions. Without thinking Applebloom yelped.

“I really like your mane!”

Sweetie Belle’s hoof met her face.

The stallion cocked his head to the side before speaking again. “Ah… Thanks?” Silence followed soon after, only being broken by the same stallion. “Anyway, its been fun but I think I’ll just go and-” A piercing scream filled the night air, causing the stallion and the fillies to stare in the direction it originated with wide eyes and pinprick pupils.

Earlier…In a cottage near the Everfree Forest

Fluttershy fluttered to and fro about her cottage, feeding and tending to the various nighttime critters that she tasked herself to take care of, all the while, a cute pout on her face. It was always such a chore for her to work around one of Pinkie’s impromptu parties, but she could never bring herself to really complain about it, at least not out loud. She always enjoyed the parties where it was just her friends and herself, but the ones where she had to interact with somepony new was always disorienting. Of course, she had told Pinkie she would be there anyway, just like always. She really didn’t want to see Pinkie sad. It was never fun to see Pinkie sad.

“There you go, mister fruit bat.” Her voice was gentle and loving. “So sorry for feeding you this early, but I have to go to the welcoming party Pinkie is throwing for the new pony in town.”

The fruit bat nibbled on a strawberry as he listened intently to Fluttershy, show how knowing that she needed to complain to someone. He wasn’t going to complain. He got free food.

“I know I shouldn’t say this,” the yellow pegasus continued, “but I really don’t like meeting new ponies. They're so new and so…” She shuddered. “Not familiar. But Pinkie really seemed to be happy about the new pony in town, seeing as they are the one Twilight said she found in White Tail Woods.”

The fruit bat began chatting automatically, to which Fluttershy responded with wide eyes.

“Oh no! I can’t possibly talk to somepony new. I’m too much of a coward.”

The bat placed his wings on his hips, once again chatting in his own bat tongue. Fluttershy’s ears folded back when he finished.

“I know I help little animals all the time and I’m not scared of them...but...that's different…”

The bat just opted to glare at the pony, not saying a word.

Fluttershy sighed. “I-I guess I could give it a try. If only to build my confidence.”

She nuzzled the cute bat warmly before floating down gently towards the floor below. Her eyes quickly glanced toward her clock, gasping lightly at what she saw. “Oh dear! It’s already nine twenty-five. I do hope Pinkie will forgive me for being so late.”

The shy pegasus double-checked her animal friends before heading out her cottage door. She slowly made her way down the dirt path leading to the farm that was Sweet Apple Acres, the gentle breeze playing with her soft yellow coat, almost tickling her. She had always liked the time between winter and spring. Everything was so fresh and new. She got to meet the next generation of bouncing baby animals, taking care of them and loving them. It always set her heart at ease to know that she was there for them. It always surprised her that she was able to get along with animals better than she could with other ponies. Animals were always true to their feelings and never wavering. What they thought was what they thought. Simple as that.

Ponies, on the other hoof, they could be your friend one second and your enemy the next. Of course, Rainbow was the exception, as well as the rest of her little group of friends. Other ponies, though, she could barely deal with them at all. She had tried, of course, but had failed every time she did.

In her silent rumination, she failed to notice that she had come within the vicinity of the apple farm, only realizing it after the scent of apples greeted her senses.

Fortunately, it was also at that time as well that she noticed something silently shifting in the dark.

A normal pony would have missed it, but her natural ability to jump at the slightest oddity gave her all the warning she needed. A black long shadow slithered across the ground. Its movement resembled that of a snake, but she knew better. No snake would be this close to Applejack’s apple farm without good reason. She froze as she took notice of the strange obscurity. To her surprise, it responded as it too froze, realizing its cover had been blown.

Slowly, the shadow morphed from a flat surface to an object that was more three-dimensional. Its body was still pitch black, but more defined, almost pony-like. Long jagged ears came to a sharp point on its head, as well as a curved horn. Its body was skinny as well as its legs, giving it an almost malnourished look, making it creepier than before. Beady yellow eyes completed the creature's false-facsimile of a pony’s form, it’s gaze focused on the butter yellow pegasus. Fluttershy stared back at it, fear creeping throughout her being. It took a crooked step toward her. She turned to run on instinct, cursing the fact that she ever left the safety of her cottage. She did not get very far, however, as two more of the same pony shadows stood in her way.

She was surrounded now. With her wings too scared stiff to be used, she had nowhere to go. She was done for. She didn’t know how, she didn’t know why, but she just knew she was. She did the only reasonable option left to her.

She screamed.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, long and hard. She had felt that it was a useless gesture, but what else could she do? She watched as the scream only made the shadows falter for a second before they all lunged at her at once.

She closed her eyes and cowered low, prepared for the end. The sound of…well, she couldn’t even describe the sound, but it surely wasn’t what she was expecting. Daring to crack open an eye, she found herself not torn apart and bleeding on the ground. Opening her eyes fully, she found that somepony - a stallion - dressed in a black hoodie and shirt, was standing over her like a mother would a foal. Within the confines of his mouth, a giant silver key of some sort was held. It glowed with a dull white light, adding gentle illumination to the dark atmosphere. Her eyes strayed to the stallion’s face, finding sky blue eyes barely hidden by a chocolate brown mane she sported staring down at her, a look of gentle concern reflected in them. Her heart almost skipped a beat as he did so, a bright blush forming on her cheeks as she gazed back at the one before her. A sound quickly made the stallion switch his eyes to the front of him, a scowl forming on his face. She followed his gaze to find the three strange shadow ponies slowly recovering from the jumble they were in.

The sight of the key disappearing and the sound of his voice snapped her back to her savior.

“Heartless…”

"H-Heartless?" Fluttershy asked in a tone that was full of both wonder and fear. “W-wait...Who are you?”

“The name’s Sora, and I’m here to help!”

Sweetie Belle galloped as fast as her little legs would take her, eating up the distance towards the barn. With Applebloom busy prying Scootaloo from the tree and Sora’s incredible response to Fluttershy’s plight, it was up to her to find help.

Even in her panicked state, her mind raced with the obvious questions.

Just what were those things? Those shadows were moving. MOVING! They looked like something out of a bad science fiction movie. And that stallion. Just what the hay was he? How was he able to move that fast? Oh, and that key! Where did that even come from?!

The barn came into focus and Sweetie Belle shook her head harshly. She didn’t have time to come up with any answers. She had to get help.

Just as she neared the giant barn doors, they opened slightly, revealing a thoroughly distraught Applejack. She was dragging a bag of what Sweetie Bell could only assume was trash out with her teeth. Despite the loud music, the little filly could clearly hear her muttering something about this being the last time she let Pinkie anywhere near the barn with a potato canon.

The filly quickly made her way towards Applejack, which instantly made the farm mare’s eyes widen considerably at the sight of her. Dropping her charge, she turned to cast an accusing eye toward Sweetie Belle.

“And just what in tarnation are you doing here this late?!”

The filly stopped in front of her, doing her best to catch her breath and speak at the same time.

“A-Applejack… I… we…”

Applejack quickly reached out and gripped the little white unicorn by the hoof, dragging her to the open barn door. “Ya’ll was supposed to stay with Rarity’s parents this evening!”

Sweetie Belle struggled in her grasp trying to pull away. “Y-yeah… but…”

“Just wait till ah get Rarity!” She looked back to the struggling filly, “Speaking of which, just where the hey is Applebloom? If’n you’re here, then she ain’t too far behind, right? And Scootaloo, too. Landsakes! You three are sure to get a good talking to when-“

Sweetie Belle forcibly slipped her hoof away from the orange mare. “Fluttershy is in trouble!!”

Applejack did a double take. “Wait. What?”

She pointed a hoof behind her, her voice frantic and worried. “Over there! Fluttershy was about to get attacked by a bunch of… of… monsters! Sora is there fending them off, but-”

“Sora?” Isn’t that the pony this party was thrown for?”

Sweetie Belle nodded.

Applejack’s gaze wavered toward the barn as she spoke. “Sweetie Belle! Go find Twi and the others and tell ‘em what’s going on. She’ll be sure to get the rest together. I’m gonna go on ahead and see what’s goin’ on. Maybe help if I can.” Without waiting for a reply, she sped off, heading in the direction the white unicorn motioned to.

Fluttershy was at a loss for words. Though, to her credit, words probably wouldn’t have helped her either way. As she hid behind an apple tree, gentle green eyes filled with tears followed what she could only assume was impossible.

Her savior had twirled his body around in a horizontal slash, the key-like object swiping in an arc at one of the shadows, smacking it across the head without mercy and forcing it into a daze. In the same instance, the one to the left of him flew at him with hooves outstretched, jagged claws forming around the base of them. The stallion acted at the last second, jumping just over the attack and spinning once in the air as it passed under him. The result was the blade of the key relentlessly smacking the attacking shadow upon the back of the head. It added insult to injury when the resulting force caused it to collide into the dazed shadow.

With surprising grace, the stallion landed on the ground on all four hooves, then quickly ducked as another attempt was made to strike at him by the third creature. As the shadow landed and turned to face the boy, it was met with a series of slashes and side swipes across its face. After about the tenth strike, the stallion completely flipped over the shadow. He contorted until his body came out of the flip into a sideways twist. With a loud smack, the key connected to the flank of the shadow, sending it in the direction of the other recovering creatures.

Fluttershy could hardly believe that this random stallion was fighting against all three of those shadow monsters, and, despite the odds against him, he was the one that was on the winning side. With each slash that the monsters lashed out at him, he was quick to either deflect with that giant key or sidestep it completely, and though the monsters’ movements were indiscriminate at best, the stallion kept pace with them without even a blink of an eye.

He reminded her so much of…

“Rock Black…”

Rock Black the unicorn, the main character of her favorite story. He was a fallen prince who fought to protect the city of Neo-Neighpon from the monsters of Tartarus. He was kind and considerate, always taking on odds that were against him, always doing what he did because it was the right thing to do.

That wasn’t the reason this stallion reminded her of Rock, though.

Rock Black, despite all the good he did, still had darkness in his eyes. There was some hidden demon under the surface of his coat. She could, despite it only being a drawing, always see it in his eyes.

Her savior had the same look.

His eyes, while kind, had an undertone of darkness etched within him. She could see it when she first looked into them. A darkness so small, it would have gone by unnoticed by any normal pony. Her ability once again reared its head, showing her what lay in the depths of what other ponies didn’t see.

He had darkness, despite his overwhelming light.

Her mind quickly came back to reality as a sound pierced her ears. She caught, just in time, a glimpse of the stallion’s ‘key’ rearing upward in a fierce arc, slashing right through one of the shadows, cutting it in two. She had expected there to be something spewing from the creature’s body. What she didn’t expect was a red crystal heart to float upwards a bit before disappearing completely.

The stallion followed through with the slash with a quick twist in the air before landing a ways away from the remaining two monsters. She could not see his face, but from his body’s position, she knew that he was looking very confident about what transpired. A gentle blush formed on her cheeks and she was very glad nopony was around to see it.

Sora stood up straight as the Keyblade disappeared from his maw. “So, you are heartless.” The remaining monsters just stared at the Keybearer as he continued. “Just what are you doing here? I don’t think there's a keyhole here, so why?” He knew for a fact that, unless it was an extremely strong heart, normal heartless could not even begin to speak to him.

So he was completely surprised by what happened next.

“K...Ke...y..."

Sora reared back slightly. “W-what…?”

Both monsters took a step back as a grating voice pierced his ears once more.

“B....Bla...deeee....”

He narrowed his eyes as noticed the pair’s slow retreat. “H-Hey...Wait!”

The monsters slowly began to seep into a puddle of darkness, and even then their voice was heard clear as day. "K...Key... Blade...”

By the time the stallion realized it, it was too late. They were trying to get away. Keyblade reappearing in his mouth, he rushed forward in a vain attempt to seize them. He jumped and aimed the tip of his blade toward the puddles of darkness. Just as he reached the ground, though, the shadows dissipated, causing him to strike at nothing but dirt road. He stomped his hoof in frustration at the prospect of losing them, even giving off an animalistic snort.

With a slow, steady breath, he released his hold on the Key, allowing it to stand upright in the ground. “They...could talk...” He echoed the monster’s words.

Not this again. Sora’s brow furrowed. Is it Xemnas? Ansem? Are the Organization here too? Who else could it be? But then… How did they get here? Are they still after me?

He sighed at the prospect of having to deal with that jerk again. Riku was the Keyblade master now. Why didn’t they bother him instead?

Why don’t they just go after him and leave me-

His heart panged slightly, a slight pain erupting into its very depths. He reached a hoof toward his chest, gripping his shirt slightly. “No...Stop Sora...I...”

His silent ramblings were cut off at the sound of someone approaching. Just as he turned, he was barely able to register the warmth of the body as yellow wrapped around his neck as he was pulled into a tight hug. A neatly styled but slightly frazzled pink mane hid most of her face from his view. Despite that he could feel his neck fur dampening from heated water as the mare that held him cried on his shoulder. Sora could only hover his hooves over her, not really knowing what he should do or how he should do it. He had never dealt with a crying girl before. That was always Riku’s department.

Riku always got the girls.

She pulled away from him for a bit so that he could see her face. Tears streamed down her delicate features, causing the stallion to become rigid at the sight.

“I… I’m so glad you’re alright…” she said in between sobs. “I was so scared and… and…” Her sobs returned, a bit stronger than before, and she buried her face into his chest. The young stallion scratched his cheek with a hoof as he looked off to the side, surprised to see two of the three fillies that had been with him earlier. The yellow one, red-faced with furrowed brow, and the orange one, her mane messed up slightly and her face contorted in a look of total amazement, were both watching the exchange between him and the mare. For some reason, that made the poor boy blush a deeper shade of red.

“Fluttershy!” A new voice rang out, her accent heavy with southern drawl. “What’s goin’ on? Is everything alright?”

All eyes turned to find an orange pony with a stetson standing a ways off, slightly out of breath. The yellow pegasus sniffed as she let Sora go, and, after mouthing thank you, she quickly turned to the new pony and rushed toward her, wrapping her hooves around her in a tight embrace. The freckled orange mare was surprised at first, but then placed a hoof on the back of the other’s head, patting it gently.

Sora smiled as well at the exchange before turning away. He placed a hoof on his keyblade and furrowed his brow slightly. At least he knew the reason he was here now.

This is not good… not good at all…

A pony, completely covered in a dark tattered cloak, stood behind a tree, completely out of sight from everypony present. Even under their hood, an aura of hate could be seen radiating off their body. A hoof stomped once; twice; three times in frustration at the turn of events. It was clear that nothing went according to plan, and, at the sight of four other ponies converging upon the little gathering, the cloaked pony felt that a counterattack would be ill-suited. It was time to take their leave. Before they did, however, the figure’s sharp eyes stared straight at the purple unicorn pony approaching with a few others not far behind and glared.

“Your friend got lucky, Twilight.” The voice, clearly female, was sharp and spiteful. “Very, very lucky…” Her gaze fell upon the stallion. “For an actual keybearer to be here… now of all times…” She spat on the ground. “Master will not like this. Not. One. Bit.”

A black portal opened behind her and she slowly entered into it, allowing it to swallow her up before disappearing completely.

Fluttershy tried her best to hide the blush on her cheeks as she placed a cup of tea beside Sora, the poor mare squeaking a “You’re welcome.” When he had thanked her. She knew that he was being interrogated by her friends, but that still didn’t mean that he had to go without good hospitality. Besides, pouring him a cup of tea was the least she could do for the stallion after he had saved her from those… those shadows. Still, she covered up her reasons for helping him by making her way around the room and pouring tea for everypony else present. It lessened the effect of her gesture, but still provided her with at least some ease.

Twilight too thanked the shy pegasus before taking a sip of the hot beverage and placing it on the table. Her purple eyes then turned to Sora, whose gaze was that of uncertainty. She had so many questions for him. Actual shadows attacking ponies all of a sudden with no real reason is strange in itself, but this stallion being able to fight them off isn’t something one should ignore either. Not to mention that It always seems like he is hiding something from her. She could just feel it every time she talked to him. Her need to know made her more anxious than usual. She needed to know what they were dealing with. Not just with the shadows, but with him as well; if not for her sake, then for the sake of all of Equestria.

“OK then, Sora,” Twilight began. “I know this is a bit...well...Mean. I don’t want to lessen what you did to help my friend Fluttershy. Celestia knows that you saved her...” The mare’s gaze became like steel.. “Be that as it may, she said you knew what they were. You being here and them attacking ponies is something that I don’t think i can call a coincidence. So, do you mind telling us who or what in the hay those things were?”

Sora set his cup down, doing his best not to spill, and sighed before looking between the seven pairs of eyes looking at him expectantly. He was glad that the fillies from earlier were fast asleep by the time they had reached Twilight’s library, Applebloom opting to rest under the orange mare that was named Applejack, Sweetie Belle lying next to Rarity, and Scootaloo laying by herself on the other end of the couch. Each one’s gentle snores were the only constant noise within the confines of the tree. He did not want to involve any of these girls in this long going war, let alone little children, ironically enough, but he did at least owe them some type of explanation. One of them was attacked, after all.

With some reluctance, he began with a single word. “They’re called Heartless.”

Twilight's ears perked and she shivered ever so slightly. “Heartless…” She let the name roll around on her tongue. Sure she had heard from Fluttershy already that Sora had called them that, but the name still made her feel uneasy for some reason.

“Yep. Heartless. They are...Um...” The caramel stallion folded his arms about his chest and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he opened them again. “How did the Master explain this again? Oh! I know. Let me ask this. What's a heart?”

Twilight pondered for a second before answering. “Well, a heart is a vital organ within somepony’s body. It is a cardiac muscle composed of four inner chambers. The chambers are responsible for pumping blood throughout the body. The circulating blood delivers important nutrients and oxygen to tissues while bringing back toxins and wastes for filtering. The heart is also fired by electrical impulses.” the lavender unicorn smiled brightly. “OH! A little factoid as it were! The four chambers of the heart are called atria and ventricles. The atria are located at the top half and the ventricles on the bottom. The left side of the heart is responsible for circulating oxygenated blood into the body, while the right side takes deoxygenated blood and pumps it back into the lungs. It's always so fascinating to..." She smiled expectantly towards everypony before frowning at the blank looks they were all giving her. "What?"

Sora rubbed the back of his head. “I...ah...Don’t think that's what I mean. I was talking more about...hmm” He paused as he placed a hoof to his chest. “I meant more like feelings in the heart. Like when someone says to follow your heart or something like that.” He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry...My master explains it alot better then I can.”

Fluttershy raised her hoof like a little school filly before asking. “You said master...What do you mean by that? ...if you don't mind me asking, that is.”

“Oh! Master Yin Sid is a former keyblade master I’m training under. He’s kinda strange and kinda mean but he always knows everything and everyone trusts him.”

A cyan mare, who Sora has yet to be introduced to, blew a bit of her rainbow colored mane out of her face. “Really deep there, buddy.”

“Well to be fair.” Applejack chimed in. “Don’t we do the same thing for the Princesses, Dash? Ah mean trust her and she knows stuff and what not.”

Rainbow huffed as she looked away, not quite knowing how to come back with a good snappy remark to her friends' words except, “Whatever…”

The boy rubbed the back of his head with a hoof once again. “Anyway, if I actually remember what he said correctly, He told us that peo-ah...ponies are composed of three things. The heart, which contains emotions, the soul, which carries out the heart’s orders, and...umm... The body, that serves as a vessel to the heart and the soul.”

Twilight, who had been quietly writing all that she heard, spoke up. “It...sounds strange but...What you’re saying actually makes some sort of sense in a in-direct, simplified sort of way, but what does that have to do with the Heartless?”

“Well,” Sora continued, “The heartless steal hearts from other creatures, which in turn, makes them into heartless as well.”

Rarity shuddered as she pulled a now visibly shivering Fluttershy closer to her as everyone within the room began to realize just how lucky the poor mare was that Sora was there to save her if what he said was true.

Applejack was next to speak, patting the sleeping Applebloom on the head as she did so. “If that’s the case, sugarcube, then why are they appearing now? I’ve never seen anything like them in all my years of living.”

“And I’ve never read anything about these creatures in any of my books.” Twilight added, still quite shaken. “Believe me I would know. I read them all.”

Rainbow flew toward Sora and started to poke his chest with a hoof. “Kinda odd since they only appeared here after you showed up, isn’t it?” There was an accusing tone to her voice that Sora did not like one bit. “How do we know that you're not the one who made them show up, huh?”

Rarity looked aghast at the accusation. “Rainbow! He’s the one who saved Fluttershy! Even if he was somehow responsible for bringing them here, which I highly doubt I might add, he has taken responsibility and made up for it two fold.”

“Oh please! Do you hear yourself Raras” Rainbow spat. “Just because you’re the first to fall for a pretty face doesn’t mean I have to trust him too! For all we know he could be a spy!” Both Rarity and Spike growled at the cyan mare, for different reasons to be sure. Pinkie, on the other hoof, jumped onto Rainbow’s back from above, tackling her to the ground.

“Oh, you mean how like me, Spike, and Twilight were when we snuck into Canterlot? We were all dressed in black and sneaking around and I was laughing and laughing and laughing the whole way. Oh! That reminds me, I still have to buy a flugelhorn at Jack’s Joke Shop for back at the Cakes’ bakery. Though the Cakes said I'm not allowed to play back at the bakery due to the twins being there. So now I'll just have to set it on my desk with all of my other stuff I’ve collected over the years. Like my foam finger and the Grand Galloping Gala Ticket and Pandora’s box and an orange ball with 3 stars on it and my safety net and -”

"Wait!" Twilight interrupted as her ears perked up. "What did you say just now?"

“My safety net.” Pinkie answered happily.

“No, before that.”

“My foam finger?”

“No… Wait… I… Oh, never mind. We’re getting off topic here anyway.” The lavender mare sighed tiredly. Regaining her composure, she turned to Sora. “I… really don’t know what to think of all this right now, Sora, but if you say they are bad news, then for now, I can believe you. And since you did save my friend, I can at least trust that hurting us or any other pony isn’t what you want to do. I do want answers, however, and I plan on getting them one way or another. I was planning on waiting a while, to see what I could gleam from you myself but now...We can’t not let the Princesses know what is going on here." She turned to the little purple dragon that was by her side. “Spike! Take a letter."

Sora blew his breath upon the window he stared out of, collecting a sizable amount of condensation upon it. A change in scenery was always good to soothe a troubled mind. A train ride even more so. The gentle clack of the train’s movement seemed to set his soul at ease somewhat. Maybe it had something to do with his time in Twilight Town. Or...was that Roxas. In any case, he allowed his mind to catch up on events. He, Twilight, and the others were summoned to arrive at their earliest convenience after Twilight had sent that letter via Spikemail, which was strange in itself but he didn’t question it. She had requested to meet him though and that was kinda worrying. He had never really had the best time dealing with those in charge. Donald would always give him an earful whenever he didn’t do his due diligence when talking with King Mickey. How was he supposed to remember to always bow or what not. Riku never does anyway.

The boy closed his eyes and sighed deeply, his mind swimming with uncertainty and slight dread at what might happen. Sure, he was tired; waking up at seven in the morning after a long night of partying and fighting would put anyone in a dour mood, but he would always have to conduct himself in a “Stallion like manor!” as Twilight had put it.

It didn’t help matters that this “Princess Celestia” was a goddess.

Well, goddess might be pushing it, but that’s what his line of thinking came to when Twilight fully explained who Princess Celestia and Luna were. Sora had seen worlds of water and islands in the sky; he had traveled dangerous seas and had flown to the farthest reaches of space, but never in all of his travels had he ever heard of a being literally able to bring the day and night at will. It was a little disconcerting.

And he really hated to admit it...but it was a little cool. Riku and Kairi would be…

Sora’s gaze shifted towards the ground at the thought of his two friends, a solemn moment passing before he regained his composure.

Still he did learn something valuable. Two simple facts that he would never forget.

Number one: Twilight loved to lecture.

He’d never seen someone so enthralled by just informing someone with the information they had. He had to admit, it surprised him to see her so happy about it. It made him happy to see her smile.

The second thing he learned: Never interrupt Twilight’s lecture.

Such a mistake would never be made again by the caramel stallion. Never… ever… again. He shuddered at the result of coming to said conclusion. Maleficent could not even hold a candle to this girl’s fury.

His gaze would shift back towards the window lazily, being greeted by a pair of deep blue irises staring back at him.

Wait… that’s not right. A window should reflect, not stare back.

“HI!”

Sora yelped in startled surprise as he fell back into the walkway of the train, the sight of Pinkie Pie on the other side of the window he had just been looking out of completely surprising the poor boy. Pinkie giggled happily and opened the window, carefully sliding through it and plopping her flank on the seat that Sora had just occupied.

“Whoops! Sorry, Sora,” the pink party mare apologized in a far too happy tone. “I was just trying to surprise you, but it looks like I somehow managed to startle you instead.”

Sora, to his credit, just smiled back at his new companion. “It's okay. Just wasn’t expecting it at all.” He lifted himself up and sat next to her. “I’m sorry for being startled instead of surprised.”

Pinkie smiled brighter than ever as he did so. “Apology accepted!”

After a few moments of silence between the two of them, the boy would ask, “So… do you need something, Pinkie?”

Her gaze then fell upon him and she began to breathe in. No...That wasn’t right. It was more like she just cast a spell on him and was sucking his very being into her body. He could barely move or speak. Thoughts seemed to jumble within him as every inch of his being screamed at him to make a run for it before it was too late. He didn’t know why though. This mare had been nothing but kind to him. Free food. Free party. Free hugs. She was the living definition of good first impressions. And yet...

Sora would notice that Pinkie Pie had finished sucking up all life-giving oxygen all around her.

And then she did the only logical thing left for her to do.

She talked.

“That should keep him busy for a while,” Rainbow snickered.

She and the other four mares sat in the back of the train and watched as Pinkie began to talk about anything and everything that came to her mind. From cakes to ladders, nothing was too minor or major for her topic of choice. Rainbow felt a tinge of gratification as she watched Sora’s reaction. The stallion seemed to have already been broken by the first few rapid subjects the pink party pony had thrown his way, only able to stare at the mare with wide eyes and a scrunched muzzle.

Twilight sighed as she watched the mare and the stallion as well. “Hopefully he’ll be fully recovered by the time we reach Canterlot. We need him at least semi coherent. Now then, onto the subject of… him.” She motioned toward Sora. “What do you girls think of him?”

“I don’t trust him!” Rainbow harrumphed.

“You made that clear already, Rainbow,” Twilight responded.

“At the train station,” Applejack continued.

“And the library this morning.” Rarity rolled her eyes.

“Last night as well…” Fluttershy whispered.

Rainbow blinked. “Oh. So yeah, that’s my verdict. How about you, Fluttershy?”

The shy pegasus blushed brightly when she was called upon. “W-well… I don’t know, he seems like a nice pony. And while I do think he’s hiding something, I don’t believe that he would endanger us if he could help it. He seemed really reluctant to share the information he had with us...but...I think he wants to try to protect us from whatever is going on-”

“Or maybe he’s just trying to lull you into a false sense of security,” Rainbow spat.

Fluttershy continued, despite the interruption. “Still… I… I think I can trust him.” That answer somewhat surprised the mares.

“I think he is a proper gentlecolt as well,” Rarity mused. “and he has yet to prove to me otherwise. He may be a little naïve here and there but he has my complete and utter trust.”

“Be that as it may, sugarcube, Fluttershy is right about one thing. Sora does seem to know a lot more than he’s letting on.” Applejack folded her forehooves about her chest. “He may not have lied to us, but he ain't tellin’ the whole truth either.” She turned her gaze toward the window, watching the land pass her by. “Now, I don’t know if I can trust him or not, and I don’t know if those monsters - those Heartless - were there because of him neither, but he did save Fluttershy, and I can’t ignore somethin’ like that. I won’t judge that pony before I get to know ‘em. Ma vote will be abstained till then.”

“So that’s two for trusting, one for not trusting and one indecisive.” She used her magic to pop out a quill and paper next to her, marking down her findings. “I, myself, believe that he can’t be trusted right now. Too many unanswered questions for my taste.” She marked the untrusting box once more. “So right now, it’s a tie.”

“What about Pinkie?”

At Rainbows question they all turned to where the mare was sitting, her mouth still moving a mile a minute. The topic seemed to have been diverted to dirt somehow. Sora seemed to have been frozen in place, his left and right eye slowly but surely moving away from each other as if trying to escape the onslaught of Pinkie’s... Pinkieness.

“Yeah… let’s just leave her for now.” Twilight said. “Anyway, we can at least all agree to watch him for now, yes? At least until we see the princesses.”

“Of course, darling. I’ll be watching him very closely.”

“Darn tootin’.”

“He won’t be able to escape the eyes of The Dash.”

“I… I don’t mind watching him… I mean, if that’s OK with you guys…”

“Good.” Twilight smiled broadly. “Once we meet the princesses, we can finally solve the mystery that is Sora the Keybearer in no time.”

“Ugh...And I thought Donald was the talkative one...”

Sora trotted beside the yellow pegasus, keeping his voice low so as to not to be heard. He silently ranted to her about the last two hours he had been subjected to the mare that was named Pinkie Pie. He could feel his brain physically decaying as he listened to the mare’s non-stop talking. He was able to regain his composure, however, when he was jutted from his Pinkie-induced coma by the sudden stop of the train. His body had regained its ability to move, and move it did, doing its level best to distance itself from the mare as quickly as possible. He was thankful that she had let him go, for he knew that he was at her mercy before and would have been again if she so chose.

That thought scared him very deeply.

The other girls had walked a bit ahead of them, with Rainbow Dash hovering in the sky, close enough to Sora and Fluttershy so that she could react if need be and listen in on them, but far enough away so that she didn’t have to partake in their conversation. Though she was trying her best not to laugh at Sora’s expense.

“Um…” Fluttershy’s gaze kept shifting from the ground of the streets of Canterlot to caramel stallion himself as she spoke. “Sorry about Pinkie. She can get very excitable sometimes.” She knew that they had used Pinkie to distract him for a good reason but It still made her feel bad about it. “I hope you don’t hate her. She really is a nice mare.”

Sora shook his head. “I-I don’t hate her, Fluttershy. I don't think I ever could to be honest. I was just surprised.” He smiled lightly. “Anyways...this place, Canterlot, is really amazing. I've been to a few castles before but this one is just...well...On a way different level.”

He twisted his head this way and that, taking in the sights of the impressiveness that was the capital of Equestria. He couldn’t help but look in awe at the city he and the others were strolling through. Fancy buildings littered the streets, and well-dressed ponies, mostly unicorns, passed by them with little notice. He couldn’t help but notice that most of the ponies had their muzzle in the air with their eyes closed. He was starting to wonder how they did that.

“Well, I guess so… I don’t really like coming here that much. Its so big and scary...and Kind of different from what I'm use to.” She lowered her head slightly.

Sora tilted his head slightly. “Really?" He paused as he tapped hoof to his chin. “Well I guess I can see where you are coming from. But you can’t say that you’re not excited about it.”

“E-excited? I don't...I mean...”

Sora beamed. “Yeah! Especially when you are with your friends. Even if you’re scared, with your friends by your side you can overcome anything and have fun doing it.”

“I...Um…” Fluttershy’s eyes met his, causing her to blush a little. “D-Do you really think so?”

Sora nodded, “Sure do. I remember when I was eight; I was lost in the forest near my village with my friend Riku.” He shook his head as he smiled. “He dared me to go in with him, to prove that I wasn’t a scaredy cat.”

“Oh my! That’s just so mean of your friend.”

“Well, yeah, I guess so, but I really don't think he meant anything by it for real. That's just kinda how we were back then.” He chuckled. “He and I entered into the forest and instantly became lost. It was very scary, to be sure. I think I was so scared I almost started cry.” The caramel stallion kept his gaze forward as he spoke. “I still remember what he told me when he saw that I was scared, though.”

“W-what was that?” Fluttershy asked with gaining interest.

Sora smiled lightly. “He told me that even if we got lost in there forever, I’d always have him by my side. So shut up and stop whining.” Sora laughed softly at the memory. “He told me that even though he had tears in his eyes too...But...It did make me feel better cause I had my best friend Riku by my side.”

“That was… kind of mean, but…” She smiled as well. “I can see that he must have been a very good friend to you.”

“Yeah… Good friend…” Sora lowered his head slightly. “So what does that make me?”

“Sora?” Fluttershy strained her ears, not quite catching what he said.

“Oh! I-It’s nothing, Fluttershy!” He pointed a hoof straight ahead. “Come on, we’re falling behind.” She looked forward to see an annoyed Rainbow Dash floating with her forehooves crossed. “I really don’t think I want to keep her waiting. I think I’m already on her list as it is.” He nudged her side slightly with his flank, thinking nothing of it, before running off ahead of her. Unknown to him, Fluttershy's wings twitched ever so slightly after the contact.

“Oh… M-My…”

Sora’s eyes widened as his little group neared the gates of the castle. This was not the first castle he had ever been to, not by a long shot, and each one he saw was just as amazing as the last. Still, the palace of Canterlot was just plain magnificent. Polished white flooring and tile seemed to make the clopping of his hooves louder than he expected. Columns of grand design supported beautifully designed ceilings he could never have imagined. Grand decorations accented many, if not all of the rooms he passed. What really caught his eyes, however, were the stained glass windows, the beams of sunlight shining through them, strengthening the effect of their brilliance. He watched as many ponies seemed to busy themselves doing one thing or another. It was all rather impressive to the wayward stallion.

So wrapped up was he in the scene that he scarcely knew that someone was behind him until…

“Welcome to Canterlot, Twilight and company.”

Sora yelped as he jumped high in the air, his wings flaring outward in surprise. He was able to flap them once before falling back to the ground with a resounding thud. He lay sprawled out on the ground, blushing brightly in embarrassment as the gruff laughter of Rainbow Dash reached his ears.

“Oh? Um… Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to scare ya.”

Sora looked up to find a mare with silver royal guard armor standing in front of him. Her coat was pure white and her eyes bright amber. She looked rather young, probably in her early twenties. A horn poked from the top of her head. He could tell that she was very sincere with her apology, but it still bugged him that she still seemed very amused with his reaction.

“Dream Drop.” Twilight smiled broadly. Whether it was for the newcomer or at Sora’s expense, he would never know. “It’s good to see you.”

“Same to you, Twilight. All the guards miss seeing ya around the castle now that you’ve gone to Ponyville.” She looked between everypony behind the lavender unicorn. “These must be your friends. The other Elements of Harmony, am I right?”

“Yes. Allow me to introduce you...” She went through all of her friends’ names, ending with Fluttershy. She then pointed a hoof at the stallion who had yet to get off the ground. “And this is Sora. We’re taking him to meet the princesses.”

Dream Drop smiled and held a hoof toward the downed stallion. “It’s a pleasure, Sora. You must feel so lucky to be surrounded by all these mares. I hope you’re taking good care of them.” She gave him a sly wink.

Sora tilted his head as he looked at the mare in question. “Well, it's more like they’ve been helping me. But if they are ever in trouble, you can bet I’ll be there to save them.”

“Pfft,” Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “I can take care of myself just fine. We don't need him.”

“Is that so?” Dream Drop smiled shrewdly and draped a hoof around Sora’s neck, drawing him uncomfortably close to her. “Well if that’s the case, then you wouldn’t mind if I took him off you hooves?” she smiled wryly, “I really wouldn’t mind a minute or two with such a cute little stallion of a pegasus.”

Many displayed upon the small group, most of which were either shock, confusion or disdain, and coming from all but two of the mares in the group.

In Pinkie’s case, it was blissful happiness.

In Twilight's case, it was utter annoyance.

The lavender unicorn just rolled her eyes before saying, “Dream Drop, I know you like to tease ponies but now is not the time for jokes. We need to see the Princesses for a really important matter.”

Dream Drop pouted at Twilight’s words “Ugh, Fine. Same old studious Twilight, I see. You really need to pay more attention to the stallions around you.” She looked back toward Sora. “Or else you’ll miss all the good ones.” She made her way to the front and motioned for them to follow her.

Rarity opted to walk alongside Sora, a menacing glare etched across her features. “Really! Who does she think she is, treating you like that? Very uncouth indeed.” She turned to look toward the stallion. “Are you OK, darling? Did she hurt you in any way?”

“Ah… N-no… I’m fine.” The poor colt touched a hoof to his cheek, feeling the warmth off them. She called me cute? Am I cute? Actually I never really looked at my face...like...really looked I guess...I guess I could be cute. And she was really cute to-

Sora squeaked at what he was thinking just now.

Why am I thinking that a pony was cute? Well the ponies are cute. Shockingly so. It's more than that though. They are cute, but it really felt different with that guard pony...Dream Drop right?

The kid shook his head before turning to Rarity. He didn’t know why, but this line of thinking was...Well...He didn’t know what it was but he really needed a distraction.

“Hey, Rarity, what are the Elements of Harmony?”

Rarity gasped. “You mean you don’t know?” At the shake of his head, she continued with a thoughtful look. “I guess that’s not too surprising. It hasn’t been that long since they reappeared after all and honestly not too many ponies know about them anyway.” A smile appeared on her face as she turned back to face him. “The Elements, Laughter, Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, and Magic, represent the spirit of friendship. My friends and I are the Element’s vessels.”

Sora nodded in understanding. “So, which one are you?”

“Well, I am Generosity, of course.” She flipped her hair back, giving him a kind smile. “I’m always giving to my friends, no matter what.” She eyed him expectedly.

The young stallion smiled widely. “Should have known. You really helped me out back in Ponyville. And all for nothing too. Honestly I still feel a little bad not pay you.”

“Oh Pish Posh!” Rarity waved with a hoof. “Parish that thought my dear. I was happy to help you and I won’t have you owing me anything. Honestly I got quite a bit from you anyway from your clothing design. Besides, helping and trusting my friends is something I will always do. And that extends to you too.”

Sora’s eyes widned. “Friends? With Me?”

She allowed her flank to nudge his own, causing the pegasus’s wings to twitch and his cheeks to lighten.

“Sora, you are a kind gentlecolt. I could see that the first time I met you.” She looked away from him and towards the girls in front. “You may have your secrets, but honestly, I can tell that you are a good pony and if nothing else, I think I can trust you. Think you can trust me?”

Sora lowered his head slightly at her words. “I...Do. Honestly, all of you have been more than kind to me...but…”

She raised an eyebrow and nodded once. “I understand.” She walked off ahead of him, but not before looking over her shoulder. “If you ever need somepony to talk to, my door is always open, Sora.” She gave him one quick wink before heading off to join the rest of her friends.

“Trusting my friends…” Sora said softly. “Did...they not trust me?” He sighed softly before following after the others.

Though there were only a few ponies within the throne chamber that were interesting to look at, Sora knew exactly who the two that were in charge around here. The dark one was the first one he noticed as soon as he had walked into the beautiful room. She was midnight blue in color with a mane that looked as though it were the night sky itself, flowing endlessly by some unseen force. Despite her tired expression, she seemed to carry a bit of an air about her; not haughty or arrogant, but prim and proper. She seemed to be looking toward the group… no… wait… She was looking at him with a curious gaze. He tilted his head and smiled, causing the dark mare’s eyes to widen slightly before she turned her face to a neutral expression.

He continued to stare, however, causing a partly concealed blush to appear on her face. The mare turned her face away from him and closed her eyes, making him even more confused than before.

Leaving the dark one be, he turned his gaze to the other mare. Taller than the dark one, she had the same sparkling flowing mane, but this one glowed of three different pastel colors, almost like a diluted rainbow but not at all less beautiful. She held a smile that seemed to shine just as brightly as the sun that he knew that she controlled. Upon seeing Sora and the others, she stood from her throne and slowly made her way toward them, the midnight blue pony following soon after.

“Twilight, my most faithful student, so good to see you and your friends.”

“Princess Celestia. Princess Luna.” Everypony bowed low before the monarch.

Everypony, that is, except Sora.

His eyes went wide at the sound of the now familiar voice and then narrowed a second later as he continued to stare at white pony.

No way… It… it can’t be, but…

A nagging feeling tickled the back of his mind. He could not stop himself from looking towards her flank. Upon it was a symbol he had seen before. The symbol of a beautifully crafted sun. The same sun that was upon that door that bright him to this world.

He went to step forward, but was stopped as something probed inside of his mind. It felt powerful, yet gentle, both at the same time. He stopped in his tracks as he felt a voice talking to him; not from his ears, but from inside his head.

Be still, little Keybearer. We will talk in due time.

His gaze met the white one’s own and her head tilted slightly as they stared at one another. Despite his growing concern, he did as he was told. Despite that however, so many questions started to race though his mind.

“Sora!”

The caramel stallion stiffened at the sound of his name and looked to the side of him to find a very angry-looking lavender unicorn staring straight up at him from her bowed position.

“What are you doing?! Bow!”

It took him a second to register what she had said, and when he did he found himself dipping into a bow like them. In his haste, however, he seemed to overextend himself and quite forcibly hit his forehead upon the marble floor. A muted thud and a hardly audible ‘ow’ were the only indications that he felt anything from his motions at all.

The sun princess stifled a giggle before she spoke. “Please rise, my little ponies, no need to be so formal. We have much to discuss after all.” As everypony rose, Celestia made her way to Twilight and nuzzled her affectionately before turning to Sora. “I was told a lot about you in Twilight’s letter, Sora. If it is any indication, it was you who saved Fluttershy from a terrible fate.”
“Yeah...I mean yes Ma’am.” the young stallion stuttered.

She smiled again as she made her way in front of him. “Then please accept my thanks in the matter. I would be remiss if anything ill befell any of my little ponies.” She dipped her head, allowing her gaze to be level with his own.

Sora just blushed and looked away, scratching the back of his head bashfully. “It was nothing, really. I couldn’t let someone get hurt if I knew I could protect them.” He was used to helping others. He would do so all the time. It was another matter to be thanked for doing so. He never did quite get used to that.

“Be that as it may, I am in your debt, as I am sure young Fluttershy is as well.” A high squeak sounded to her right, but she ignored it. Instead she closed her eyes and sighed deeply. “I fear, though, that what was mentioned in Twilight’s letter must be discussed with haste. What I have feared has been confirmed to its fullest extent I am afraid. That ‘He’ has indeed returned to Equestria.”

“Wait, what?!” Twilight could not help herself. “What do you mean returned?! Who’s returned?!

Celestia turned to walk past Sora and the others. She stopped when she reached the middle of the throne room and turned her head back to face them. Despite all of her years of practice at keeping her emotions in check, the princess could not help but sigh in despair. Her voice, when she spoke, was filled with the same emotion. “The Dark King of the Crystal Kingdom… Sombra.”

Canterlot Castle: Throne Room…

“King Sombra?” Sora’s words cut through the silence that had followed the princess’s words.

“Yes, my little ponies,” Celestia sighed. “The dark king of the Crystal Empire and the master of powerful dark magic.”

“Excuse me, your highness,” Twilight spoke up. “But I’ve never heard of the Crystal Empire before, or of this King Sombra pony. None of the books I own even mentioned anything like this. N-Not that I am doubting you or anything...but...”

Celestia smiled reassuringly towards her student. “It is quite alright Twilight. I can understand your confusion. The reason that you have never found anything is because everything about Sombra and the Empire was all but forgotten.” The Princess closed her eyes. “Even my sister and I had lost almost all memory of the Empire.”

Luna stepped forward with a grim expression upon her face. “It felt as though our memories of that time were plucked from our consciousness as if they were a ripe apple from off a tree to be never seen again, only for them to return as if nothing were amiss. ‘Tis an unsettling feeling to be sure.”

Sora sat on his haunches, folded his arms about his chest and closed his eyes. Why does this sound so familiar? Like… It’s almost like… that time with the pictures of me and my-

A sharp pain rang through Sora’s head and he quickly clasped a hoof to his head, shaking it slightly.

Wait… d-did that really happen? I don’t remember…

The voice of Twilight had snapped him out of his own confused thoughts. “How can such magic exist? And for it to affect even the two of you, two princesses.”

The midnight alicorn huffed. “The magic of the Heartless has always been strange and powerful, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna’s horn began to glow from the tip with a deep blue light. At the peak of its shine, she shot a beam towards the ground. The light was brighter than Sora could have imagined, having to hold a hoof in front of his eyes to shield them.

When the light subsided and he could see again, the blood in his veins ran as cold as ice. A strange little creature was standing there, one not unlike the ones that Sora had fought the other day, except this one was much smaller with a round head and body, and claw-like hands and feet. Bright yellow eyes glowed with un-pony like light, a light that shook everypony present to the core.

“A Heartless!” Sora jumped up in front of the girls and, in a quick flash of luminescence, summoned his keyblade. Every pony present, with the exception of Twilight and the princesses, all gasped as he did so. His eyes alight with the fire of battle, the young stallion stood ready to defend himself and everypony in the room until his last breath. The only thing stopping him from charging head first towards the creature was the sound of Luna’s voice.

“Be still, gallant Wielder of the Key, ‘tis only an illusion.” The midnight pony motioned towards the shadow of a heartless. “From what Twilight’s letter has told us, Sora has explained these creatures, but a first hoof look says more than words ever could.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “You mean these things are the Heartless? Pfft! I bet I can take it down in ten seconds flat.”

“Now hang on there, R.D.,” Applejack spoke in her country drawl. “Just cause they look harmless doesn’t mean they are. I mean, look at it. it does look a mite' devilish, doesn’t it?”

“And ghastly too,” Rarity added. “Black isn’t very slimming on them, is it?”

“Aww! Come on guys! I think it looks kinda cute in a creepy sort of way.” Everypony watched as Pinkie waved a hoof through the illusion, causing it to distort in odd ways. “Oooo! Wavy!”

Fluttershy had somehow made her way behind Sora, peering at the creature with both distaste and fear. “I-It wasn’t so cute when it tried to attack me last night.” She shuddered at the memory.

Rainbow couldn’t help but fold her ears back at Fluttershy’s statement.

Twilight, on the other hoof, was more intrigued by the look than anything else, opting to stay silent in contemplation; that is, until a thought occurred to her. “Wait!" She turned to the stallion. "Sora. Didn’t you say the heartless you fought looked kind of like ponies?”

Sora looked between the Heartless illusion and Twilight before letting his key dissipate in a flash of light. “Oh yeah! That’s right, Twilight.” He turned to the princesses. “I have fought these types before, but the ones from last night looked more…ah…equ…ekia…eu…”

“Equine, Sora,” Twilight finished.

Sora looked back at her and smiled broadly. “Yeah, that’s it!”

Celestia’s eyes widened at the new information. “Are you sure, Keyblade Wielder?” At his nod, her countenance seemed to take a slight nosedive into the negative territory. “That… is troubling,” she spoke under her breath. Before anypony could ask what she had said, she addressed the stallion. “Sora. I fear that we may be in more trouble than I had suspected.”

“Wait, why are you telling him, your highness?” Rainbow asked, looking at Sora with narrowed eyes.

“Because, my little pony, in the face of darkness only the light can prevail.” She motioned towards the stallion. “And Sora is the light we need to face this darkness.”

The rainbow maned pegasus gave the most confused of looks. “I… don’t get it.”

“Well duh, Dashie. She’s saying that only one who wields the keyblade can truly defeat the Heartless.” Pinkie smiled as all eyes turned to her once again, dumbfounded expressions accompanying all of their faces. The pink party pony looked between them before shrugging. "Well it's the truth."

Celestia was the first to recover, smiling softly at the pink mare. “Well… yes, that is exactly what I am saying. The only way to truly defeat a Heartless is if you were to wield a keyblade.”

“Is that so?” Before anypony could blink, Rainbow had zoomed towards the stallion with a hoof held out. “Okay buddy, hand it over.”

Sora blinked before frowning at her. “What?”

“The keyblade, dummy. Why don’t you let real heroes take on this darkness stuff and you can go and have a cupcake somewhere.”

The caramel coated stallion blinked slowly before a smile graced his lips. “Heh. Okay, sure.” Summoning his keyblade once again, he tossed it towards the waiting pegasus, Rainbow catching it in her hoof in one swift motion. It was much heavier then she had anticipated, but she could make do.

That was until the blade vanished in a gentle glow of light, reappearing within Sora’s smirking mouth without hesitation before he made it vanish again.

Rainbow stared at the hoof that had once held Sora’s keyblade before frowning at its wielder. “Hey! What gives?”

Princess Celestia stifled the giggle that had tried to escape her before answering Rainbow’s question for Sora. “I am sorry, Rainbow, but only those made into a Keyblade Wielder can wield a Keyblade.” She held out a hoof to Sora. “If you would…”

Sora nodded and summoned the key once more, this time the blade appearing in his hoof instead of his mouth. He beamed at his little accomplishment before he placed the object into Celestia’s own outstretched hoof. In a quick flash of light, the blade disappeared from the regal hoof of the princess and reappeared in Sora’s mouth once again.

“The blade cannot be used by anypony except a Keyblade Wielder,” Celestia said after letting her hoof down. "Not even I can force it to listen to my command."

Rainbow frowned before turning to scowl at the young stallion, who seemed to have the most shit-eattingest of grins upon his face. Turning away, the mare scoffed. I can’t believe that twirp! He got me good!

“You said that the power of light can defeat these heartless, right?” Twilight voiced, cutting through Rainbow’s internal struggle. “Then what about the Elements of Harmony?”

Luna shook her head. “As far as we know, the elements, while powerful, are just not enough, at least not after being in a dormant state so long. They need time to gather their original power.”

“Besides, my most faithful student,” Celestia continued. “Only a Keyblade can truly free a pony’s heart if they have been corrupted by the heartless.”

“If that's the truth,” Twilight began, “then that means that we really are going to need Sora’s help to defeat the heartless.”

Celestia nodded gently before looking back towards the stallion in question. “Sora. I am sorry for asking you to take on such a burden, especially without your consent. I can understand if you wish not to. But...I must plea, will you help us?“

“You kidding, Princess? Of course I'll help.”

Celestia gazed towards the young stallion, a smile gracing her lips. “You accept our plea?”

Sora smiled brightly. “If the heartless are causing trouble, then of course I’ll be there to stop ‘em.” He puffed out his chest and pounded it lightly with his hoof. “That's what it means to be the wielder of the Keyblade.” He summoned his weapon, raising it into the sky as he did so. “I promise to do everything in my power to get rid of all those Heartless. No matter what.”

Rarity giggled softly behind a hoof, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. She found that while he was childish in some aspects, his behavior was quite heroic, knightly even.

Fluttershy seemed to blush even brighter than when she first saw him, and her smile brightened quickly at his words. Her heart began to beat a little faster and her breath slightly quickened. To say that she had never felt this way towards a stallion before was quite the understatement.

Pinkie, as usual, was smiling, but it seemed to widen by degrees at his proclamation.

Applejack had tipped her hat to hide her face, a smile playing upon her features. She would have hated to admit it to him, but she was actually impressed.

Rainbow on the other hand just huffed and folded her arms, turning her head away from him, annoyed at the stallion and mad that he had played a rather devious prank on her.

Twilight eyed him inquisitively before lowering her head. So many unanswered questions just kept popping into her mind. She could understand why the princess would know about the Heartless since they seemed to be connected to their history, but how did a colt, barely older than herself, know anything at all? And the Keyblade. Where did he get it and how come the princess isn’t asking any questions about it? Did she already know about him?

While in Twilight's inner contemplation, an armored unicorn of black fur and golden armor approached Celestia’s side, snapping her out of it. The princess’s voice snapped her out of her internal questioning as she addressed her, her friends and Sora. “I am sorry to cut our time short, my little ponies, but I must converse with Captain Linth. If Sombra is appearing, then we must find the Crystal Empire before he does.” She motioned towards the door. “For today, you may stay the night in the castle. I’m sure you are eager to get back home and will do so tomorrow. You have much to prepare for before I call you again.”

Twilight still had so many questions, but she knew better than to disrupt the princess, especially now. She and her friends bowed low before turning towards the doorway. Sora had given the princess one last look; a look that said ‘I hope you are free later. We need to talk’. Celestia smiled and nodded before turning away from the retreating ponies.

Outside of the throne room, Sora immediately found himself surrounded by the girls. All eyes were trained upon him, causing the poor stallion to rub the back of his head nervously.

“So…um…” He nodded his head toward the throne room. “They seem nicer than I expected.” When he got no response, he smiled awkwardly. “I could really go for some grub right about now… anyone want to join me?”

Twilight stepped forward, her brow creasing a little. “Sora…do you mean it?”

The stallion raised an eyebrow. “Of course I do. I only had a hay and mayo sandwich before we left from Ponyville. I am rather-“

“Not that!” Twilight said, rolling her eyes before adjusting her tone to that of a calmer level. “I’m talking about, are you really here to help us?”

Sora tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “Well yeah, of course.”

“So what? Are you expecting to get something out of this?” Rainbow questioned. “Bits? Diamonds? A spot on the WonderBolts?”

The stallion blinked once before answering. “Well… I was hoping I could get a good night's sleep after I eat. Dealing with royalty is really stressful. Like… a lot.”

He smiled as he trotted past them. The pep in his step was heightened only by the sound of his hooves hitting the marble floor. The mares stared at him for a few seconds before Pinkie instantly ran after him.

“Hey Sora! Wait up! I didn’t get a chance to show you around Ponyville but I can at least show you around Canterlot to make up for it!”

“Oh!” Rarity followed the duo at a half trot, half strut. “We can go shopping as well. I do love your outfit, but I wonder what you would look like in a suit. Maybe something more form fitting?”

“Um…” Fluttershy’s gaze shifted from Applejack to Twilight, and then to Rainbow Dash before finally ending up on the ground. “S-Sorry. I’m just gonna…” She trotted past them to catch up with Sora and the others.

Rainbow watched them go, her eye twitching slightly. “W-what’s wrong with those ponies?! How can they just… just trust some random and strange colt they’ve only known for less than a day!?”

“I know how you feel, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “But the princesses seem to trust him. Besides, if he was a bad pony then I’m sure he would have given himself away by now. He’s not the, well… most informed pony.”

“He does have a foalish quality to him,” Applejack mused. “It’s kinda-“

“GAH!” Rainbow groaned. “Not you too, AJ!!”

“Refreshing! Ah was gonna say refreshing!” AJ said with an angry scowl. “Not many stallions look right acting foolish! He just pulls it off well is all.”

When Twilight and Rainbow failed to respond, Applejack tipped her hat over her face and trotted off, muttering something about needing some air.

The unicorn and the pegasus watched as their friend hastily retreated before turning to face each other.

“Now what?” Rainbow asked.

“Well,” Twilight began. “I was planning on going to the library to see if there was any information about Sombra, the Crystal Empire or the Heartless. I’m sure that Canterlot’s library has more information than Ponyville’s. Hey, would you like to-?”

“Pass!” The Pegasus zoomed off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her as she did so.

With a displeased huff, Twilight made her way down the hallway muttering quietly under her breath.

Canterlot Castle, Resident Quarters…

Sora opened the door to the room he was given and instantly made a beeline for the bed. He barely acknowledged the fine decor of the room he occupied as he flopped his body onto the bed spread, spreading both his wings and his forelegs out. The feel of the soft silk sheets taking his aches and cares of the day away.

And what a day it was.

After a quick bite at the store named Donut Joe’s, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy took him around town showing him many of the sights and landmarks the city had to offer. After that the girls - mostly Rarity -, took him to the shopping district. It was then that his day went from kind of hectic to completely chaotic. The girls - mostly Rarity - dragged him to every store imaginable. From shoes to clothing, nothing was left untouched. His tiredness took on a new level when he was left to pull the cart full of shopping bags with him back to the castle. By the end of it he had bid the girls a sleepy goodnight before he made it to the room he was given.

He smiled as his eyes drooped ever so slightly. Tired as he was, he really enjoyed himself and-

“Good evening, Sora.”

Sora’s wings flapped wildly in surprise, causing him to do a half front flip off the bed and landing on the other side with a loud thud and a grunt.

Celestia trotted towards the stallion that now laid crumpled on the floor. “Oh dear. I am sorry, little Keyblade Wielder. I did not mean to startle you.”

Maybe it was Sora’s imagination, but he could have sworn he saw a smirk on the princess’s face. He shrugged the feeling off, believing he was overthinking things. There’s no way that that was possible.

“No, it's okay.” Sora smiled up at the princess from his downed position. “I was probably too tired to hear you knock or something.” He picked himself off the ground and dusted himself off. “Guessing you’re here to talk to me, right?”

Celestia smiled softly. “Right you are. I did promise you after all.” She motioned towards the balcony. “Shall we walk while we talk? The Gardens are lovely this time of night.”

The stallion looked back towards his bed. He had wanted to get some rest due to this morning’s tiring events, but the need to have at least some of his questions answered was just too much for him to ignore. With a tired sigh, Sora nodded and followed the princess out onto the balcony.

“Whoa…”

And gaped at the view that the outer part of his room provided. Even from his second story window the stallion had a magnificent view of the city of Canterlot. The lights of the night life filled the city, giving off a spectacular show of every hue of the rainbow.

His admiration turned to confusion, however, as a thought crossed his mind.

“Princess. Aren’t we going to the gardens? Why are we on the balcony?”

The princesses eyes shifted towards the stallion and a smirk appeared on her lips. She unfurled her wings to their full extent and with a flap launched herself into the air. With the grace of a leaf blowing in the wind, she glided down towards the gardens below.

Sora watched her for a second before looking back towards his own wings. He had almost forgotten that he had them. It took a second for realization to hit him. Hey, that means I can fly!

With giddy excitement, the stallion unfurled his wings as well and gave them a quick flap. He smiled as he felt the cool breeze they produced upon doing so. Smiling like a fool, he made his way towards the edge of the balcony.

I’ve flown before with fairy dust, so adding wings to the mix can only make it that much easier.

With such flawless reasoning as his steed, Sora geared himself up, stuck his tongue out to the side in concentration and leapt off the ledge, soaring into the open sky.

It wasn’t until the descent started that the stallion wished wholeheartedly that he could have taken back such an obviously flawed statement.

Just as Celestia landed with a gentle step on to the cool night time grass, Sora flailed his way towards the ground with the grace of a boulder. Thankfully, he had landed in a nearby bush, breaking his free-fall somewhat. With some degree of struggling, he tore his way out of the brush. Miraculously, he only came out of the ordeal with a few light scratches and leaves stuck in his mane.

“Oh my…” Celestia, despite her worry, was trying her best to suppress a giggle.

Sora shook himself free of the leaves before looking upwards towards his balcony, a frown appearing on his face. “It’s the long way up for me.”

The princess smirked at the poor stallion. “Looks like you might need some practice before you try that again.”

The Keyblade weirder gave her a deadpan look as Celestia started to trot off. With a huff, Sora followed right after her.

They moved in silence, neither saying anything at all. He did have questions for her - many, in fact - but he was thankful for the time he was given to collect his thoughts. As they walked, Sora’s eyes strayed to his surroundings in awe. The gardens were impressive to say the least. If he looked really hard he could see shapes of some animals hiding in the darker reaches.

“So, little pony, how are you enjoying your time here so far?”

"Well, everypony seems to be pretty nice." His thoughts then turned to a certain cyan pegasus. "Well, almost everypony."

“Oh, I’m sure Rainbow Dash will warm up to you eventually. She is quite the stubborn mare when she wants to be. Plus that little joke you played was sure to liven her up at the very least.”

“Ha! I don’t think I won her over, but seeing her frustrated wasn’t too bad.”

Sora lapsed back into silence for a second before he spoke again. “Princess…”

“Please, while it is just us, call me Celestia, little Keyblade Wielder.”

Sora looked towards the princess of the sun and smiled. “Well… if that’s the case, Celestia, then just call me Sora.”

The princess smiled as she turned to face him. “Fair enough, Sora.” She sat in the grass, letting her legs rest to one side of her. “Come have a seat. We can talk here.”

Sora obliged, choosing to sit on his haunches in front of the princess. He had so many questions, but he felt that the obvious one needed to be got out of the way.

“So… you know what I am? Or...You know. What I use to be.”

Celestia smiled as she nodded. “Ever since I summoned you, Sora. Why do you ask?”

“Well when I woke up in Twilight's house, I noticed my clothes were gone. You see, it’s either through my clothes or through a friend of mine’s magic that I am able to change my shape to match a world. I was changed already without either, so… was that your doing?”

Something seemed to click within the princess’s mind as he said that, and a slow response followed soon after. “Well, you see, the spell that brought you here was a two part spell. The first being a transportation spell. Fairly simple once you know what to do. The second part was the hardest, though. Transformations are hard, especially if you’re trying to transform a two legged being into a four legged one. Being the clever princess that I am, I was able to create a prototype transformation spell, still, to this day, in its development stages.” She smiled with overly kind eyes. “To tell the truth, it's still so far in the development stages that you were my first test subject. Any number of things could have gone wrong, from you having two heads to you completely disappearing altogether into the darkness of the void. The possibilities were endless.”

The sheer normality of her tone of voice as she said such a horrifying statement made the stallion nearly topple over in surprise.

“W-What?! But then… what?!”

Before the young one could get another word in edgewise, the soft and melodic sound of a very hearty laugh filled his ears. It wasn’t long before Celestia spoke once again, controlling her laughter, at least to a degree. “I’m sorry, Sora. I couldn’t help myself. You have the most adorable little pout when you’re flustered.”

Said pouty stallion huffed before smiling himself. “Okay. Gotta watch out for you from now on, huh? I got your number.”

Celestia stifled a giggle before continuing, her tone becoming a bit more somber. “I am sorry, Sora, but we really were desperate. My sister and I sensed the coming darkness a little too late and we had little time to prepare. Had we known about your clothing’s abilities then we would have thought twice about making you into a purely pony form.”

“Well, it's okay, Celestia,” Sora told her. “Long as i can change back whenever, then I don’t mind at all.”

The princess cringing did not go unnoticed by Sora.

“Yes, um… about that, Sora. The magic we used to transform you wasn’t new, but adding the effects we added is… I mean.”

Sora blinked as her words slowly began to dawn on him. “Will… I be able to turn back?”

Looking him dead in the eyes, the princess said without an ounce of wavering, “I promise on my life, Sora, that I will find a way to change you back, no matter what. If you must place your hate on anypony, then place it on me and I will take it all. I did something selfish, something I had no right to do, but I…”

The keyblade wielder lowered his gaze as her words slowly sunk in. It was quite some time before he spoke again. “Its… It's fine, Celestia. I’m not… well, I’m not angry.”

“But I… what I did to you, just so that you could be here…”

A caramel colored hoof gently lifted her chin. When she looked into his eyes, there was not a hint of anger or judgement within them. “Celestia. I forgive you. That better?”

The princess’s mouth moved ever so slightly. “Thank you, Sora. You are much too kind.”

At her words, Sora’s gaze wavered ever so slightly. Not kind enough. The young stallion sat back on his haunches, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind.”I do have one more question, though. Why me?”

Celestia tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Why you?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Why did you choose me?”

“Well, you came recommended by a dear friend of mine," she said honestly. "Somepony who I respect with all of my heart.”

Sora’s eyes widened in surprise. “Recommended?” When Celestia nodded, he lowered his head again.“If I came recommended, then you know about me, right?”

Celestia nodded

“Then you must know about the Keyblade Exam.”

Celestia’s ears folded back. She had indeed been told all about him, all the way up until the day of his test. “Sora, you’re not-”

“A failure?” Sora looked away from her with eyes closed. “Tell that to the Keyblade Exam.”

Celestia shook her head. “Sora, you have more than proven yourself in the face of adversity. From what I heard, you were the deciding factor in many of the key battles your group has faced.”

“And even after that,” Sora spat, “I was not much compared to Riku.” The caramel coated stallion lowered his head. “A true Keyblade Master.”

“Sora…” Her voice carried all of her sorrow as she called his name. “You are far from a failure. You must have realized that by now.”

The stallion’s eyes widened at the sound of her voice and he felt guilt hit him hard. It wasn’t like him to act like this; to act spiteful. “I am sorry, princess.” The stallion lowered his head as he spoke. “I will do my best for you and your kingdom. I will fight the Heartless and drive them back as best as I can.” He moved to pick himself up and turned to make his way back to the castle. He looked back over his shoulder towards the princess of the sun. “I just hope I won’t let you down.”

Celestia watched as the stallion retreated back to the castle, her eyes closing as she lowered her head. “Sora...”

The chill of the freezing air did little to affect the black cloaked pony as she slowly entered into a rather oversized, ice covered doorway. Spread across the archway were markings so complex that she didn’t even bother giving them a second thought; there was no point since they would soon become irrelevant, anyway. Upon entering, she found herself within an icy room that held only one item: a large, pure black crystal.

The object pulsed with power and energy as she made her way towards it, her hoofsteps echoing within the cold, dark caverns.

“Well, well, well,” she mused, her voice as cold as the ice that surrounded her. “You’re looking as cool as ever, you old colt.” The crystal seemed to respond to her, pulsing angrily at her comment. She only seemed to be amused by it. “I’ll be out of your fur to let you plan your big comeback in peace, but first there’s a little problem we need to take care of."

The dark crystal pulsed again in response, this time slower.

The cloaked pony smiled underneath her tattered robe. “Tell me, big black and icy… what’s the strongest Heartless you can muster right now? I think it's time we officially brought the Realm of Darkness to the world of Equestria once again.”

Canterlot: Residential Quarters- Sora’s Room…

Sora couldn’t remember the last time he slept so good. Despite being on the verge of waking up the young stallion couldn’t help but coo softly as he snuggled against the warmth of the covers, pulling his soft furry pillow closer to himself as he did so. He could feel the heated beams of Celestia’s sun shine gently upon his caramel muzzle, finding the extra warmth inviting. With a contented sigh the stallion blissfully pulled his snoreing pillow in even closer, allowing it to do the same to him as they both nuzzled into each other affectionately.

Wait...

Sora’s sky blue eyes shot open as they soon came in contact with a similar pair ofb sleepy ocean blue orbs staring right back at him. His mind began to work overtime as it tried to make sense of what was happening right in front of him. He knew who it was that was laying beside him. Pinkie Pie was a hard pony to ever forget. Despite this, his body refused to move an inch, that was until he felt the pink pony pressed her muzzle gently against his neck as she muttered one simple word.

“Strawberries~.”

“Gah!!”

The young stallion’s body jump started all at once, the boy pushing himself away from the pretty pink pony, inadvertently causing himself to tumble out of the bed in a jumble of silk and fur as he took the covers with him. The poor boy landed upside-down, slumped with his back against the side of the bed and his golden-crown-marked hindquarters straight in the air.

Pinkie peered over the side of the bed with a look of genuine concern upon her features. Though, every so slightly, there was a hint of mirth behind her eyes. “Gee Sora, are you ok? That one looked like it hurt.”

Sora was at a loss for words, as he tried to make since of what happened. The only words he could even think to say was “Pinkie Pie?”

“Yep Yep its me!” The pink pony in question had hopped out of bed and had made her way towards the downed stallion. She twisted her head in an unbelievable manner so that she could see him from his point of view. “I don’t think ponies are supposed to get out of bed like that silly. Let's get you back on your hooves, hmm?”

Without waiting for a response, Pinkie Pie placed her head against the side of his flank and gave him a slight nudge. His body tilted to the side before falling over, allowing his now thoroughly aching neck to have some relief. With some difficulty the stallion rose to a vertical base, and slowly began to stretch each of his sore limbs. When he felt that nothing was seriously damaged he turned to the pink party pony, a very noticeable blush quite evident on his furry features.

“Pinkie?! What are you doing in my room!?”

Pinkie blinked once before placing a hoof on her chin and humming. It looked as though, at least to Sora, that the mare really had to give the question some serious thought. “Let me think…” After a few long moments the hyper pony raised a hoof in the air. “Oh yeah, now I remember! I had gone into the royal kitchens to obtain my mid-midnight snack. I think I had…two cupcakes, a chocolate bar, a bowl of ice-cream…and…a cup of sprinkles. I decided to cut back last night. I need to keep my girlish figure after all.

“Anyhoof, I think I lost my way back to my room. Which is strange because usually I never lose my way around the castle, but I did last night for some reason. I must have been very tired. Maybe I should’ve had that extra piece of lemon pie. Well since I was lost I decided to just go into any old room and sleep in the bed there. I’m sure nopony would have minded. That’s when I came into this room and found you in the bed of all ponies. That’s when it hit me. I said to myself ‘Pinkie. You must have ended up in Sora’s room’ and I answered myself saying ‘well duh. Of course I did. What other pony has a mane as spiky and chocolate looking as him’.”

Sora gave the mare a ponited look. “Okay...but why were you in my bed Pinkie?”

The pink pony smiled sheepishly, a small guilty blush forming on her cheeks “Well you see…I was going to leave but...”She trailed off to look at the bed. “Looking at you sleep made me sleepy even more, so I just climbed in bed with you.”

The Keyblade Wielder blinked a long and slow blink before asking, “You jumped in bed with me?”

“I jumped into bed with you.” Pinkie’s innocent smile conveyed nothing but the truth.

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Sora pinched the bridge of his muzzle with his hoof, which he was surprised that he could do. It was a completely childish and innocent reason to be sure, not that he was one to judge, but still, it was one that Sora could not even hope to comprehend.

Also, she had cuddled him. CUDDLED HIM! He had done the same to her too, but he didn't know it was her really. Still, her soft fur felt really good against his own. He could even remember the scent of bubble gum shifting up into his nostrils. It felt very-

The blush returned to his cheeks with a vengeance. He needed a subject change. “Ok, that aside Pinkie, why did you say Strawberry?”

The party pony shrugged. “Not too sure why. I think they thought it would have been funny.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. “They? They who?”

Pinkie tilted her head. “Who?”

Sora deadpanned. “Yes. Who?”

“Who is on first silly.” Pinkie Giggled

“Wait," Sora was really confused now "…What?”

“No. What is on second. Who is on first.” Pinkie said matter-o-factly.

Sora stared blankly at her for a few seconds before turning towards the bathroom. “I’m going to go take a bath.”

Pinkie clapped her hooves together happily. “Oh goodie! I think I’ll join-“

Sora quickly shoved her out of his room on her haunches before she could even finish what she had wanted to say. “See you downstairs Pinkie.” With that he closed the door and locked it for good measure.

“Oh. OK.” Pinkie called after him smiling brightly. “See ya later Sora!”

Canterlot: Public Dining hall…

Even after the nice and hot shower Sora had taken, which he had to admit, was the most pleasant shower he had ever had in his life, this morning’s events were still playing fresh in his mind. The caramel stallion sighed as the blush on his face returned, remembering the feeling of her soft fur against his own and the touch of her hot breath against his neck. He didn’t really know why, but he knew enough that If anyone caught wind of what had transpired, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to hear the end of it. Still, he really didn’t want to deal with it now, especially since his hunger was taking over him.

Following the lovely scent of pancakes and other baked goods, Sora found himself in a rather large dining hall. Many ponies, both in armor and service attire, were busy lining up to gather a plate full of breakfast for themselves. It kind of reminded Sora of his school’s cafeteria, but with much more edible looking food, and a dining area that was just too grand not to be noticed.

Not one to pass up a free meal, the stallion set off to gather a tray of vittles. His breakfast of choice: three stacks of pancakes, an apple, a donut, and a cup of orange juice. He balanced the tray quite easily between his teeth, smiling broadly as he did so. Maybe some food would get his mind off of-

“HEY SORA! OVER HERE!!”

The stallion turned to find a very excited Pinkie Pie waving him over quite enthusiastically. He also noticed that the pink pony had surrounded herself with a ridiculous amount of food. On her left was a blushing Fluttershy, who seemed to have just now caught wind of the stallion’s presence, and was slowly inching herself under the table to hide said blush. In front of the pink pony on the other side of the table was Rarity, the white unicorn tapping a hoof right beside her indicating that there was a seat open for him.

“Ah...Hey..." He had not wanted to meet the pink party pony so soon after their ‘morning’ together, especially since he really didn’t get a chance to explain to her why she shouldn’t tell anyone about it. Heck! He didn't even know where to begin. Hopefully she was kind enough to not say anything about it. With a nervous whimper, the stallion sat beside the white unicorn, trying his best to avoid eye contact with the pink pony as much as possible.

Rarity gave the stallion a coy smile as he sat, her eyelashes fluttering a little as she spoke. “So did you sleep well darling?”

Sora went rigid. W-What’s with that question? She doesn’t know, does she? Pinkie didn’t tell them did she? Please tell me Pinkie didn’t tell them. “Ah! Y-yes…n-no…I did…didn’t….It was…ah…Interesting…”

Rarity tilted her head slightly. “Darling? Are you ok? You seem a bit skittish.”

He nearly dropped the fork he was holding before looking towards the white mare. “Y-Yeah, everything is fine. Nothing weird happened at all.” His eyes shifted back and forth after he had talked.

“Are you sure darling? You’re acting a little funny?”

He sunk into his chair a little mumbling something incoherently under his breath. He really felt he was screwer then screwed at this point and he decided that the truth would be for the best. He was about to open his mouth to tell just what had happened this morning but was beaten to the punch by the pink party mare.

“Aw don’t worry about him Rarity. He’s just sulky that he had to leave the bed early that’s all.”

Sora turned to face Pinkie Pie who, in turn, had a bright smile on her face directed towards him. She didn’t tell them about what happened. More than that, she had covered for him. Holy crap, the endless stream of contemplations that her lie provided caused him to question not only about her, but the entire event that morning as well.

Sora’s eyes went wide as she winked at him and giggled.

And that's my cue to never get on this mare’s bad side ever.

He turned to face with food and eat automatically, a tinge of pink evident on his cheeks from both embarrassment and irritation.

Before Rarity could inquire any further on what the heck was going on between the two ponies, a bundle of cyan fur had made her way to the table and sat beside Pinkie Pie, cutting off any conversation prier. As Sora finally took notice of her, he could see, just by looking at her, that she didn't take mornings very well. Her mane was still unkept and frazzled and her eyes were still a bit bloodshot.

“Oh! Well good morning sunshine.” Rarity cooed. “And did we have a restful night.”

The cyan pony grumbled incoherently, waving a dismissing hoof at her friend.

Sora smiled broadly. “Not really a morning person, are ya?”

Rainbow’s scowl deepened at the sound of Sora’s voice. “Nopony asked you Spikey.”

Yep. Sora said within his mind, his smile became a bit more forced. Don’t think she likes me very much still.

Fluttershy, who had been quiet up until now, raised her hoof indicating that she wanted to speak. “Um, If you don’t mind me asking, has anypony seen Twilight and, um, Applejack?”

“Applejack set off to wake up Rainbow Dash and retrieve Twilight from the Library.” Said Rarity before shaking her head disapprovingly. “We told her not to stay in there all night but I doubted she listened.”

“I guess Twilight really likes to study, huh?” Sora said with an amused smile. He had already figured out that the unicorn was one to always hit the books. While impressive, late night studying was never really his thing.

Rarity giggled. “Well that’s our studious little Twilight for you. Applejack should have her back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, so do not fret.”

Sora nodded and he turned to face Rainbow. To his surprise, she had been staring at him. Having caught her in the act had caused her brow to crease in an angry scowl as well make her cheeks turn a lovely shade of red.

“What?!” Her voice was as sharp as ice. More then likely at being caught by him then anything else. “Gonna gloat about that prank you did yesterday?”

“N-No...” Sora stuttered before an ideal clicked. “Actually, I was, ah, just wondering what you do.” When her brow creased further he looked away, letting the tip of his hoof scratch at his cheek. “I-I mean what do you do for work? I know Twilight is a librarian. I think Applejack works on that apple farm. Pinkie Pie works in a bakery. Rarity works in fashion and Fluttershy…” He turned to the yellow pegasus in question. “Actually what do you do Fluttershy?”

The yellow pegasus blushed bright red as she met the stallion’s sky blue eyes. “Uh…Well…I take care of animals.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. “Really? You mean like dogs and cats?”

“Well y-yes among other things…Like bears and hedgehogs and tigers…”

“What? Really?” Sora smiled brightly. “That’s amazing Fluttershy! Being around all those animals must be pretty cool.”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up and she smiled as well. “Oh yes, it is amazing. I take care of the ones that are hurt or sick you see. If an animal is hurt, they really need tender loving care or else they don’t heal their wounds correctly.”

“Wow, so you’re an animal nurse. That’s pretty sweet.” Sora tapped a hoof to his chin. “I actually became friends with a few animals as well. There was this lion named Simba. He was pretty cool. Oh! And a deer foal named Bambi. Oh and-“

“Hey!” Rainbow cut him off. “I thought you wanted to know what I did!”

Sora’s focus turned from the yellow pegasus to the cyan one, whose glare seemed to intensify by the second. “Oh! Ah, S-sorry Rainbow.”

“Gah! Just forget it. Not like I was going to tell you anyway.” Rainbow Dash huffed coldly.

Rarity’s eyebrow shot up. “So why bring it up at all darling?”

Rainbow’s eyes bulged. “I...Ah...W-Well…F-Forget it! I’m outta here!”

She slammed her hoof on the table, apparently trying to make a point, but in doing so, she hit the edge of Sora’s tray, causing his cup of juice to rocket upward. All eyes followed the glass until they all cringed as the cup landed face down upon the cyan pony, spilling its contents all over her head.

Sora blinked a few times before getting up. “I, ah...H-Here let me get you some…”

“Forget it!” Rainbow Dash zoomed away in a hurry, leaving a slightly damp rainbow trail behind her.

The stallion sighed as he watched her go. "Somehow he known that this is going to be my fault isn’t it?" He said as the other three mares gave him an apologetic look.

Canterlot Train station…

Rainbow yawned and stretched as she waited with the others at the train tracks. “Geez. I could have flown to Ponyville and back with the time it’s taking the stupid train to come.”

“Oh stop your belly aching RD.” The southern drawl of Applejack told her, causing Rainbow to huff impatiently. “The train will get here when it gets here. Besides, riding together is a lot more fun right?”

“Yeah it would be…” She scowled. “If it weren’t for him…”

Their gaze fell upon a caramel stallion, who was conversing with three of the other Elements of Harmony, plus one familiar female guard. He was attempting, and failing miserably, to pull away from Dream Drop's grasp while both Fluttershy and Rarity were trying to assist the stallion in any way that they could. Pinkie sat back on a bench and enjoyed the show, eating her way through a bag of popcorn.

“Now that ain’t fair Rainbow. Yeah he’s a little odd but you’re not even giving him a chance. He really seems like a nice pony.”

“But he’s hiding something from us!” Rainbow said, gritting her teeth together. “Colts who hide something are the worst.”

Applejack had never seen her friend act in such a manner before. Sure she knew that she had some trouble with the colts from Flight School, but this seemed different. “Rainbow…are ya’ll ok? It’s not like ya to treat somepony like this.”

Rainbow turned to face the farm mare, her eyes widening slightly. However, they quickly turned into a glare, hiding whatever she was thinking. Just as she was about to retort, the sound of a whistle signaled the coming of their ride back to Ponyville. Rainbow, seeing this, closed her mouth and turned away from her friend, walking towards the slowly approaching train. Applejack reached out to call her back, to know if her suspicions were true, but her voice failed her.

The way Rainbow looked just then, it was almost like the way ah looked when…

“ALL ABOARD!!”

Applejack looked towards the now opening train doors. With a heavy sigh she followed after her friends. She was never one to pry in somepony’s business, but she couldn’t leave her friend the way she was. Still she felt some time was needed before she even tried to talk to her again. With that line of thought she boarded the train, allowing the doors to close behind her.

The train ride back to Ponyville was, in Sora’s opinion, the most uneventful thing to happen to him since he came to Equestria. Being curious, and a little bit bored, he decided to have a talk with Twilight to find out if any new piece of information surfaced in her late night venture. It was all for naught however, since the only information Twilight gathered was the fact that Heatless were indeed seen in the earliest years of Equestrian history, or at least that’s what the book she found had led her to believe.

With a sigh the stallion sat himself upon one of the chairs, lowered his head, and closed his eyes. His thoughts turned to the white alicorn he had spoken with last night. He had gained only a little information from their encounter and it was his own fault. He hadn’t expected her to say what she said. That he wasn’t a failure.

Sora scoffed. Of course he wasn’t. But then why didn’t he say that? Deep down he knew that he wasn’t, but that was in the past. He had failed the keyblade exam, nearly losing his own life in the process. Sure nobody could have known that Xemnas would have been there but still, if it wasn’t for Riku back then…

Actually if it wasn’t for Riku back during their first fight with Xemnas he would have lost for sure. If he was being really honest with himself; Riku had helped him almost throughout his journey, even when he had took the form of Xemnas’s heartless. Riku had always been there to protect him.

“So what that him protecting me at that time too?”

“Um…”

Sora looked to his side to find a yellow pegasus looking up at him from behind her pink mane. Where did she come from?

“Oh! Hey Fluttershy." He smiled gently towards the mare." Can I help you?”

Fluttershy’s gaze shifted down and she scuffed her hoof along the floor nervously. “Um, w-well, that is...I…What I mean is…” The young mare breathed deeply before asking, “Sora, are you ok?”

“Huh? Oh. Well yeah. No problems here Fluttershy.” He forced a smile. “I’m right as rain.”

“Oh...Ok. But...I-I’m sorry but you just seemed so, well, down…”She lowered her head even lower. “I guess I was wrong…sorry for bothering you…”

Sora felt a stinging sensation in his chest. Here he was being, well, sort of a jerk to a girl that just wanted to make sure that he was ok. Without saying a word, the stallion shifted over, letting a bit to room for her to sit next to him. “Well, I guess I’ve been pretty down.”

Fluttershy looked back up at him, her eyes gazing deep into his own. “R-Really?”

“Yeah, maybe I’m homesick…I’m not too sure.” It wasn’t a total lie.

She looked at the seat and then slowly climbed to sit next to the caramel stallion. “Well, if you want, we can talk about where you come from. It helped me when I first moved to Ponyville. All my animal friends made me feel so welcomed.”

Sora smiled. “If you're sure it would help, I guess I can tell you a bit.”

“Oh yes I promise it will.” She leaned in a bit towards him, the blush on her cheeks brightening. “I mean, um, if that’s ok with you…”

“Hmm…ok then…so where to begin...?”

Ponyville Train station…

Sora jumped out the door of the train, stretching both his front and hind legs. “I love riding trains but geez was it cramped.”

Fluttershy smiled at the stallion as she followed after him. She was happy to have at least a little peek into what his life was like where he had lived; she wasn’t even mad that Rarity had made herself a part of the conversation soon after spotting them together. She was just happy to see a notable difference between how the stallion was feeling before and now. Still, she couldn’t help but feel that something was still bothering him a great deal.

Rarity followed suit, exiting after the butter-yellow pegasus. “Yes a bit confining indeed. Still, it beats having my mane ruined when carried in a pegasus chariot.”

“Says you!” Rainbow quipped, hovering just above the white unicorn. “Nothing beats flying Rarity. Nothing!”

“A day at the spa beats flying any day of the week my dear Rainbow Dash!” Rarity retorted.

“That girly fru-fru stuff?! Flying beats that, hooves down.”

Rarity huffed. “It is not girly fru-fru. Being prim and proper is just natural for a lady my dear Rainbow Dash. ”

“Naw. I’m pretty sure I'm ok not being in a dress all the bucking time.”

Before Rarity could even come back with a proper retort Twilight stood between them. “Girls, we can save the debate for later. For now I just want to get home and rearrange my books.” She turned to Sora smiling. “Sora, I think a place for you to sleep is in order too.”

The stallion raised an eyebrow. “Well, can’t I just sleep on your couch like last time?”

The lavender unicorn shook her head. “I am sorry Sora, but I need that work space for my research. Besides, I’m sure you don’t want to sleep on some old dusty couch.” She placed a hoof to her chin. “Now then where can you sleep...?"

“WITH ME!” Rarity all but screamed. She paused, noticing how loud she was, and then coughed politely into her hoof. “What I mean is, I have more than enough room. He can sleep in the boutique’s guest chambers. It’s just piling up with dust anyway.”

Applejack gave her a look, a look only reserved for her, before looking between the other mares. “Anypony else feel like that’s a bad idea? Anypony?” Everyone, including Pinkie Pie, raised their hooves in response.

Rarity huffed and looked away. "Well I never!"

“Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are out of the question as well. They already have full houses as it is.” Applejack added soon after.

Pinkie nodded. “It’s true. The Cakes take up the other seventy-five percent of Sugarcube Corner.”

“N-not that I would have minded it….but I do have too many animals at my place.”

“What about Rainbow Dash’s house? He is a pegasus after all. He can walk on clouds.” Twilight asked.

Before Rainbow could even hope to shoot down that suggestion Sora spoke up first. “Sorry Twilight, but if her house is in the clouds, then no can do.” He pulled at one of his wings. “Not really a flying pegasus you see.” Though it did hurt him a bit to say so. Walking on clouds really sounded cool.

Rainbow scoffed and looked away. “W-Well whatever. Not like I was gonna let you anyway.”

Applejack gave Sora a gentle look. “Well since everypony else is out of the question, ah guess that just leaves me. We can put ya up at the farm. Got an extra room in the attic for when our relatives come over. You can use that’un.”

“It’s no bother is it?” Sora asked in an uncertain tone. “I don’t want to put you out of your way.”

Twilight deadpanned. "It was ok to bother me though?" She mumbled under her breath.

“Course not Sugarcube. Besides, it's not like you’re gonna be living there for free. We at the Apple farm work for our vittles, and since you’re gonna be living there, you’re gonna do the same.”

Sora wasn’t expecting that. Still, pulling his own weight was only fair. He was never really one to just mooch off somebody anyway. “Alright, Applejack. I’ll make sure to work as hard as I can.”

The farm mare smiled. “That’s what I like to hear. Well then come on. We’ll get you settled in all nice and comfy like.” She turned to wave to her friends.” See ya’ll later ya hear?”

With Sora in tow, Applejack made her way from the train station, leaving the rest of the girls to their own devices.

“Well, it’s off to Sugarcube corner for me!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I missed some serious playing time with the twins and promised them a full two hours of patty-cake when I got back.”

“I must be off as well.” Rarity said, though there was still evidence of her being a little ticked off about Sora not being able to stay with her. “I have some ideas I want to try out and they won’t design themselves now will they?”

“Yeah and I’m gonna go and take a nap in a tree somewhere.” Rainbow said with a yawn. “My shift was covered for today so I have the free time.”

“I guess I’ll go too.” Fluttershy took off into the air. “Angel bunny might be getting angry right now about me being gone so long.”

“And I must get back to the library. I have some serious rearranging to do.” Twilight smiled at each of her friends. “We’ll convene at a later time?”

Everypony nodded before splitting up, to their respective places of living.

If they had stayed a little longer however, they would have noticed a dark cloaked pony figure stepping from behind the train, a devious smile the only thing visible under their hood. She had turned to face the direction Sora and gone.

“Sleep tight little Keyblader. Come morning, you and that sorry excuse for a magic user will feel the full weight of what it means to cross my master’s plans…” She chuckled, chilling the air in cold displeasure before disappearing in a mass of darkness.

Sweet Apple Acres: Apple Residence…

“Really?! For truly!?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow to a familiar yellow filly’s bouncing and hopping, “Uh, yeah. Sora’s gonna be staying with us for a while. He needed a place to stay so ah offered." She turned back to look at the stallion with an amused smile. "Sides, I very well couldn’t let a friend that saved a friend live out on the street now, could ah?”

The orange farm mare had, for obvious reasons, explained Sora’s situation to the family of her household. Sora’s gaze shifted from one Apple Family member to another as he waited for their approval. Big Mac, Applejack’s, big, red, older brother who seemed to talk as much as Riku on a bad day, and Granny Smith, a light green mare that seemed to have seen better years but still had that bright fire in her eyes, both nodded their head in acceptance accommodating Sora, especially after hearing from Applejack how the young stallion had saved one of her friends from danger. That being said, the pony that was the most enthusiastic about Sora’s living arrangement was the yellow ball of fluff with the cherry red mane and the oversized pink bow.

Though the keyblade wielder did not know why the filly was as happy a kid in a candy store with such news, he took in her happiness all in stride, smiling softly at the little filly’s behavior, chalking it up to kids being kids.

I guess not that I’m one to talk about kids being kids. Sora mused softly to himself.

Finally calming down, the filly allowed herself to swoon against the nearby sofa as her mind began to race. The stallion of her recent dreams was coming to live with her and her family. Never in all of her life would she have thought such a coincidence would happen. But here he was, with that cute face and that cute muzzle and those cute sky blue eyes and that cute chocolate mane, wearing his cute clothes while cutely-

“Applebloom! Are ya’ll paying attention?”

Applejack’s voice forced her back into reality, ending any cute daydream she was having about her cute crush. “A-Ah’m sorry AJ. What did ya say?”

With a huff of frustration the older farm-mare pointed to the stallion. “Now ah need ya to mind your manors and don’t bother Sora too much none. He’s here to work, not to play. Besides I’m sure he has enough on his mind with his responsibilities he was given without having to worry about you and the crusaders dragging him someplace.”

And there was the hoof that stepped into her ice-cream cake. “But sis, me and the crusaders could show him around Ponyville. Oh! Maybe even earn a tour guide cutie mark.”

“Didn’t y'all already try that once before?” Applejack asked as she raised an eyebrow to the filly.

“Hey! The girls and ah agreed that the only reason it didn’t work was because we were trying to give the tour to ponies that already lived in Ponyville. He’s not from Ponyville so it has to work this time.” Applebloom said with conviction.

Applejack rolled her eyes at her sister's words, though it was in a good natured way. “Well ah guess ah can’t really argue with that logic now can ah? But y'all can do that later, after he has settled in and what not.” She turned to the stallion. “Come on then, Sora. Ah'll show ya to your room and then we can get started on what y'all be doing around the farm.”

Sora nodded to Applejack and then turned to face the rest of the apple family. He smiled shyly as he let the tip of his hoof scratch his cheek gently. “Thanks for putting up with me. I promise to do my best around here.”

“Just do your work like y'all are suppose ta and make me proud sunny.” Granny Smith said with a smile and a nod. She turned to face her only grandson. “Right Big Mac?”

“Eeeyup.” The large stallion answered with a nod of his head as well.

With a smile and a wave, Sora turned to follow Applejack, both ponies making their way upstairs.

Applebloom left soon after, saying something about assembling the crusaders for an emergency meeting, while Big Mac made his way outside to finish his share of apple bucking for the day.

Sora and Applejack pair of ponies climbed a set of stairs before coming to a lone door at the very top. The mare gave it a gentle nudge making her way into the room right after the door opened. Sora followed the farm-mare, his gaze shifted around the room and taking in the sights.

It looked like any other attic turned room; a lone bed in the middle, a nightstand with a single candle for late night activities, and a chest probably filled with family memorabilia. It wasn’t as fancy as the ones up in Canterlot, like she had said, but it still held a feeling he couldn’t quite place. A good feeling that warmed every inch of his equine form. Honestly, at least to him, the way it felt like home gave him great comfort.

“Well here ya’ are. Not as cozy as them fancy rooms up in Canterlot, but still nice and dry.”

Sora smiled as he turned to Applejack. “Thanks Applejack. It reminds me of when I moved into my house way back on on the islands. Nice and homey.”

Applejack smiled as she tipped her hat to him. “Aww, shucks. No need to thank me Sora. Just helping out a friend is all.”

“Friend? “ Sora echoed before smiling a bit.

“Well, more like friend in the making.” When the stallion raised an eyebrow she continued. “Listen Sora. Ah don’t like the fact that you’re hiding something from us, and I know ya are cause I'm the element of Honesty, I can tell. But after seeing what ya had ta fight first hoof and the princesses practically staking their lives on yo then ah guess ah can at least give you the benefit of the doubt. Besides you saved my friend and that has to count for something.” The mare placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Now ah understand if’n you don’t want to talk about whatever it is ya got. Ah figure ya didn’t want to get us involved too much.“

Sora chuckled nervously. “Haha...That easy to read?”

“LIke an open book. But ah can understand that everypony is entitled to their secrets, but if’n y'all ever do want to talk about something, just know that I’ll be ready ta listen, If ya will let me.”

Sora couldn't help but rub the back of his neck as he looked away from the mare. “Rarity said the same thing to me. Fluttershy too.”

“Did they now?" She said with an amassed expression. "Well it looks like ya’ll got three mares to unload your troubles to. Especially Fluttershy. She's a pony ah know will always listen to somepony else's problems without batting an eye.”

Sora turned away from Applejack, looking towards his bed. His voice seemed to falter lightly as he spoke. “Thanks for the offer Applejack. I don't have any problems to speak of at the moment but I'll, ah, keep it in mind.” He felt the mares hoof brush along the back of his neck, causing him to turn to face the mare.

“Sugarcube, everypony has problems to speak of; just not many are willing to tell others about them.” She gave him a light hug and turned to head back downstairs. Before she went, however, she called back toward the stallion. “Ah’m the same ya know. So are Pinkie and Rainbow and the rest of the girls. We all have things that we refuse to share with each other.”

He raised an eyebrow at the farm-mare, “So why do you suggest that I talk about mine?”

Applejack smiled as she turned to face the stallion once again. “Cause ya’ll look like somepony that could really use it.” She turned to trot down the stairs before Sora could even hope to respond. “Ya’ll get settled in and meet me out by the barn Sora. We gots some apple bucking to do before the day’s through."

Golden Oaks Library…

Twilight worked tirelessly as she engulfed the entirety of her book collection in the confines of her magic. She had been needing a break to get her thoughts in order on everything that had gone on in the past two days. Meeting the odd stallion that was named Sora, being told of a civilization that's been hidden for over one thousand years, and finding out about the dangerous creatures that were called the Heartless. It was just too much to take in at once. She believed a bit of normality would do her good, so she could sort through everything.

After checking off a few books she had replaced on a shelf, Twilight turned to a dejected looking Spike. She couldn’t help but smile sadly as he lay on the sofa, twirling his claw around a cushion. Despite how mad he was about the way Rarity treated Sora before, he couldn’t help but feel a little down after finding out that Sora would not be staying in the library anymore. She kept forgetting that despite him being surrounded by many friends, he really didn’t have many young colts to hang out with, and Sora was quite the interesting male to be around; everyone couldn’t help but like him for some reason or another. Well, everyone but Rainbow Dash.

Sure he was rather dense and quite foalish at times, but he had proved to her that there was more to him then what she could see, jumping in to save Fluttershy the way he did. Still, it kind of caught her off guard, finding one so young risking his life to protect ponies he barely knew, even opting to take on this King Sombra pony without a second thought. It made her smile just thinking about it.

Sure she had her reservations about him as well, but she could see why Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie could trust him so easily. He was amazingly simple and an overly kind pony with a heart of gold.

She turned back to her work, placing a few more books upon the shelves. Stopping only to look out at the bright blue sky. Despite the calm warm evening, a shiver went up her spine. She honestly didn't know where it came from or why she felt it...but she didn't like it.

Rarity's Boutique

Rarity finished up the base design of her latest masterpiece that she had been creating through the inspiration of Sora’s own clothing. With a coy smile, she hung the picture upon her work board that held six more just like it before pulling out a few bolts of cloth and some thread.

“Now for the colors. It has to be bold, yet not complicated. Maybe something in black and pink but nothing too extravagant. She likes things simple.” Rarity scanned over a few pieces of lavender cloth. “Hmm…but what could go with it? There’s just so much to choose from. How will I ever find the right color?”

She looked toward her work desk, finding the design of Sora’s clothes she had done a quick sketch of when she had them in her possession. Her thoughts immediately turned to the stallion and a light blush formed on her cheeks.

That caramel coated stallion seemed to always occupy her mind as of late, invading every inch of her being and causing her heart to run abnormally fast. For a stallion to make her feel this way without even knowing it was truly rare to hear.

“Oh dear…” She slowly made her way to her bed allowing herself to down upon it. She placed both hooves on her chest, doing her best to calm her beating heart. “How in Celestia’s name are you able to make me feel like this? Not even Blueblood was able to make me feel this way, even before I found out how much of an…an…uncouth pony he was.”

Sora was in every way Blueblood’s opposite of that she was sure. Where Blueblood was inconsiderate and bratty, Sora was kind and loving. It made her heart swoon just to be close to the caramel stallion.

She turned over to lie on her belly, pulling in a pillow to lay her head upon. “I had promised myself not to fall for another pony so fast but…” She blushed brighter as her heartbeat quickened. “To have you in my hooves Sora. Oh that would be a day to remember…”

Rarity turned to her side and clutched the pillow tighter, her daydreams running on automatic once again. “Oh yes, I can see it now. The both of us, sitting at a candlelit table, you dressed in an all-black suit with an accent of red tied about your waist, and me wearing a sparkling purple dress with the split running up the length of my leg. You sit close to me, and whisper in my ear sweet nothings while I place my hoof on your lap, edging you on. Food all but forgotten, you turn my head to face you and look deep into my eyes, searching for the love you know all too well is there. I look into your own, conveying my affection for you as much as I can. You lean into me, slowly parting your lips and I, out of instinct part mine as well. You eat up the inches between us before…”

Rarity squealed as she kicked her legs out, burying her face into the pillow. “Oh dear Celestia, yes!”

Ponyville: Open Field

Rainbow ears perked up at a sudden noise in the distance. The mare turned towards it with a raised eyebrow before shrugging. She yawned and laid her head back on the cloud she was sleeping on. Or rather, she was trying to sleep on since her very much sought after snooze time eluded her completely. Her mind was too busy thinking about that stupid spiky maned stallion with the caramel fur.

She sighed as she brought her hooves over her face, pulling her cheeks down in exasperation. “Geez, he can’t even leave me alone when he’s nowhere around. Talk about annoying.”

She tried to focus on something else, anything else, but no matter what, her thoughts ended with Sora in the forefront. With a groan, she slipped off her cloud and began to fly towards Ponyville. “Who does he think he is, invading my life like this? It doesn’t help that he reminds me of…” She trailed off, with an annoyed grunt. “How dare you remind me of…”

She sucked in her breath and slapped herself across the face. “Y-you’re not like that anymore Rainbow!” She yelled. “You’re a tougher filly then that so suck it up! Who cares who that stupid colt reminds you of! That’s in the past and this is now!” She stood on all fours and grew a determined scowl. “I won't let you get to me Spikey!”

Flutterhy's Cottage

Fluttershy was in dire straits.

“Oh this is not like me. Not like me at all.” She said to herself as She had paced the floor, nearly walking a ring into the carpet as her mind went into overdrive.

She had sat and listened to Sora for the duration of the train ride, soaking in every piece of information she could gain from him. The town in which he lived seemed so peaceful and carefree. His friends also seemed really sweet too. The way he talked about Riku, he really seemed to admire him, even if they did fight a lot. Tidas and Wakka and Selphie; they all seemed like amazing ponies.

Then there was Kairi.

The way he talked about that mare made her heart tighten a little. They really seemed close, but that was to be expected, being childhood friends and all. She could feel it though. Sora seemed to have some sort of attraction towards Kairi, even if it was innocent affection.

It still made her heart cringe though.

When he had told her that Kairi had left a while ago, she couldn’t hold back an inward smile, which was the cause of her current worry

“Oh how can I think that way? I can’t possibly be happy that he had to say goodbye to a childhood friend, can I?” But the more she thought about it the more glad she was that Kairi was unable to be there for him. If she was nowhere near him then maybe-

Fluttershy groaned and slumped onto the couch, grabbing a white bunny in the process, the little rabbit looking at her with concern. “Oh, Angel! What am I going to do? I want Sora to be happy. And he just looked so down. And I thought that if I can make him happy enough to...”

Angel raised his paw and tapped Fluttershy’s forehead hard. She looked at him as he gave her a glare and pointed to her and then slammed his fist together.

“Y-you’re right Angel.” She flew into the air hugging her pet happily. “I have to believe in myself. Since his old friends aren’t around and he’s a long way from home, then I have to make sure that he feels like this is his home too.” She zipped to her dresser and pulled out some paper. “Ok then. Now what was the name of that fruit again?”

Sugercube Corner

Pinkie placed the sleeping twins into their cribs, a gentle smile on her face as she did so. She had fulfilled her promise to play with them, and though she was sad to see them tuckered out, she was happy to find that they still held a smile on their faces.

After covering the two foals in their blankets, she silently made her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. She enjoyed her job of making ponies happy. It was her one passions in life, and nothing made her happier.

So remembering Sora the way he was when he had been speaking to the princess back at the palace, almost brought her from her happy high.

The pink mare had followed after the pair of ponies that night when she had gone to visit Sora. To make sure that he was settled in. Sora, honestly at first seemed like such a happy colt, speaking to the princess in such a casual way. Pinkie knew right away that Sora was the kind of colt to make friends with everyone he met. Had his life been different, he would be one of the best party ponies in Equestia.

Most of what they said went over the mare’s head, but one thing was certain, Sora was hurt. He felt like a failure, and she knew it was eating him up inside.

She could see it, just as well as Fluttershy, the darkness that shouded the stallion’s heart. She was doing everything in her power to take his mind away from whatever was bothering him, but she could tell it always lingered in the back of his mind. He hid it well from most of her friends, but she was sure that even Rarity would see it soon enough. He would put on his shell, saying that he was all hunky-dory, but underneath it all he was somepony that was hurting.

“How can we help you if you won’t let us Sora?” She knew the answer all too well though. Something she had to fight with herself. Because the happiness of others is more important…

She smiled slightly at that. “I guess, in a way, we are both the same Sora.” Pinkie Pie made her way down the stairs to find Ms. Cake behind the counter. “Hey Ms. Cake, I’m gonna bake a cake for me and my friends.”

“Oh?” The motherly pony smiled warmly to her helper. “Well isn’t that nice Pinkie. Don’t stay up too late then, okay?” When Pinkie nodded, Ms. Cake made her way upstairs to retire for the night.

Pinkie placed an apron over herself and set to work gathering the ingredients. “I promise to make you smile for real Sora! No! I Pinkie Pie Promise!”

Sweetapple Acres

Applejack smiled as she watched Sora buck but the next tree she pointed it. The apples shook for only a second before falling into the bins under the tree. The young stallion smiled widely before pumping his hoof.

“HA! That’s five in a row!”

“Land Sakes Sora!” Applejack whistled. She couldn’t believe how short a time it took him to master a craft that took her weeks. And he was a pegasus ta boot.

At first she was quite skeptical towards how he would take to the hard work, but those thoughts took a huge nosedive off the side of cliff by that afternoon. Sora was a hard worker when it came down to it. If anything he told her it reminded him of when he and his friends would work to build their little house on the island they played on.

Applejack was more surprised that he was slightly more muscular then his body type suggested. Even she, the calm and cool AJ, had a hard time keeping her thoughts together fully around him. If anything it felt refreshing to have a young stallion helping around the farm.

Teaching him the art of Applebucking too little to no work at all too. She had kicked a few trees, allowing him to see how to best strike the tree without hurting himself. When she was sure that he had gotten it, she let him at the first tree he felt ready with.

She knew he was strong; he had to have been if he was the one that was going to fight those heartless critters, but when he had struck the tree with his hind legs, nearly knocking all but a few of the apples out of the tree with one blow, it really threw her for a loop.

By the end of it all he had kicked down more apples then most other stallions they hire to help with apple bucking season.

Sora breathed heavily after kicking yet another tree. Sweat beaded off his body, running down his fur. “Geez! I need to work out more. Guess being on the island all that time got me a little out of practice.”

Applejack coughed as she approached the stallion, catching his attention. “Sora, y'all did a bang up job today, especially since it was your first time and all. Ah half expected you to do worse than ya did.” She smiled as Big Mac began to load up the cart with the bucket of apples resting at the foot of the trees. “Ah can happily say that with you around we can get more than our fair share of apples ready for selling.” She turned to smile at the stallion. “Thanks for all your help today Sora.”

Sora rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly. “I-it was nothing really. I just wish I could do more.”

“Ya’ll did more than enough, at least for today anyway.” She gave him a sly smile. “I expect you to buck twice as many tomorrow.”

Sora smiled and nodded happily. “You can count on me AJ.”

“That’s the spirit Sugarcube. Now then, why don’t ya’ll go and wash up ‘fore dinner. Y'all look as though ya could use it. Don’t worry about lugging the apples to the barn. Me and Big Mac can take care of that.”

Sora gave himself a sniff and released an embarrassed chuckle as he nodded in agreement. “Ok AJ, but I’m definitely helping you next time.” He trotted past Applejack and Big Mac with a spring in his step.

Big Mac chuckled softly, the red stallion turning towards his sisters. “Keep heaping praise on him like that and one would think you have a crush AJ.”

The mare rolled her eyes at her brother’s teasing. “With Sora? He’s a cute kid, but not my type. Sides, Rarity would fight me tooth and hoof if she ever thought he was.”

Both Applejack and Big Mac laughed playfully at the thought of her prim and proper friend gearing up for a war of love.

It was quite some time before Sora slipped under the covers, snuggling up in the soft fabric. With clean fur and a full belly, the boy couldn’t help but feel that despite the hard work he was put though, he couldn’t have been happier. He slipped his fore hooves under his head, closing his eyes in content. Sure he was still apprehensive about everything happening to him, but he felt that he could finally find at least a little rest. The fact that he had to fight a seemingly powerful king controlling the dark power of the heartless never once left his mind. He’d faced stuff like this before, he could do it again. It did make him said that he was alone for the fight, no Donald or Goofy. The king or the others. He was alone here and he knew it. Still, right now, at this point in time, he honestly felt that...

“Everything is going to be just fine.”

Sweet Apple Acres...

Sora’s eyes snapped. Something didn’t feel right.

The boy rolled out of bed, landing on his hooves as he did so. After hastily donning his attire he made his way down from the attic to the second floor hallway. Glancing out a nearby window, he noticed that, while the sky was still dark, it held a hint of a blue hue, signaling the beginning of yet another day. Despite the calmness of the setting however ,the gnawing feeling of uneasiness still plagued him relentlessly.

I must be paranoid. Everything was peaceful and nothing seemed out of place…at least from where he stood. Still something seems...off...

Sora needed to rid his thoughts of the uneasiness and only one course of action came to mind. He knocked tenderly on the door leading to Applejack’s room, hoping to gain some sort of response. When nobody came he knocked again, a little louder than before. “AJ? Are you in there?” Once again no one answered. With his apprehension, he moved on to Big Mac’s room and repeated the process. He was once again met with silence.

Sitting on his haunches, the stallion crossed his forelegs and closed his eyes.

“So they’re not here. They’re farmers. Farmers usually begin their day bright and early, right? They have to be outside. So everything is fine…right?” He pondered the feeling of foreboding he had felt not too long ago, the same feelings he was feeling even now. “Still…” Something was wrong, he just couldn’t place what it was.

“Sora?”

The sound of a girl’s voice caused the boy to look to his side. He found Applebloom peering from behind an open door. The little filly’s pink bow was understandably absent and she held the remnants of sleep in her eyes. She rubbed said eyes before exiting her room completely. “What’s going on?”

Sora looked around nervously as he answered the filly. “Heya Bloom. Sorry if I woke ya. Say, have ya seen your sister around?”

“Applejack?” She looked behind herself. “It’s about five now, so she might be in the barn. She and Big Mac always start the day early.”

“The barn…got it.” He made his way to the staircases before stopping. With a sigh he turned towards the little filly and placed a hoof on her head. “Applebloom, I know this is gonna sound weird, but...I need you to go back into your room.. Stay there and do not come out until somepony you know comes to get you, ok?”

Applebloom raised an eyebrow at the stallion. “Wha…? Sora what do ya mean?”

He smiled back at her trying to reassure her as much as possible. “Could you just do as I say, for now at least?”

While the little filly did blush at the smile he gave her, she couldn’t help but give him an apprehensive look. Something was wrong and she wanted to know what. However, something in the back of her mind told her to listen to Sora. Nodding in agreement, Applebloom returned to her room and quietly closed the door, leaving Sora alone once again.

The stallion made his way outside in a flash, frantically looking to and fro. He could still feel it. Something was definitely not right. “Ok, Sora. Here you are worrying a little girl about something your gut is telling you. It may very well be nothing at all but...” The feeling of danger still gnawed at his being, edging him to stay on the alert.

He made a beeline to the barn, kicking up dust as he went. “I really hope I’m wrong…”

Applejack struggled against the bonds that held her. She could feel the strength of whatever held her increase against all four of her hooves. As she tried with all of her might to free herself, the farm-mare caught a glimpse of her brother struggling to rise to his hooves, a claw wound to his side seeping blood onto the hay filled ground. The look of helplessness in his eyes only conveyed to her the truth she already knew; they were in trouble. The dark tentacles slowly pulled her towards a billowing blotch of darkness, determined to drag her into its unwelcoming abyss. She screamed with all of her might, but it was all for naught due to her muzzle being gagged by the darkness that held her.

No! She screamed in her mind. Ah can’t give up! B-but I can’t get free! Darn it! Why can’t ah get free!

She closed her eyes as she edged ever closer to the dark portal, her limbs struggling in protest. N-no…Ah…P-please… Tears started to form in her eyes. Ah can’t go…not like this…

“APPLEJACK!”

Applejack opened her eyes at the sound of the voice, but quickly closed them as a flash of light blurred her vision. She could feel something gripping her tightly, the feel of soft fur brushed tightly against her own. She stuttered slightly as the sight of caramel fur obscured her vision. “W-what in tarnation…?”

“Applejack! Are you ok?!”

She turned her face upwards to find Sora gripping her tight, his hooves locked around her waist. A look of concern etched onto his soft features. “That was pretty close.” He gave her a small smile. “Sorry for coming so late. You’re not hurt are you?”

She was unable to speak for a moment, only opting to shake her head at his question. When she finally composed herself she pointed a hoof toward her brother. “Big Mac! He’s hurt! Took a hit to his side!”

Releasing Applejack, he summoned the keyblade in a flash of light, turning his attention towards a set of pony shaped heartless rising from the shadows on ground. “Go make sure he’s alright. I’ll take care of things here.” Not waiting for a response, Sora jumped toward the crowd of heartless, brandishing his weapon expertly in his maw.

Applejack watched him for a second before she got to her hooves and galloped to her downed sibling. “Big Mac! Are ya’ll alright?!”

The red stallion nodded. “Eeyup. It looks a lot worse than it is.” He gaze shifted downward. “I fended them off as best ah could but ah…ah couldn’t.” He glared at Applejack. “Why didn’t ya’ll run when ah told ya’ll to run? Why didn’t ya listen?“

Applejack frowned deeply at his words. “What? And leave my family to face those…things. Y'all know ah wouldn’t do that!”

“What if ya got hurt? Or worse!” He gritted his teeth in frustration at the stubborn mare. “Besides, ya saw that thing wanted you. Ah tried to give ya a chance to escape as best ah could.”

“Well ya should’ve been more worried about yourself.” Her gaze shifted toward his side. “Look at ya. We need to tend to that wound.”

“Ah don’t care what happens to me so long as you’re safe, AJ!” Macintosh lowered his head once again. “Ah promised them that ah would be there for you…”

Applejack reared back slightly at the statement. “M-Macintosh…ah…know that…B-but…”

He shook his head. “Forget about me and run. Your friend might…not… ” Big Mac’s eyes grew in size as he watched what he beheld in front of him, his mouth refusing to shut.

Applejack turned just in time to see Sora whip his head upwards, sending the tip of his keyblade into the jaw of one of the monsters. The heartless was flung high into the sky, rendering it helpless as he moved on to another one of its kind. The one that currently held his attention tried to take a swipe at him with its claw-filled hoof but was met with thin air. Sora had slid under the monster stopping just short of its belly. He kicked his hind legs upward catching the heartless in the gut and sending it airborne as well. Just as the first heartless began to fall back to the ground, Sora returned to a vertical base and launched toward the dark creature.

Gripping it around its neck with his hooves, Sora twirled in place, spinning faster and faster. When he felt that he could go no faster he released the heartless, causing it to crash into the second one that had just begun its descent. They were only in midair for a second before they were both struck with a flung keyblade, effectively cutting them both in half and releasing their red crystal hearts. Before they even hit the ground, their bodies dissipated, leaving nothing left but their memory.

The slightly exhausted stallion turned to the two farm-ponies. “Is everybody ok?”

Big Mac and Applejack both nodded, too dumbstruck with awe to answer Sora correctly.

Applejack was told by Fluttershy that Sora could fight but what she just witnessed was unlike anything she had ever seen. There’s no way a pony should be able to move like that. And his strength. She was sure that his small frame held a hidden reserve of strength, but to toss those monsters around the way he did was surreal.

And his eyes.

She only caught a glimpse of them but she could see it. Something dark. Hatred? No. Fear. Fear of what though? She could not tell.

Sora made his way over to Big Mac and made the bigger stallion slip a hoof over his shoulder. Applejack followed suit and the both of them were able to support the wounded stallion. The trio made their way out the door and back toward the farmhouse. Once inside, Applejack set to work on tending to Big Mac’s injury.

“Sora. Go on upstairs and fetch me the first aid kit. Should be in the bathroom in the bottom cabinet.”

The stallion nodded and quickly made his way up the stairs. Applejack took the time to look over the wound. It didn’t look deep, so she was sure that it wouldn’t cause any pony problems. She barely had any time to dwell on thoughts as it took only a little time for Sora to return, though to her surprise, he was accompanied by a very alarmed Applebloom.

“Applejack! Big Mac!” Her voice was shaky, and slightly frantic. “What’s going on? What happened to Big Mac?! He’s bleeding!”

Applejack gave her a reassuring smile before she started to patch Macintosh up. “Everything’s fine Applebloom. Big Mac’s all right so don’t you worry none.” Her brother confirmed her statement with a nod and a smile of his own.

Sora watched as Applejack bandaged her brother. A twinge of guilt seeped into his heart. “I should have been there…”

Applejack gave Sora a confused look. “Pardon?”

“He wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I was there sooner. It’s my fault he’s hurt…”

“Now Sora, that’s just stinking thinking. It’s not like anypony knew this was going to happen, especially you.”

Sora shook his head. “But it fell on me to be there to protect you, and not just you AJ, but all of you. I promised Celestia. I promised to protect all of you to the best of my ability…” He chuckled though there was no humor to be found in his voice. “I’m still not strong enough…”

Applejack’s ears splayed back. “Sora…don’t say that. The way ya wrangled those critters, you’re plenty strong.”

He slammed his hoof on to the wooden floor, causing everypony to jump slightly. “No! I’m not! I’m too weak! Even with everything I’ve done, everything I’ve gone through! All of it was for nothing!” He lowered his head and closed his eyes. “It wasn’t even supposed to come to me.”

Applejack moved closer to the stallion. “Sora…what do ya mean? What wasn’t suppose ta come ta ya?”

“SORA!!”

Sora’s ears perked up at the female voice sounding from outside. He barely turned when the equivalent of a bullet train tackled him to the ground. He was only just able to recognize the bubblegum mane and fur of Pinkie Pie as she pinned him to the ground.

“P-Pinkie?” His speech was slurred at best. “What are you doing here…” He regained his composure to see that the pink party pony was not smiling in the least. Her ocean orbs were filled with so much worry that it poured into Sora’s soul. “Pinkie? What’s wrong?”

“I-It’s a monster! A monster is in Ponyville!”

Sora’s eyes instantly acquired a serious edge. “A monster? Pinkie start from the beginning.”

She released the stallion, allowing him to come to a vertical base before beginning her tale. “Well I was in Sugarcube Corner, baking you a cake to cheer you up. You really seemed down yesterday even though you were smiling. I was working well into the night and onwards toward morning. I know I told Ms. Cake that I wouldn’t stay up all night but I just really wanted to make something special for you.

“Just as I was finishing my cake, which was about ten minutes ago, my Pinkie Since started to act up! Itchy left foreleg, twitching right eye, swirling left eye! I never had that Pinkie Since before but I sure as sugar didn’t like it one bit. I decided to get out of Sugarcube Corner as fast as I could. When I got outside I saw two of those shadow thingies. They suddenly appeared in front of me. I was totally caught by surprise, and not the good kind of surprise either. They were about to pounce on me when ‘BAM’ I was tackled out of the way. I looked up to find an earth pony with an hourglass cutie mark over me.

“’Ello!’” Pinkie said in an odd accent. “’I’m the Doctor’ He said, and I was about to ask ‘Doctor who?’ but he must have read my mind because before I could even talk he said ‘Just the Doctor’. Then he pulled out this weird glowing stick and pointed toward those shadow thingies and they just began to shirk away. I don’t know why but they did. Then the Doctor told me ‘You best get some help, these aren’t the Vasta Narata but they still seem to be dangerous’. And I was about to ask what the Vasta Narata was but he cut me off again saying ‘Another time maybe my dear girl. I believe you have someone you need to find’. I was confused at first but then I remembered that those shadow thingies were heartless and that’s when I remembered you! So I ran all the way here and here I am!”

Sora blinked once as he soaked in all the information. The only part that he was able to truly decipher was the fact that the Heartless were in Ponyville, and that was all that he needed to know until a new thought crossed his mind. “If the heartless were after you and Applejack…then the others are in danger as well!”

Now he really needed to act, and fast. He was just about to launch himself out the door when he felt something gripping his tail tight. He turned just in time to see Applejack spit his tail out of her mouth. “What? I need to get going AJ!”

“Ah know that Sora, but we also need ta think this through, come up with a plan and what not!”

Sora shook his head. “I can’t just sit around here planning! I need to act!”

“And do what?! Run around like a filly on fire?! Do even know where to go?!”

Sora couldn’t form a rebuttal. That really was his plan after all. “So…what do you suggest?”

“We need ta get ta Ponyville but I’m also worried about the others. So we split up.” She pointed to Sora. “You go on ahead ta Ponyville. You at least know the way to Twilight’s and Rarity’s. Go check up on them.” She turned to Pinkie. “Pinkie! Go look for RD. You’re the best at finding her…or anypony for that matter. I’ll go get Fluttershy.”

Sora shook his head. “What happens if you two get attacked by the heartless again? I won’t be there to protect you. I-”

Applejack tapped the top of his head, silencing him. “We won’t know unless we try right? Sides, Ah got surprised last time but that won’t happen again ah promise ya.” She opened a drawer, pulling out a long piece of rope. “With this I’ll be able to lasso those critters before they have a chance ta blink.”

Pinkie held up a pie in both hooves. “And I’ll give them a taste of the sweeter side of things.”

Sora had blinked only once. Those pies. Did she always have them?

He shook the useless thoughts away before returning to the matter at present. “I still don’t want you two going out there. I don’t want to put any of you in danger.” Before they could protest he held up a hoof and continued. “But…I don’t see any other way around it. Just promise me you’ll stay safe and don’t fight the heartless if you can help it. I don’t want you two getting hurt cause I wasn’t there.”

Applejack and Pinkie Pie smiled as well, giving the stallion a salute. “Ya got it partner/Okie-dokie-Loki!”

Sora smiled brightly, his eyes returning to their usual brilliance. “OK then!” He pointed a hoof toward the door. “Lets go!” Pinkie and Sora left out the door soon after. Applejack was about to do the same when the sound of Big Mac calling her name caused her to pause.

He wanted to forbid her to go. He wanted to hold her down and make sure that she stay well away from all of whatever they were just talking about, but he knew his sister better than that. With a heavy sigh he spoke. “I…just…Just be careful, AJ. Ok?”

Applejack smiled before waving a hoof. “I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. You just worry about getting Granny Smith and Applebloom to safety.” She took off towards Fluttershy’s cottage but not before glancing back at Sora’s retreating backside. “Sora…”

“BUCKBUCKBUCKBUCKBUCKBUCKBUCKBUCK!!”

Rainbow ran as if her life depended on it because on all accounts it actually did. She turned just for a second to find two of those shadow ponies closing in on her fast. It didn’t help matters that her wing was still smarting after falling on it so hard. I had to pick that that night to spend the night in a tree. All because I was too bucking lazy to go home! She would have kicked her on rump for being so stupid but there was no way she could stop for one second. “Whatever these things are, they are fast!”

She chanced a look back to find the shadow ponies slowly but surely edging their way closer. “Buck! I have to get out of here!” She turned just in time to watch herself slam into a tree. The mare groaned as she slowly slid down the truck of her demise, coming to rest at the base of the tree. Rainbow tenderly rubbed at her head, feeling a sizable knot form. “Ugh...Of course this happens...”

She turned her head to find the heartless creeping closer to her. She tried to stand, but fell back over against the tree.

“Ah...Darn it…” She closed her eyes, and hoped for a miracle.

“IT’S PARTY TIME!!”

SPLAT!

Rainbow barely registered the fact that the creatures now had a face full of some type of pasty substance on their faces. She also was unable to comprehend the hoof that had pulled her up on her own hooves and was now semi-dragging her along. She was only able to regain her bearings when they had stopped a bit of a ways away from the heartless. She turned to find the one pony that she wouldn’t expect to be rescued by.

“P-Pinkie?”

“That’s my name! Don’t wear it out!”

The pink party pony absentmindedly reached behind a tree and pulled out a comically oversized cannon that was in no way able to even look like it should have been able to fit behind there. She carefully aimed it at the monsters as she spoke.

“Hmm…Now that I think about it, I wonder if you really can wear out somepony’s name? If you can’t then why do ponies say such an odd saying?” She turned to Rainbow. “And if you can then why don’t more ponies put some sort of outreach program for the ponies that had their name worn out? I mean really, you think more would be known about those ponies. Can you imagine it? Ponies upon ponies whose name get worn out. What do you call them? Not by their name that’s for sure. I wonder if they would get another name similar to their first? That would be ok, right? I mean if you think about it, that would be ok. Oh! But what about my name? Not too many names for the word pink. At least none I can think of. I could be called a different color I suppose. OH OH OH! I want to be called Yellow! Yeah, Yellow sounds great! NO WAIT, ORANGE! But wait. Aren’t Applejack’s aunt and uncle named Orange? I guess I can’t be orange then. How about-“

“Pinkie! Heartless!!” Rainbow interrupted.

While Pinkie was busy ranting, the shadows had recovered from their pie-attack and were quickly closing the distance towards the duo. The party mare glanced the heartless’ way before smiling towards the rainbow maned pegasus.

“Whoops. Forgot about them.” She pressed the fuse down with her hoof as though it was a button, setting it off and releasing a stream of cake batter at the creatures. The heartless were blown away into the nearby river where they were swept downstream in its current.

Pinkie turned the cannon upright to look inside. “Whoops a second time. I put cake batter in my confetti cannon again. Huh. Go figure.”

Rainbow Dash’s eye twitched slightly before a smile formed upon her lips. She couldn’t help but laugh a little at the pink party mare. “Pinkie. You’re so random…”

Pinkie turned to her friend with a concerned expression. “Why didn’t you try to fly away, Dashie?”

Rainbow groaned as she pointed to her wing. “Fell out of a tree. Sprained my wing in the fall. It’ll be ok in a bit but won’t be able to use it for a while.”

Pinkie nodded, accepting her response. “Well, come on. We have to get to Ponyville. I’m still worried about everypony there.”

“You mean that those things are in Ponyville?!”

“Yep. Sora is getting his flank over there now as we speak. I know he’s supposed to be the hero of this story but heroes can always do with some extra support.”

Rainbow grinned. “Well of course, if he can’t handle things I’ll be there to show him up.” She took off, galloping at high speed. “Come on, Pinkie! Let’s show Spikey how real heroes get things done! No running away now!”

Pinkie giggled as she followed behind the pegasus. “Weren’t you running away from-?”

“PINKIE!!!”

Applejack quickly traversed the distance to Fluttershy’s cottage. She prayed to Celestia on high that she could get there before…before...

She shuddered slightly. “I…I can’t think like that. Ah will get there. Ah will save mah friends!” She put an extra burst of speed into her stride. “Just gotta think positive. She had to have gotten away. She just had to…” Despite her trying to convince herself, thoughts of Fluttershy being visibly taken away into that black whatever that was still plagued her mind’s eye. “Oh Fluttershy…please be alright…”

Her hope was held high until she came within vicinity of Fluttershy’s Cottage, that’s when despair gave way, piercing her heart completely. The front door was completely off its hinges, laying to one side upon the ground broken and beaten.

“No…NonoNONONO!” She galloped as fast as she could to the doorway. “FLUTTERSHY!” Applejack burst into the house only to be met with silence. The early beams of the sun shined through the windows causing the disheartening sight of overturned tables and destroyed objects to make her cringe inwardly. She was too late. The heartless had been here.

“No…Fluttershy…Ah was…” She lowered her head and gritted her teeth. Even after the promise she had made to Sora that it was going to be okay. “Ah was too late…”

Applejack sat herself amidst the mess, lost in her world of despair, barely noticing the tap on her shoulder. Her ears would perk at the gentle and frightened voice behind her.

“Um…I’m sorry. If you’re too busy to talk then I’ll try again-“

“FLUTTERSHY!” Applejack got to her hooves and pulled the pegasus into a tight embrace. “Ah thought those things got to ya! Ah was so worried and…and…wait?” She pulled the mare away to look at her dead in the eyes. “Where did yal come from?”

“W-well…” Fluttershy looked back at her book case. “I was hiding when those things came into my house.”

Applejack stared at her, flabbergasted, “Wait? Ya knew they were coming?”

“Not exactly.”

The farm mare raised an eyebrow. “But you were already hiding?”

“Yes…me and my animal friends…”

“…”

"..."

Applejack embraced her friend once again. "Ya know what? Ah don't care. As long as you are safe and sound." She reared up one behind legs before marking her way toward the door. "Come on Shy. We need ta git ta Ponyville on the double."

The shy mare’s eyes widened. “W-What?! But why? Those things are still out there and...I-”

“There’s neither hide nor hair of them critters right now Flutters. They must have left when they couldn’t find ya.”

“B-but why do we need to go to Ponyville? Wouldn’t it be safer to stay here? Where it’s safe.”

“Think about it Shy. If those things were after ya’ll then what’s to stop ‘em from going after the rest of us? They already tried and nap be and Big Mac after all.”

Fluttershy pulled away from the country mare, shaking her head wildly. “E-even if that’s that case…what can I do? I’ll just get in everypony’s way.”

“That’s not true. We need ya there, Fluttershy.” When it didn’t look like the shy mare would budge, she decided to play her ace. “Sides, Sora might need all the support we can give em.”

Fluttershy’s ears perked up at the stallion’s name. “W-why do you say that?”

Bingo.

Applejack sat on her haunches. “See…Big Mac got hurt pretty badly when the creatures attacked the farm.” At the gasp Flutttershy gave, the farm-mare held up a hoof. “Don’t worry, it looked a lot worse than it was, and Sora was there to save us before anything bad really happened. The thing is though, he took full blame for the attack.”

“I-I’m sure it was nopony’s fault...Well maybe the heartless… But why would he blame himself?”

Applejack shook her head and sighed. “Ah don’t know. He just…flipped out. He blamed himself for being too weak. “

“Too weak? B-but the way he fought those monsters…”

“Ah know. Ah seen em. He’s amazing. Ah never seen a pony fight that way before. Still, the way he talked down to himself...I would have never thought that a pony like him would feel that way.”

Fluttershy kicked at the ground. “…I…I think I know what you mean. Sora isn’t telling us something. I don’t think it’s bad but…I don’t think it’s good either. At least, not good for him.”

AJ nodded. “Which is why we need to help him. Ta show him that he has friends here.”

Fluttershy thought for a moment. She couldn’t fight, not like the rest, but she did want to help Sora out as much as she could. With silent resolve she made her way to an overturned dresser and opened one of the draws. She was happy to find that it was still intact.

“Fluttershy. What in the hay is that?”

The pegasus presented the object to the cowmare. “I-it’s a…well it’s fruit made out of cloth actually.”

“A fruit?”

Fluttershy nodded. “The Paopu fruit. Or its suppose to look like one. It’s really common where he comes from. He told me how it looks and also about how ponies give them to one another as a sign of being friends forever. Since we don’t have any here I thought that…That I could give him this instead.” Fluttershy cheeks turned a shade of red. “I wanted to let him know that I was there for him…”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. Never seen Shy so forward…still…She smiled. “I see. Well then say no more, Fluttershy. I’m sure that he would be happy for you to give him that. But how about ya do so after we make sure our friends are ok.”

Fluttershy nodded and smiled happily. The pair then departed from the cottage with both newfound hope and worry.

“Well…this isn’t good…”

The Doctor stared down at Ponyville from his perch on top of the hill as the blobs of darkness began to gather towards town hall. They all seemed to be waiting for something, and he had a pretty good idea of what it could have been.

He couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “Living shadows that are not part of the Vasta Narata…never encountered that before. Heh…that’s a new wrinkle. A bad new wrinkle but a new one none the less”

“Professor! I think that’s everypony!”

The stallion turned to find a gray pegasus breaking away from a crowd of frightened ponies. Her yellow mane bristled in the ominous wind as she focused one of her wayward eyes on the stallion. “I think we got them all before anypony was hurt.” She couldn’t help but release a sigh of relief. “Rose and making sure they are calming down. If we had not have warn everypony, then who knows what would have happened.”

The Doctor raised an eyebrow to the gray pegasus. “First off, I told you Miss Hooves, It’s the Doctor; secondly, I do hope you are right. I’m actually surprised at how well we were able to convince everyone that Ponyville was being attacked. I thought for sure they would have not believed me or in the worst case threw me out of town, or off a cliff. Can’t count how many times that almost happened. Course seeing living shadows coming out of the ground plays a big factor on being-“

“Twilight! Spike! Where are you!?”

Derpy and The Doctor turned to see a white unicorn with a swirly purple mane and tail frantically looking around in a panicked state.

“Has anypony seen Twilight and Spike?! I can’t find them anywhere!”

“Twilight…” The Doctor instantly ran to the white unicorn gaining her attention. “You there! Miss White Unicorn! Did you lose someone?”

“My friends!” She was practically in tears as she spoke. “I thought for sure that they were right behind me, but as soon as I got here I noticed that they were nowhere to be found. I can’t find them at all!”

Keeping a kindhearted expression he smiled warmly. “I’m sure they are fine. From what I hear Twilight is well able to take care of herself, after all.”

Before the unicorn could even respond she heard her name being called from afar. She turned to find a caramel stallion racing toward her. She cried “Sora!” and flung herself quite dramatically toward him. Though the stallion caught her in his hooves, both unicorn and pegasus tumbled to the ground.

“R-Rarity?! You’re alright!” Sora’s gaze turned to a crowd of ponies gathering around the scene. “You all are…But who...How?”

“That would be me. I’m the Doctor, thanks.” He held out a hoof to the stallion.

“I’m Sora.” He took the Doctor’s hoof on his own shaking it. “You’re the one that saved Pinkie as well, right?”

He thought for a moment before realization came upon him. “AH! You mean that really pink pony?” He then paused, “Of course her name is Pinkie...What do I expect from this world anymore?”

Sora turned to Rarity, not paying the least bit of attention to the Doctor mumble under his breath. “Where’s Twilight? Is she here too?”

Rarity shook her head. “I don’t know! She and Spike were right behind me, but then I lost them in the crowd.”

The Doctor shifted his gaze toward the town. “If my fears are grounded, and I find they often are…” He pulled a weird device from behind his tie and pointed it towards the mass of darkness that was converging on town hall. A loud whirl was produced for only a second before it stopped. He gazed at the device before turning to face Sora. “Yep! Just as I suspected. Those things are gathering towards some sort of power. If I had to guess, that might be her. She’s somewhere in there, most likely town hall.”

Sora stared at the merging darkness, his teeth gritting slightly. “If she’s there, then that’s where I’m going.”

Rarity stood beside him, a glare in her own eye. “If you’re going, then so am I!”

Sora was about to protest but then thought better of it. He didn’t want to put others in danger but the girls in this world were unusually stubborn. Actually, to be fair, so were Kairi and Sophie, and Yuffie and Paine, and Aritha, and the Queen and…well there was no shortage of strong willed girls he knew that would not think twice about defying his orders.

He sighed a defeated sigh as he turned to face the mare. “You don’t leave my side for a second. Okay?”

“But of course Darling.”

Sneaking around was never Sora’s forte. Still with Rarity in tow, he felt it was a necessary annoyance. Besides her knowledge of the town made it so much easier to move . The two ponies had little trouble navigating the streets of the infested Ponyville. The young stallion was surprised that they had only a few skirmishes here and there. Sora was most adamant in taking them out quickly while Rarity chose to hide a safe distance away, cheering her hero on. Everything was going quite smoothly.

That in itself, was something that really unnerved Sora a great deal.

One of the downsides of being a wielder of the Keyblade was that the weapon would act as a beacon and attract the Heartless, most of the time in droves. As to why the two ponies were not constantly being attacked was still a mystery to the him. The only time they seemed to attack was when the two ponies veered off away from Town Hall. It was almost like they were being led there.

He really wasn't pleased by that line of thinking.

“Sora…” The stallion turned to the white unicorn mare as she called his name. “I have to admit...I’m a little worried. Those creatures are just dreadful and...” She gulped. “Twilight is...here...somewhere. Do you think she is safe?”

Sora shook his head gravely. “I don’t know…” He put on a brave smile as he faced her. “But I promised to protect you girls no matter what…So even if she is in trouble right now, I’ll get her right out of trouble no problem.”

Rarity could only nod in agreement and press herself a little closer to him as they continued to trek their way to the center of town. The mare looked toward the stallion with a worried glance. She could see that he was on edge, maybe even more than her. His ears swiveled in all directions as his eyes darted from left to right, looking for the slightest of movement. Despite the situation they were in, she could not help but smile. He may be a bit childish at times but it seemed to her that when it really matters he could really be a force to be reckoned with. A real knight in shining armor as it were.

It wasn’t long before the two had made their way to the center of town, A very odd sight stopping them dead in their tracks.

A pony stood on top of town’s stage, cloaked in a tattered cape as black as midnight. Sora would have thought that it was a heartless if it went for their eyes being visible under the cloak. He could see a deep red peering straight at him with cold intensity.

The pony however was not what shocked them into a stupor.

Beside the cloaked figure was a purple bubble of energy floating just above the ground. And inside the field was something that made Sora’s heart nearly stop.

“I-Is that…Oh Celestia! Is that her heart!?”

Sora’s shock turned to rage, not even being able to answer her correctly. Inside the bubble was an unconscious Twilight, floating almost peacefully on her back. Above her was a pink crystal like heart floating just above her chest. Below her floating body was a terrified purple dragon pounding away at the wall inside the force field, tears flowing freely down his face.

Sora swore out loud before summoning his keyblade. He prepared himself to rush forward but was stopped when the sound of a roar nearly caused him to tumble over. A massive spike-like appendage came crashing down towards himself and Rarity. The hero grabbed the white unicorn, jumping away just as the attacked. When the pair recovered, they found themselves face to face with a monster.

Plant-like in structure, the size of it matched that of town hall, maybe even a little bigger. The stem of the plant was plump, thick, and black; riddled with spikes of the purest red. Extending from the bottom of its body were four claw-like appendages it seemed to use as legs. Its head was round and big, attached to the body like that of a sunflower. Unlike a sunflower however, this creature had a gaping mouth and yellow slits that looked like eyes. From where the ends of its mouth were two deadly mandibles. Last but not least was a symbol of a frightening looking familiar symbol etched upon its chest, a mark Sora knew all too well.

“Heartless…”

“T-that’s a heartless?!” Rarity exclaimed pointing a hoof at the creature.

Sora got back to his hooves and leered at the cloaked pony. “What did you do to Twilight?!”

The mare gave a casual look besided her, a frown etching upon her face. “Well ya see that’s quite the question isn’t it. I only tried to steal her heart but…” She brought a hoof to tap the side of the shield. “When I did, this happened. Heh, I guess my charms don’t work on every pony huh?”

“S-steal her heart…?” Rarity choked as she slipped behind Sora.

“What? Can’t you hear with those fat ears of yours. Yes steal her heart. Not that hard to comprehend is it?” The mare shook her head slightly.

Sora stepped forward growling lightly. “Get away from her!”

A creepy smile could be seen from beneath the mask. "Aww. How cute. You think you’re in control.” Sitting on her haunches the mare clapped her hooves together twice causing the monster to rear back and release a deafening roar. It raised a spiked appendage, attempting to finish them in one blow. Its attempt was fruitless however as Sora had quickly wrapped a screaming Rarity under his foreleg and jumped a good twenty feet back, avoiding the strike yet again.

Quickly after releasing the mare from his grasp, Sora proceeded to summon his Keyblade, and charged straight towards the monsters. The heartless, for its part, lunged forward as well raising another leg to strike down upon him again, but was only met with nothing but dirt as Sora rolled to the side avoiding the crushing blow. Before it could recover, the stallion leapt high into the air attempting to slash at its face. That would prove to be a mistake however as the monster opened his gaping maw just as Sora neared. With a deafening snap, the Heartless closed its jaws around the caramel stallion.

Rarity screamed and averted her eyes as the monster bit down, not wanting to see the fate of her hero.

“What the…HOW THE HELL…!!?”

Upon hearing the voice of the cloaked mare, Rarity slowly brought her attention back to the battle. To both her surprise and delight she found Sora completely unharmed but struggling to hold the top and bottom of the heartless’s maw open with his fore and hind hooves. Rarity cheered the hero on with glee. The monster, on the other hand, did not take very well to being denied its quick victory. It started to thrash about, shaking its head wildly in an attempt to dislodge the pony. The stallion, however, held on strong, not allowing his strength to falter in the slightest.

The heartless, finding that its victory would not be so easy, reared its head as it faced a nearby building. Without hesitation, it launched itself towards it, nearly demolishing the house in one go, creating a cloud of dust and smoke in the process.

The monster, now dazed, lifted its head up to oversee its work. The side of the building was completely trashed, turned to a pile of debris. The heartless roared before facing Rarity, fully intent on making her its next victim.

“YOU IDIOT! ABOVE YOU!!”

The monster had just enough time to face the sky before a hard metal object came crashing down upon its head. Sora held the pose he had when he had thrown his Keyblade from the peak of his jump for a moment before he started to fall. Flapping his wings once, he directed his descent to come within a couple of feet of the heartless just as the monster toppled over onto the ground in a complete daze. Sora’s Keyblade came down soon after, landing point first beside its wielder as if it had a mind of its own.

Sora scraped at the ground with his hoof before lowering his head in a threatening manner. “Ok! time to take you out!” He quickly dislodged his blade, and shot forward, closing the distance between him and the slowly recovering heartless.

He was prepared for the snap of the monster’s jaws, easily jumping over the desperate attack. With his head raised high in the air the stallion yelled in between clenched teeth. “FIRE!”

He expected the creature to be burned alive in a blaze of glory.

He did not expect nothing to happen at all.

What the…?! My magic! It’s not…!!

He barely had time to ponder as he was delivered a swift kick in the face by the cloaked pony, sending him sprawling on the ground.

Rarity gasped as she ran to Sora’s side. “Sora!” She held the semiconscious stallion close to her. “Darling! Are you ok?”

The young stallion slowly, with her help, raised himself up to a sitting position, though his mind was not quite on her worried inquiries. “M-my magic…it’s not…”

Both Rarity and Sora tuned at the sound of the cloaked mare landing a few feet away from them, cracking with pure sadistic joy. “Well that was priceless! Down right, class A comedy act! I don’t know what you were doing but it seems that you failed miserably. Some would even say epicly.”

Rarity turned to glare at the cloaked pony. “No fair! You’re not supposed to interfere like that!”

“Oh please!” The cloaked pony spat. “You must be some sort of idiot to think that I would just let you make a fool of my heartlesses without some kind of recompense. This isn’t some fantasy novel you know.” The cloaked mare gave Sora a sideways glance. “And if this is all the keyblade can do then I don’t even have to worry about any of you any more.” She smiled as a wicked looking spear popped beside her, wrapped in a black aura. “Still…can’t have you running about and causing trouble so…” The spear shot forward in an attempt to impale both ponies.

Sora’s eyes winded as the attack came. Not because he would get hit, but because Rarity had moved before he could, wrapping her hooves around him to...Protect him.

R-Rarity...Stop...move...get away...I...

Just as it was about to strike something wrapped itself around the pair and jerked them backwards, causing the weapon to hit nothing but thin hair.

“YEEE-HAAA! Looks like we made it just in time.” AJ expertly jerked the rope that held Rarity and Sora, untying the pair from its hold.

“Just as well, too. Seems our HERO already needs us to save him.” Rainbow quipped.

“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy ran to Rarity’s and Sora’s side. “Are you two alright?”

“Of course they are!” Pinkie cheered as she bounced in from seemingly nowhere. “Didn’t you see his slick moves out there? Well, at least until the end.”

“Girls!” Rarity cried with joy. “What are you doing here?”

Before any of them could answer, Fluttershy screamed as she pointed a hoof towards a massive fireball that was hurtling towards the group. Swift as the wind, Sora summoned his Keyblade once more and leapt toward the income mass of energy. His Keyblade deflected it, redirecting it toward the one who had summoned it. The heartless toppled over onto its back as soon as it was struck, damaging a building behind it.

“Damn it! How the hell are all of you here!?” The cloaked pony screamed, pointing a hoof at Sora and the girls. “All of you should have had your hearts taken from you!”

Applejack was about to retort with a witty remark but the sight of Twilight and Spike in the bubble instantly caught her attention. “Twi! What the hey?! What did ya do to her?!

“She’s trying to turn her into a heartless!” Sora called out before turning his attention back to the monster that was slowly rising. “We have to finish this now!” He dashed off towards the heartless.

“Oh no you don’t you little-?!” the cloaked pony began to race after him with her horn glowing a dark red. Before she could attack him however, one of her hindlegs was entrapped by AJ’s rope.

“You ain’t going anywhere missy! Tell us what ya did to Twilight right now!”

“Don’t interfere!” Screamed the cloaked pony. She wrapped the rope in a dark glow and began to drag AJ towards her.

“Woah nelly!” Applejack sat on her haunches, doing her best to stop the mare from pulling her, but it was to no avail, the cloaked unicorn’s magic being much stronger then the Earth pony’s strength. One could see a wicked smile under the darkness of her hood as she was about to pull the cowpony mare into her grasp.

“Got you now you little-!”

SPLAT!!

Pinkie stood on her hind legs as she balanced a pair of pies on each of her fore hooves. “Nopony hurts my friends!”

The cloaked pony roared with anger. “GAAAHH! STOP GETTING IN MY WAY!!” She readied her magic to fire at the pink pony but was caught off guard when something hard rammed into her side, causing the mare to crash into a nearby building. Rainbow Dash landed where the evil mare had once been, huffing in triumph.

“And stay down ya jerk.”

Sora did not want to leave them, but with the threat of the heartless still looming over them all he had little to no choice. He needed to finish it off and he needed to do it now. There was no telling how long Twilight’s heart would be safe inside the bubble, providing if it wasn’t already too late now.

The stallion took to the air, using his wings to direct himself above the struggling heartless. He grasped the Keyblade tight in his jaw, just as he started to free-fall downward attempting to stab the heartless within its crest. The monster, seeing this, began to charge up another ball of energy from its maw. The stallion made no move to steer out of the way or block however. Instead, he aimed straight for gathering energy, and threw his weapon with all of his might. It connected with the ball, causing the reaction Sora wanted. The ball exploded in on itself, wrapping the heartless in a dark light. When it cleared, all that was left was a disfigured mess of a monster.

“Time to finish this!!” He shot downward, summoning his Keyblade back into his maw. With one more mighty flap of his wings, the boy descended onto the monster, his blade striking the crest of the heartless, causing it to shine like the brightest sun, blinding everypony present. When the light subsided, Fluttershy was the first to open her eyes. What she saw; what every pony saw, would forever be burned into their memories for days to come.

Sora had landed back onto the ground, standing strong as particles of light began to dissipate into the sky. Almost directly above him was the most beautiful crystalized heart anypony could have ever seen slowly rose to the sky above, the shimmering gem a testament to the strength of the one that had freed it. All eyes turned to the heart watching it ascend into the sky before disappearing completely.

Sora released a breath of relief before looking around frantically. “Hey! Where’s that robed pony!?”

Rainbow too had been transfixed by the sight of the heart that she had forgotten all about the strange unicorn. The Cyan mare flew to where she had last seen her, but as soon as she got there, there was no sign of the cloaked pony whatsoever. “What the hay?! But she was just right here!”

Applejack stomped the ground in frustration. “Shoot! She must’ve escaped when we weren’t looking!”

Pinkie Pie was already racing toward Twilight and Spike. “We can worry about her later! We need to help Twilight!”

All ponies instantly forgot about their escaped enemy and followed after Pinkie Pie. As they reached the magenta bubble, they could see Spike holding on to Twilight’s hoof. He was no longer crying but worry still seemed to plague his features. Rainbow shook her head before reeling on Sora.

“W-what’s gonna happen to her?” She asked in a frantic voice.

Sora shook his head. “I...Don’t know. I’ve never seen this before.”

Fluttershy was the next to speak. “…Can you save her?”

His ears folded back against his head. “I…Don’t know…”

“You don’t know…you don’t know…” She grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt as she pulled him it to her. “YOU DON’T KNOW?! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE BUCKING HERO! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT US!!”

The tears in the mare's eyes caused Sora’s own to widen by degrees.

My fault...

Applejack forcibly pulled the mare off of the stallion and held her the angry mare back. “Rainbow! Yelling at him ain’t gonna solve anything! Besides, ya’ll are being unfair!”

Sora shook his head. “…But she’s right…I...I am supposed to protect you…I’m supposed to protect all of you…” He turned to face the magenta sphere that held Twilight and her heart. “I…I wasn’t there to protect her. This is my fault…”

Fluttershy stepped up beside him as tears started to form in her eyes. “Sora…”

“What can we do? How can we help her?” Rarity herself was close to tears as she looked on helplessly.

“I…I don’t know…” His ears perked up before turning to look towards the mares. “MY KEYBLADE!”

“What about your Keyblade, darling?” Rarity asked wiping her eyes

He began to jump up and down in place as he spoke excitedly. “My Keyblade, any Keyblade, has the ability to unlock anything. Not just doors but chest and cabinets; gateways and…and they can unlock hearts.”

Rainbow scoffed slightly. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Don’t you see? Not only can it unlock but it can lock as well…” He dropped to his hunches. “It’s…A long shot. And I don’t know if I can even do it. I’ve only ever did something like this one time before. And that wasn’t with my own keyblade.”

“That sounds mighty dangerous, sugarcube.” Applejack voiced.

“I know. I know. I’m not even sure my Keyblade can do it… but…I have to try!”

Fluttershy gripped his hoof as he started to trot toward the sphere. “Sora…what if something goes wrong…What if…”

Sora smiled gently towards her. “If something goes wrong…Then I’ll do everything in my power to make it go right.”

Fluttershy could tell that he was just trying to cover up his apprehension, but it put a smile on her face all the same. “Ok…Oh.” She turned to AJ. “Applejack, do you…?”

“Right here sugarcube.” The farm-mare lifted her hat and pulled out the plush star that Fluttershy had made. She placed the star into Fluttershy outstretched hoof and smiled lightly.

“Here…”Fluttershy said with a blush. “I…I don’t know if this is what it looks like but…I made you this.” She placed the work of art into Sora’s own hoof.

“It’s…a paopu charm…” It was rather simple. A five point start with each tip having the fur colors of each of her friends. In the middle however was two colors. One of Caramel and the other a butter yellow.

“I…I stayed up all night working on it. Thinking of you...and all of my friends. I just...its not much and I don't know if it will help but. You have to bring Twilight back. I know you can do it.”

Sora smiled softly at the mare before pocketing the good luck charm. “Right! I’m gonna bring Twilight back no matter what! Just watch!”

Summoning his Keyblade, the stallion geared himself up for a task he felt he was not ready for, but one he needed to do, one he had no choice but to accomplish. The Keyblade of Hearts his blade isn’t; but a Keyblade connected to hearts it is.

“Here goes nothing.” Sora pointed his blade at the bubble, the tip of the key brimming with energy before shoting out towards Twilight. As it did, the brightest light anypony could see began to surround the group, blinding all in in pure white.

I…it's too much…I can’t fight it…

Twilight seeped further and further into the darkness. The oddly cooling effect it gave her as she sunk deeper and deeper into it felt relaxing. She had struggled at first, doing her best to fight against it but slowly, surely, she would sink to the inky feeling it gave her.

Tears slowly fell down her face as she closed her eyes.

What can I do? I…I just can’t fight it any longer…Spike…Princess…Everypony…I…I’m sorry…

She sunk deep into the despair of darkness sinking into its ebony waves, until…

-ght!!

A voice. She could hear a voice. Where did it come from?

Twilight!!

The voice. It was calling her name. Who was it?

Twilight grab my hand!

Their hand? They wanted her to grab their hand. Twilight reached out with her hoof as a oddly shaped figure slowly came into view. It was obscured by the light he had behind it but she could make out an elongated body, a body not like a pony at all…in fact she had never seen anything like it in all of her life. She felt it’s “hand” wrap around her hoof, holding it tight. Her eyes adjusted for only a moment to catch sky blue eyes staring down upon her own. Eyes she had sworn she had seen before.

“Twilight...” The figure said. She could feel herself being slowly pulled out of the darkness, the figure wrapping his forelimbs around her frame when she was fully free of the dark pool that had threatened to overtake her. As her head slumped into the figures chest, her eyes began to slowly close as fatigued enveloped her. She could see a small starlike object made of felt clutched within its grasp as he held her. It was something she had never seen before in her life, and yet...the warmth of it was something she would never forget.

Light washed over both her and her savior’s forms cutting off any coherent sounds she had tried to produce. One last thought, however, crossed the deep reaches of her mind. One last thought that only produced more questions than anything else she had learned in her short time with a certain stallion. His heart felt so familiar. Strange. Alien. Warmth. Fear...Hope?

Sora…

Golden Oaks Library

Twilight’s eyes slowly opened to the bright light of the sun shining through a crack in her window. She instantly closed them again as the sun pained her eyes with searing light, having not yet had time to fully adjust.

“Gah…every time…” the lavender unicorn cursed inwardly.

Twilight stifled a yawn and stretched her limbs, forcing any kinks she had out of her system, and shaking off her tiredness. She pushed off the covers and slipped out of bed, pulling the sheets back into place once she was on the floor. Tidiness is next to Princessness. A silly saying to be sure but one she held with high esteem. More than likely because Celestia always told her those words when she was still a filly.

When she was done making up her bed, she made her way to her bathroom and stood in front of her mirror. She found that her mane was a mess, which was no surprise to her. She showed her pearly white teeth, checking for any imperfection they might have acquired in her time asleep. When nothing could be seen, she raised her hair brush and slowly began to straighten out her mane, smoothing out all the loose ends. She was halfway through brushing her hair when a thought occurred to her.

When did she get into bed?

She had remembered waking up the day before. Or rather, way early in the morning to do some reading. She was in the middle of a particular book that, while cheesy in both execution and production, she found it emotionally and, in some ways, physically stimulating. Her mind strayed away for only a moment, remembering a particular scene within the confines of the book. She giggled lightly as a blush formed in a pink hue on her cheeks. The hero of the story had just rescued the love of his life from falling off the cliff the villain of the story pushed her off of. The hero leapt head first after her holding out his hoof, ready to catch her. It reminded her of…

Twilight’s eyes widened as thoughts flashed through her mind.

Memories...her memories…Memories of darkness and fear. Fear of losing everything.

She raised a hoof to her head as the memories came flooding into her mind. “I…I was…Somewhere I shouldn’t have been…somewhere I didn’t want to be. I…” She remembered the cold darkness wrapping around her frame and she shuddered lightly. “The darkness…it had me... I...”

Realization hit her smack dab in the face. She had been in the library reading her book when she had noticed something from the corner of her eye. A shadow…moving by itself. She had thought it was a trick of the light but then…

“Oh Dear Celestia!” She shouted as she ran out the room, replaying the events in her mind as she went.

The heartless! They had been in here. They had tried to grab her, but she managed to evade capture somehow. She had managed to zap Spike on to her back before bolting out the door. She saw more of those creatures everywhere she went. Walls. Roofs. It was the parasprite invasion all over again. She could see that other ponies were following a gray pegasus away from the town and decided to follow suite. It wasn’t much longer until Rarity came into view, and the two ponies made their way to White Tail Woods. She had learned that Rarity was attacked as well. She too had escaped, though she would need a new sewing machine later.

Twilight, Spike, and Rarity somehow managed to avoid detection for quite some time when she felt something latch onto her back. She and Spike barely had any time to grasp the situations let alone scream in alarm.

After that, she could barely remember anything. Nothing except darkness. She was being swallowed up by the it and felt that she would have been if not for…

“Sora?!”

“Twili-!?!”

Smack!!

Twilight ran straight down the stairs, not paying any attention to where she was going. She felt that the one who had been coming up the stairs was doing the same thing due to the surprise look in her magenta eyes.

Both Twilight and Rainbow tumbled painfully down the stairs, landing a foot away from them when they reached to bottom. The crash and tumble had left both ponies in a mass of fur and feathers.

Rainbow laid squarely on her back, legs sprawled out wide as if she was trying to make the letter X and failing miserably. Her eyes swirled comically as she was left with little coherence after getting the wind knocked out of her by the body of the lavender unicorn who had landed squarely on her stomach, breaking most of her fall.

Being the first to recover, Twilight looked around in a daze before noticing just who she was sitting on. “Oh my goodness! Rainbow! Are you ok?!”

“But mama, I don’t wanna go to school today.” Was the pegasus’s only response before blacking out.

~

Sweet Apple Acres

“Boy howdy Sora! You’re really becoming quite the apple bucker.”

Sora blushed slightly at the praise that he was receiving from the farm-mare. “Come on AJ. Compared to you I’m just a novice.” The stallion picked up the bucket of apples he had just filled and placed them in the waiting cart of Applejack. “It is your special talent after all.”

“It may be my special talent Sora, but you turned out to be a…a…Savnet? Sarnet?”

“I think the word you’re looking for is savant dear.”

Applejack huffed before turning to face the white unicorn. “Rarity, I know that your place is getting rebuilt and all that, but if you’re gonna be hanging out here the least ya could do is help.”

The fashionista, in Sora’s opinion, seemed to have set herself up quite well in the apple farm while her home repairs were underway. And while she decided to stay with Fluttershy until her home was back to full glory, she made every attempt to find time to visit the apple farm.

Today, Rarity had donned a bright yellow sun hat with a pair of dark purple shades. She laid herself back against a lawn chair, sipping at what looked like a refreshing cup of iced lemonade before answering Applejack.

“Why Applejack my dear, I am helping. I’m helping supervise.”

“If I needed supervising, I would’ve called Granny Smith.” Applejack scowled.

Sora raised his hoof. “For the record I don’t-“

“In a minute Darling/Just a second Sugercube.” Both mares said in unison before turning back to face each other.

The stallion sighed gently before making his way toward one of the trees. Sitting on his haunches, the stallion rested his back against the tree and closed his eyes. “Those two really seem to like to go at it.” He chuckled lightly as he smiled. “Must be really good friends.” Sora’s ears drooped slightly at the thought.

I wonder how everyone is doing. Do they even know I’m gone? Did whoever Celestia talk to let my friends know? I was told to train to become a Keyblade Master, and yet I’m no closer than I was back then. What am I lacking? What am I missing?

Sora was so deep in thought that he had barely noticed someone next him staring intently at his face. When he did notice he nearly jumped back in fright.

“S-Sweetie Belle!?”

The pale white filly blinked and smiled brightly as she waved a hoof at him. “Morning, Sora! Are you taking a break?”

The stallion blinked, then looked off toward Rarity and Applejack, still knee deep in their argument, which seemed to have somehow derailed into each other’s appearances. “I would assume so.” He felt his hoof gripped by the filly’s and he was suddenly pulled by a surprisingly strong little girl.

“Then you can help me and my friends out then!”

“H-hey! Wait! What do you mean? What are we doing?”

“You’ll see!” Sweetie Bell answered with a bright smile leading the stallion away from the birkering mares.

~

Rarity and Applejack watched as Sweetie Bell led the stallion away, both mares doing their best to hide their smiles.

“Heh poor Sora. Hate ta do this to him, but we do need him out of the way for a bit.”

“Yes, quite right.” The white unicorn turned towards Ponyville. “Come along Applejack. We have to get ready before this afternoon right? No time to dilly dally.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming.” The farm mare said with a huff. "And we still need to finish our converstaion."

Rarity smiled coyly. "Oh Applejack, It was all in good fun. I really don't think you need that much work done to your mane."

~

Golden Oaks library

Rainbow awoke to voices not too far away from her, one female, the other a male, and both recognizable.

“Wow Spike…Just…he really did all that? How could he? It’s just not possible.”

“I don’t know Twi…You should have seen him out there. He was like a machine. I’ve never seen somepony move the way he did.”

“For a pony to have such strength is…it’s just down right Impossible. And you’re saying that he took it on by himself.”

“Yeah! I know I was supposed to be worried for you Twi but he…Oh! Rainbow! You’re awake.”

Just as Rainbow sat up from the couch she was instantly beset by a pair of lavender hooves. “Rainbow! Are you ok?! I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you coming up and…”

The mare gave an awkward smile as she pulled one of her hooves free from Twilight’s grasp. She placed it on the side of her neck and proceeded to rock her head side to side, testing for any kinks she may have gained. “Hey it’s ok Twilight. Not the first time I had a crash of epic proportions.”

“I’m just glad your wing didn’t get broken.” Twilight sighed with relief.

“Yeah, that would’ve sucked. Anyway , how ya doing? That was something else yesterday, huh?”

“I’m…okay for the most part. Not really something I feel like repeating though.” She shook her head lightly. “Spike filled me in on most of what happened near Town Hall. I still find it hard to believe that the heartless had attacked here. If…If things didn’t turn out the way they did then…”

Rainbow nodded her head. “Tell me about it.” She scoffed slightly. “I also find it hard to believe that Sora was able to take down that overgrown weed with little to no problem. Guess he isn’t all talk after all. Still, if it had been me, I would have taken that thing down in ten seconds flat.”

Twilight eyes had widened as she stared at the rainbow maned pony. Both mares were quiet for a moment before the pegasus broke the silence, her face contorting in confusion. “What?”

“I-I’m sorry but…Did you just say Sora?”

“Ah…Yeah? That’s his name right?”

“Well yes, I know his name. I say it when I address him. The thing is I’ve never heard you calling him by his name before…at least no time I can remember.”

“What!? I say his name frequently!”

“No, you don’t.” Spike quipped.

“Yes I do!” Rainbow groaned before looking towards the window for a hasty escape. “Anyway, I gotta let the others know you’re ok. They were pretty worried about ya.” She turned to face the lavender mare. “Hey, you wanna come with?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not at the moment, no. I have some things I need to take care of. Sending a letter to the princess, writing down notes on everything that Spike told me before, getting something to eat…” She also needed to collect her memories. That weird being floating down towards her, just what was it? Was she dreaming or...

“Ok, Ok I get it Twi.” She spread her wings out ready to take off.

“You sure you’re okay to fly?” Twilight asked with concern.

“You kidding me? Just watch this!” She snapped her tail once before she flew off out of the tree at top speed, sending papers flying everywhere.

Spike deadpanned as he slapped a claw to his face. “For the love of…I just cleaned this place!”

Twilight chuckled lightly before turning to leave. She was stopped however, when Rainbow popped her head into view from out the window. “Oh! Before I forget, there’s a surprise party happening later this afternoon over at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie told me to tell you to be there when you woke up.”

“Oh ok I…Wait…How did she know I was going to wake up when you came over?”

Rainbow shrugged. “I stopped trying to figure out that pony long ago Twi. Just chalk it up to Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.”

~

White Tail Woods Lake

Sora shook the water out of his fur as he trudged his way back to dry land. He was happy he was a good swimmer and still retained that ability even in pony form. He looked towards the trio of fillies as they all smiled sheepishly up at him.

“Well…I think shipbuilding is off the list of cutie marks for you girls.”

Sweetie Bell Stepped forward as she spoke. “Sorry about that Sora. We thought the holes would make it glide faster in the water.”

Sora chuckled as he tilted his head to the side to bang the water out of his ear with a hoof. “Honestly, I thought so too. That is until it started to sink…fast…”

Sweetie Bell lowered her head slightly. “Yeah…Guess we’re not cut out to be shipbuilders huh?”

“Well don’t give up yet Sweetie Belle.” He placed a hoof on his chest. “You know me and my friends built a raft before. Maybe I can add some of my skills to the mix.”

While Sweetie Bell preoccupied Sora’s attention, the other two fillies stayed in the back in a hushed conference.

“So…now’s your chance Applebloom.”

Applebloom raised her eyebrow to her orange little friend. “Huh? What do ya mean Scoots?”

The orange filly groaned. “Why don’t you go talk to him? Maybe find out a little more about him.”

“What?!” Applebloom covered her mouth as Sora and Sweetie Bell looked her way. She quickly waved, causing the other two to awkwardly do the same. When Sora and Sweetie Belle began their conversation again, Applebloom continued at a more reasonable tone. “Ah don’t want to sound like a busy body. What if he hates me for asking any personal questions?”

“Well you won’t know until you try Applebloom.” Scootaloo went behind her friend and began to push her towards the crush of her life. “Now get going. As one of your…” She stuck a hoof in her mouth and stuck out her tongue. “Gack…love advisers, I command you to do so.”

Applebloom whimpered as she was pushed by her flank towards the stallion. She was grateful for her friend’s help, but for her to talk to him here and now, couple that with the fact that the stallion that she liked was not only some kind of hero, but also a hero that single hoofedly saved her whole town, caused the yellow filly to become even more infatuated by the stallion.

Of course this rise in infatuation caused her to become extremely timid around Sora, almost to the point that she could barely hold a full conversation with him without squeaking in embarrassment.

“Ah…Ah don’t know what ta say to him.” Applebloom complained. “What do Ah ask him?”

“How am I supposed to know?! Just ask him about the weather or something!” With one final shove the little pegasus mare pushed Applebloom in front of her crush. She looked just in time to see those sky blue portals to his soul looking down upon her with a curious look before smiling gently at her, causing her already red cheeks to darken.

“What’s up Applebloom?” His voice caused her to flinch slightly. “Me and Sweetie were going over a new boat design. It’s more simplistic in how it looks but I think it would be a whole lot more effective.”

Applebloom just looked upwards toward the stallion, her heart fluttering wildly. She could’nt speak due to her voice failing her miserably. When she did open her mouth all that could be heard was a slight wheezing sound. She panicked when the stallion tilted his head in confusion at her behavior.

Ohnoohnoohno!! What do I do?! What do I say?! Oh this is over before it even began! Ow!

She touched the side of her leg where a pebble had struck. Looking off to where it came from, she could see Scootaloo behind Sora waving to get her attention. When it was gained, she held up an oversized cue card with the words ‘Ask about the weather!’ Written on it.

Applebloom gulped before stuttering slightly. “H-how’s t-the weather up there?”

Sora looked at her for a second before tapping a hoof to his chin in thought. When he was done, the stallion shrugged. “I have to say…more than likely the same as the weather down there.” He chucked lightly at his own joke as he ruffled the filly's mane.

Applebloom giggled as well, though less heartedly. “heh…Ah guess ah trotted right into that one.”

“In all fairness, I’ve been saving that one for a while.”

“Really?” Applebloom sat on her haunches and stared up at the stallion. “Why would you need to save a joke like that?”

“The stallion smiled sheepishly. “Well…you see…I wasn’t always the biggest kid. In fact I was one of the shortest.”

Applebloom’s eyes bulged. “Really?!”

“Yeah…Honestly I was always picked on because of that.”

“B-but you’re a hero! Why would somepony pick on a hero?”

“I wasn’t always a Keyblade Wielder you know.” Sora eyes shifted over to the other two fillies as they listened in on his conversation. “In fact I was nothing special growing up.”

“You’re kidding!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

Sora raised one hoof and crossed his heart with the other. “Cross my heart. I was just a normal little kid.”

Sweetie Bell leaned in as she asked, “So how did you get that key blade thing?”

“Well…”

“There you are!”

Sora and the girls looked up to see Rainbow Dash zipping downwards toward them. She landed in front of the stallion, addressing him when she did so. “Been looking for ya everywhere. You’re needed down by town hall.”

“Town Hall? Why do they need me?”

“Don’t ask dumb questions.” Rainbow said while turning away from him. “Just be there, okay?” Before the mare could take off, Sora’s voice stopped her.

“Rainbow!" When she paused and turned around she slowly began to talk again. "…I…I’m sorry I wasn’t able to tell you this yesterday but…I’m glad that you’re ok. Pinkie told me that you were getting chased by heartless when she found you.” His head lowered and his ears folded back. “If I had known they were coming then…” A tap against his head stopped his sentence short. He looked up to see the cyan pegasus lowing her hoof back to the ground.

“Geez…shut up Sora.” She turned her head so that she could look at him in his eyes. Sora was slightly taken aback by the way she looked. Her eyes seemed softer than before. “Just get moving okay? And don’t be late or else I’ll kick your flank into next Thursday.” She flew off leaving the stallion and the fillies.

Scootaloo leaned into Sweetie Bell and began to talk in a low whisper. “That was…odd…”

~

Ponyville Town Hall

Sora and the fillies quickly traversed the distance between the lake and Ponyville. When they neared the town, Sora was the first to notice the rather large gathering in front of the Town hall, which was still under construction. The stallion stopped in mid stride, staring at the crowd. Is something going on? He asked himself. He turned to ask one of the girls what was up, but he instantly saw a familiar lavender mare making her way towards him.

“Twilgiht? You’re ok!” He ran up to her smiling brightly. “I was worried.”

“Well as you can see Sora, I am alright.” Twilight smiled gently. “And from what Spike tells me Its because of you.”

Sora blushed sheepishly as he rubbed the tip of his hoof across his snout. “Well...I do what I can." He said in a light and chipper voice

“And we do need to talk about that.” Twilight continued.” But first follow me.” Twilight took point as she led the stallion toward the front of the crowd and onward toward the top of a makeshift stage. On top of it was a beige mare with a curly white mane, who Sora had learned was named Mayor Mare, who stood by smiling brightly at him. As he neared the middle of the stage, the ponies in the crowd steadily began to chant his name over and over again, slowly getting louder and louder in the process.

Apprehension began to build up in his heart and he tried to turn away only to be stopped by Twilight and Applejack.

The farm mare chuckled gently as she turned him around and push him to the podium. “Going somewhere partner?”

“What’s going on? I don’t…”

The beige mare coughed politely, though loud enough to be heard from all ponies to steadily lower their chant till it died down. “Attention everypony! Attention! I understand that all of you were afraid yesterday. For those monsters to ruthlessly attack Ponyville is unforgivable! I would like to extend my condolences to all that were affected by the Shadow Ponies and the Darkflower.”

Sora looked to the lavender unicorn. “Shadow Ponies? Darkflower?”

“Well we have to call them something right? Heartless is good and all but since I found out there are more than just the pony shaped ones, I figured I should take it upon myself to name all the ones we’ve met so far.”

Sora was drawn back into the speech as the continued. “I would like to be the first to honor a pony who not only stood up in the face of adversity to tackle the invasion of those nasty creatures, but ousted them from our town completely. A pony who just barely arrived in our town but a few days ago, took it upon himself to protect it with his very life.” She waved a hoof toward the keyblader. “On behalf of Ponyville, I would like to thank Sora for his bravery.” Mayor Mare trotted up to Sora and held out a medallion for him. “Please accept this as a token of our appreciation.”

Sora held the medallion in his hooves before turning to face the Mayor. “I…I…

“Would you like to make a speech young hero?” The mayor offered.

Sora blushed brighter than ever before as he was pulled in front of the podium. He stood dumbstruck as he stared out into the eager crowd. Never before had he been in this position. Whenever he traveled through the worlds, he always saved the day and then just left to do the same on another world. Sure he was thanked nearly every time, but never to this magnitude. He gulped as he opened his mouth to speak.

“I…I’m not used to this. Honestly, if I had my way I would just ask for a whole cake to eat and just sleep it off.” He gained a “TRUE THAT” from a familiar pink mare out in the front of the crowd. “I do thank you for this” He held out the medal. “But…I don’t think I deserve it. Your buildings were destroyed by the battle and your lives were in danger because I was slow to react.”

The mayor wrapped a hoof around Sora’s neck and pulled him in close. “Do you see that. A hero and modest to boot! Give it up for the Hero of Ponyville.” The ponies all stomped on the ground cheering loudly and cutting off any retort he had wanted to say.

"Oh well...Heh...I guess I can try and enjoy myself..."

~

Canterlot Throne Room

Celestia sat on her throne looking over all available data she could find on the heartless. It had been years since she had even considered going over any readings that talked about the elusive shadows. The attack on Ponyville laid heavily on the white alicorn’s mind, as well as the plight that her star pupil was subjected to.

She cringed inwardly as she remembered the report she had been sent and was glad to find Twilight healthy and intact. For the enemy to go after her student and her friends, it was something that she hadn’t foreseen. It still pained her for her subjects to be hurt in any way. She was glad however, for how things had turned out. She was right to place her faith in the Keyblader. Still, it was too close for comfort for her liking. She had set up extra guards around all cities and highways after the incident though. Keyblade or no keyblade, she was going to protect her subjects.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her throne room door bursting open, gaining the attention of everypony within the throne room. All watched as a white earth pony guard with gleaming gold armor called out as he raced towards the throne room, his voice heavy with fatigue. “News from Northern Equestria!” He said before adopting a more fitting tone for speaking with the princess. “Your highness…”

She held her head high as she addressed the guard. “Yes? What is it?”

The guard bowed low before removing his helmet and addressing her once again. “I am to tell you that IT has been found.”

Her eyes widened and she gasped, not being able to withhold her surprise. Regaining her composure, she turned to the pegasus guards beside her, her tone holding a hard, desperate twinge. “Find Princess Cadence and Shining Armor!”

The guards bowed low in acknowledgement before running to complete their mission.

When she was alone the Princess picked up a quill and parchment with her magic and began her letter to her student.

~

Ponyville - A ways away from Town Hall

“Man those ponies are sociable…”

Sora spent the evening communing with the other ponies as they all thanked him for saving their town. Despite how he felt about being the main cause of most of the buildings being demolished, seeing all those ponies’ smiling faces caused him to smile brightly as well. Making others smile had always been a special talent of his after all. Still, it was a little overwhelming and he was glad he was able to finally slip away due to the distraction that was a very pink pony causing an impromptu song and dance number. He found himself pulling away from the group to find a little solitude.

He laughed ironiclly. Two years of being alone, and he always wanted someone around. Now here he was surrounded by overly social ponies, seeking solitude. Even after he took down Darkflower, he had wanted to keep his identity a secret, as per the world code, though he had in inkling that his part in all of this wasn’t going to stay secret for long and today proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Still it goes without saying that he was a hero in all the ponies eyes, and that scared him. If he was to fail, like he had done with the exams…if he was to slip up now…then everypony would be in serious danger. If it wasn’t for that Doctor dude, then they proably would have been long ago. Sora had tried to look for him in the crowd before but both he and the gray mare seemed to just vanish. They had single handedly saved the whole town and he was just the cleanup crew.

Sora lowered his head. “Why am I beating myself up like this? Sure I wasn’t there to actually protect the other ponies but still…I did do what I could…” He cursed inwardly. “And it still wasn’t enough was it? Big Mac got hurt, we nearly lost Twilight, and if it weren’t for Pinkie, then Rainbow would have been in trouble too…I guess I really am a failure…”

“You know all that self lothing doesn't seem to suit you?”

Sora jumped in fright at the sound of Twilight’s voice behind him, and his wings once again betrayed him by flapping awkwardly in the sky, causing the poor stallion to flip upside down and land on his back with a resounding thud.

Twilight stood over him and smiled. “I’m sorry. Didn’t think I would scare you like that.”

Sora raised a hoof from his downed position. “For some reason…I think you all get a joy out of sneaking up on me…”

Twilight giggled before lending a helpful hoof to pull him back up. “Sorry. It’s just, I saw you leaving the party and I wanted to check up on you.” She closed her eyes. “And I wanted to talk to you about something…”

Sora tilted his head. “What’s up?”

Twilight’s eyes grew soft as she looked upon him. She needed to talk to him about whatever it was that was bothering him but first things first, she needed to confront him about her time in the darkness. “Sora…I…I don’t remember too much after I was, um, captured. From what Spike tells me I was trapped inside a magic bubble with him and my…my heart was outside of my body.” She shook her head. "Not my heart heart but my, well...its hard to discribe. It felt like all my feelings were just...well...vanishing. I never flet so empty in my life."

Sora grew concerned as he placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Are you ok?”

Twilight nodded as she wrapped her fore hooves around her body. “Yeah I’m fine. But it was so dark, and so lonely. I didn’t know what to do. I remember trying to get out of the darkness but…I couldn’t…I just…” She shuddered slightly. “I nearly gave up you know. That was until I heard a voice.” She pointed a hoof towards him. “Your voice.”

“My voice?” Sora asked as he tilted his head to the other side.

The lavender mare nodded. “Tell me Sora…what happened on your end.”

He placed a hoof on his chin as he went over the events in his head. He told Twilight he had remembered striking at the bubble that held her and Spike with his Keyblade. He didn’t quite know what was going to happen when he did it. For all he knew he could have made it worse, but as soon as he struck the magic bubble he had remembered blacking out. The last thing he could remember before waking back up was feeling Twilight call for help.

“Wait…You felt me call out for help?” Twilight interrupted.

“Yeah, I mean, It felt like I felt you. Almost like I could feel your heart calling out to me. I remember reaching out to it with my own. After that the next thing I knew I was holding you in my hooves outside of Town Hall.”

Twilight blushed brightly, imagining the caramel stallion holding her close like a mother would a foal. Spike seemed to have left that part out of his version of the narration. She would have to confront him about it later though. What she had to say next was important. “Sora…I remember seeing something.” Twilight began. “It looked like nothing I have ever seen before. It was tall and weirdly shaped. I didn’t know what to make of it.”

“Really? Was it a heartless?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, It" She paused. "...He helped me. I don’t know what he was but for some reason he-“

“TWILIGHT!!”

Twilight’s sentence was cut short by the sound of the familiar voice that was her assistant. She turned just in time to see him approach her, gasping for breath.

“Twilight…Letter…Princess…”

The mare’s eyes bulged “A letter from the princess!” She quickly opened it with her magic and scanned the contents. Both Sora and Spike jumped slightly when she gasped without warning. “Oh dear…” Twilight’s eyes focused towards the purple drake at her side. “Spike…I need you to go get the girls. On the double.”

“What wrong Twilight.” Spike asked in a worried tone. “Did something happen?”

“The Crystal Empire! It’s reappeared!”

Ponyville…

Upon informing the rest of the elements about Celestia’s summons and bidding a hasty goodbye to every pony at the festivities, the seven ponies and one baby dragon returned to their respective residences to pack what they needed for their journey. Everyone had all decided to pack a saddle bag only; well, everyone except for Sora and Rarity, the former not packing anything due to the fact he did not have anything to pack in the first place, and the latter having packed more than just one suitcase that the former was tasked with carrying.

Within the hour, the group of eight had made their way to the train station and began to board the train leaving for Canterlot that Celestia had prepared from them. The excited squeals from Rarity could be heard throughout the train.

“First class with our own cabins. Celestia really went all out for us didn’t she?” The white mare mused over the cabin that she, in her belief, thought was the biggest.

Applejack rested her back against the back of the chair that she plopped herself onto. “Ya’ll gotta think more practical like Rarity. We have been, without much rest mind you, traveling here and there and everywhere, not to mention we just came out of a rather nasty encounter with a very nasty critter. She probably feels we need someplace to rest at least.”

“Be that as it may, darling, I still find it impressive.” Rarity said as she moved out of the way so that Spike and Sora could come through with her luggage.

Twilight looked over as Sora and Spike struggled to push the suitcases full of Celestia knows what into the upper part of the train. Seeing that the rest of the girls were busy talking to each other, Twilight quickly made her way toward the stallion. She coughed politely into her hoof and when she had gained his attention she began to speak. “Hello Sora. Mind if we talk for a bit,” She looked towards Spike. “In private?”

Sora blinked once before turning to Spike. “You don’t mind do you?”

“No *Agh* sure *ugh* Go on ahead. I got this.” He said just before toppling over with a yelp as all the suitcases fell on top of him.

Sora was about to help him up but was forced into the air by Twilight’s magic as she brought him to an empty spot on the train, away from prying ears.

Sora looked on helplessly as Twilight positioned him in front of her, her magic fading from around his body. “So…what’s up?”

Twilight sighed gently. “It’s about what we were talking about back at town hall. You know…About that…creature.”

Sora folded his forelegs about his chest and closed his eyes, which was made even more comical due to him currently floating upside down at the moment in Twilight’s magic. It took a while before he remembered what she was going on about. “Oh yeah! You saw some type of creature, right? Do you remember what it looked like?”

She shook her head. “That’s just it Sora. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt like I knew it. I didn’t think about it or why but when he called out to me I felt like I could trust him. Maybe because the voice had sounded familiar somehow…almost like yours.” She looked toward the stallion.

The stallion tilted his head to the side. “It sounded like me?”

“Yes…no…I don’t know. I barely remember what it sounded like but…I knew it all the same.” She slowly set him on the ground as she looked at him.

Sora’s confusion grew. It sounded like me but it didn’t look like the current me…weird. “Well…what do you make of it Twi?” He asked scratching the side of his head.

“I don’t know. I just…When I trusted the voice it reminded me of the time when I first met you.” She sighed gently. “I don’t know why I trusted a strange stallion in my home, somepony who, as it turns out, happens to be the key weapon in a thousand year old war between the princesses and the darkness, which I still don’t get.“ Twilight shook her head. “I just…I just don’t know what to say to that, to you.” She placed a hoof on his chest. “You are a strange pony. You can jump hundreds of feet into the air without using your wings. You can run faster than you let on. You have strength that so far is immeasurable. Anything I’m missing?”

Sora looked into the sky as he tapped his hoof to his chin before answering. “I could use magic before. Don’t know why I can’t now though.”

Twilight’s eyes budge, and then narrowed. “You could…ok listen, everything else I’m willing to believe but you using magic?”

“Well I can’t now,” He said as he defended in a definitely not whiney voice. “I’m still trying to figure out why.”

Twilight groaned as she threw her hooves up into the air. “You know what? Forget the magic right now.” She glared at him. “Sora…just who are you?”

“I’m-“

“I will back hoof you.”

“Well, what am I supposed to say?” Sora said in a slightly weaker voice.

“Ok…how about this…what are you?”

Sora lowered his head. “A…Well...”

“Now that I think about it, I do find it hard to believe that you really wouldn’t know what your cutie mark means.”

Sora looked away from her not saying a word.

“Can you at least tell me why you're keeping secrets from us? Is it really that bad?”

“I…I don’t have an answer for you, Twilight…”

“You don’t have an answer, or you won’t share the answer?”

The stallion reared back, despite him expecting that question. “I…I don’t know…I just…I’m just scared okay?”

“Scared?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Scared of what?”

Sora shook his head. “I don’t know…A lot of things but right now…I don’t know.”

“Well you should! You said you were scared!”

“I know! I just…I don’t know…” He looked away from her.

Twilight was beginning to become annoyed. “Sora you can’t have it both ways. You either do know or you don’t.”

“I know…”

She stepped forward. “Then what is it? Or were you lying that you were scared?

“No!”

“Then what are you scared of?”

“Losing you!”

Twilight was the one to rear back this time, a bit of a blush forming on her cheeks. “L-losing me?”

Sora looked away before answering. “Losing all of you. I…I just…Don’t want to be left alone again…I want to make sure you all stay safe…”

Twilight stepped forward once more. “Again?”

Sora clinched his eyes tight as he quickly maneuvered around the mare making his way to the front of the cart where the other girls seemed to have just finished helping Spike out of a suitcase pile up.

“Sora! We’re not done here!” She called out to him. She tried to use her magic on him again but found that it was ineffective this time. “Wha?”

Sora made his way toward the girls, keeping his head down. Fluttershy noticed and slowly made her way beside him “Sora? What’s wrong?”

“I…I’m sorry Shy…Do you mind if I have some time to think?” At her nod she allowed him to pass as the other mares watched him open the door to another cart entering it and closing it shut behind him.

Twilight stood by looking at the door Sora just entered. “You're scared of being alone again?”

So preoccupied were the mares, that they did not see twelve extra hooves sneaking onto the train just as it sounded to leave.

~

Celestia and Luna gazed upon the stained glass window depicting two ponies, one a stallion and the other a mare not unlike the two alicorns, positioned in the shape of a heart. While the image was beautiful in its own right, the two princesses found no solace in what was to come in the days ahead.

The dark alicorn turned to her sister as she spoke, her voice betraying a hint of uncertainty. “Sister…are you sure you don’t want me to go as well?”

Celestia sighed inwardly. She knew the task ahead would be dangerous, deadly even, but still she could not take any risk, especially if she knew who was involved. “Yes Luna. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor are already there. The others will be joining them soon enough.”

Luna closed her eyes as she shook her head. “The empire’s magic is powerful. We cannot allow it to fall again my sister. Especially to the…” Luna Shuddered. “Heartless.”

“They will succeed in their task dear sister. I have faith that both my student and her friends, as well as the young keyblader will find a way to stop Sombra, and when they do I know that they will be that much closer to being ready for what truly awaits them.” Still it hurt her deeply not to fully get involved. If she did then he would too and she could not have that, not with Sora the way he is now. She could still feel the doubt that lingered in his own heart every time she saw him.

“I have faith in your student as well sister.” Luna said while her voice took on a different note as she began to speak again. “And the gallant keyblader has more than proven himself to us.” She turned to look away. “It just pains me to have to see them go through this without us truly supporting them.”

Celestia shook her head. “You know what that monster is capable of sister. It took all of our power together just to seal him away, and even then that was at a steep price. I cannot - will not - allow my land to fall victim to such an event again.”

“Ahem…” Both alicorns turned to see Twilight, Sora, and the rest of the elements standing at the other end of the hall, all ponies standing by as they waited for the princesses to notice them.

Twilight had a saddle bag stuffed full of papers and books, she looked as though she had packed the her whole library into one bag. Celestia noticed that she kept stealing glances at the Keyblader and wondered why. Sora on the other hoof seemed to have his head down, yet his eyes were still trained on the pair of princesses. Fluttershy stood beside Sora’s right side as close as she could without disturbing him. Rarity had opted to stand by the stallion’s left side, her gaze shifting from the stallion to the princesses. Applejack held a serious demeanor to her, ready for anything the princesses had to tell them, as did Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie was…well…Pinkie Pie. She had a sack full of goodies that she seemed to be steadily munching on every few seconds. Spike sat upon Sora’s back, gripping his hoodie like reigns.

Celestia faked a smile as she turned to face them completely. Everything did not seem to be going well in paradise for Sora, she noticed. As they neared she whispered low so that only her little sister could hear. “Trust me little sister. I know they will be up to the task.”

Twilight stepped up first, bowing low to her teacher. “We came as soon as we could, Princess Celestia.”

“Yes my dear student,” Celestia replied. “And I am sorry to send you out after your ordeal at Ponyville.”

Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Don’t y’all fret none, your highness. We’re up to any task y’all can give us, as long as we can kick those dang Heartless out of Equestria fer good.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed hovering in the air. “So what’s the stich?”

Celestia decided not to wonder what the hay Rainbow Dash had said. “My memory is still limited somewhat, but what I do remember is this.” She levitated a purple crystal from a glass case onto the floor and with a blast of her magic, ignited it to form an image of a beautiful picture of what looked like a city made of crystals, and at its center was a castle of the same make. “One thousand years ago a unicorn whose heart was black as night took over the Crystal Empire with a horde of Shadow Beast.”

“Heartless…” Sora said as the beautiful scene turned into that of pure horror. The stallion grimaced as they watched the heartless chase every mare, stallion, and foal in the streets, herding them toward a wicked looking unicorn. Sora could already feel his distaste for the dark stallion.

“Yes Sora,” Celestia continued. “It was easy for that unicorn to take the throne due to the previous queen’s illness.” The sun princess lowered her head as if lost in thought before raising it back up to face the ponies. “Depite all of this, he was ultimately overthrown with the help of my sister and I, turned to shadow, and banished to the ice of the arctic north.”

Luna scoffed. “A fitting end for an evil one such as him.”

“Yes…” Celestia continued. “But before he was fully banished he was able to put a curse upon the Empire, a curse that caused it to not only vanish into thin air, but also wipe our memories of such a place.” She said the last part with an air of despair. “It shames me to have fallen victim to such a thing.” She turned to face them. “I was unable to truly defeat him, but with you, my faithful student, your friends, and the hero of light, there might be a way to crush Sombra’s rule once and for all.”

“So…” Rainbow landed in front of Sora. “All we gotta do is take down some tyrannical overlord before he can get his hooves on a city made of crystal, all while fighting hordes of heartless who would want nothing better than to steal our hearts.” She smiled back at her friends. “Can you say best day ever?”

“Rainbow!” Applejack Called out. “Be serious!”

“What? I am serious!” She began throwing light jabs in the air. “Seriously gonna show that dang pony a thing or two!”

Before Applejack could retort, Twilight made her way to the front of the heard, her face now full of determination. “How do we begin princess?”

The alicorn smiled brightly as she spoke to her student. “By joining Shining Armor and Princess Cadence in the Crystal Empire.”

Twilight eyes widened. “My brother is there?”

The sun princess nodded. “He is.” Using her wings, she guided the group of ponies towards the door, all the while speaking to her student. “I have every confidence that you will succeed in your task Twilight.” She smiled at the rest. “I have confidence in all of you.”

Twilight looked toward her teacher and ever so slightly her confident expression began to dwindle. “But…What if we fail?”

Celestia shook her head. “You won’t…”

“But…What if-“ Twilight was cut off by her teacher placing a hoof upon her chest.

“You won’t, Twilight.”

Twilight looked toward the ground for a while before raising her head up high once again. “You can count on me your highness!”

Celestia smiled knowingly. “Then go…there is no time to lose.” With that the door to the throne room closed, leaving the party of seven to proceed with their task.

~

Canterlot City…

Twilight walked to the front of the group as the made their way out of the castle, her head hanging low as she trotted. So much was hanging in the balance, and Celestia had entrusted her with saving a whole empire. It was just too much. She had put on a brave front, but she knew deep down how scared she really was. Twilight chanced a glance towards Sora. He seemed to have raised his head up a bit, thanks to a few of Pinkie Pie’s cupcakes, still he seemed to be trying to avoid her gaze as they trecked to the Train station.

Maybe I went a little overboard. He has done nothing but be nice to all of us ever since he woke up in the library after I found him in Whitetail Woods…

She sighed as she was lost in her thoughts. She instantly became fully aware when Applejack placed a hoof upon her shoulder and tried to give her a comforting smile. “Ya’ll alright sugarcube?”

She looked up into her friend’s eyes, not knowing what to say. She opted with telling her the truth. “AJ…I…I don’t know. I got into a fight with Sora.”

“Oh? So that’s what you two were doing over there. For a minute ah thought he confessed his heart to you and you shot him down.”

Twilights cheeks turned a lovely shade of red. “What!?”

The farm-mare chuckled gently, nudging the mare. “Just joshing with you, Twi. So what were you two fighting about?”

“It’s…It’s about his secrets he’s keeping from us. Is it really so bad that he has to hide it? I know we all have our secrets but with what was going on...”She shook her head. “And he told me he was scared of losing us...”

“That critters got me more curious than a cat with a mouse. Ah wonder what he’s hiding but...” She mused gently before looking at her friend. “Still it’s best to make up with him. ”

She looked up at AJ. “Me make up with him?”

“Well yeah. You and ah know he’s too dense to even try to come close to you now, probably feels like it’s best to stay out of your way. Wouldn’t be surprised if he thought it was entirely his fault.”

“You’re probably right. Still. Are you sure he would accept it? I was pretty harsh.”

AJ shook her head. “Sure as sugar, Twi. He doesn’t look like the type to hate his friends.”

Twilight lowered her head. AJ’s right. I guess I should apologize. He did risk his own life to save mine after all. She made her way to Sora’s side, the stallion in question hanging his head low. It took a while for him to notice her and his eyes widened by degrees. She could tell that he was uncomfortable around her, and he unknowingly emphasized it by shirking away a bit.

“T-Twilight…” He began to say but then stopped. His gazed shifted away from her and he stared at the ground. “I…I mean…About what was said on the train…I…”

She was quiet for moment before she spoke again, this time and a lyrical melody that Sora couldn’t help by find soothing.

Sora forgive me, I request,

Fighting is something I detest

Would you sit and hear my plea,

I want to know If you forgive me?

Twilight looked toward Sora, and with the glow of her horn began to raise him up off the ground, much to his dismay.

Sora you’re my friend, can’t you see?

She then released him without warning, much to his dismay, and Rainbow’s enjoyment.

But not knowing things sets my mind at unease.

Sora clapped his hooves after Twilight had seemed to have solved the square root of pie. He had no way of knowing if that was true but hey, it sounded right.

“I’ve always written about friendships bliss,

I just wasn’t prepared for this

Are we friends, or are we not, I can’t be sure.

Sora stepped in and rose his head a bit, his voice too taking on the melody.

Of course we are.

She smiled his head began to rise a little more.

I’m just scared of the unknown, please understand.

I really do.

She stopped teleporting and hung her head down as she began to sing again.

I ask you, forgive me I implore,

You’re my friend to the very core ,

I am sorry,

Oh yes I’m sorry,

Forgive me because I am sorry ~

Her song ended as they made their way to toward the train station. Sora, tilted his head, looked back at the castle and then back toward Twilight. “How in Midgar did we get here this fast?” He seemed to have picked his sense of humor back up somewhat.

“Through the power of music, Sora.” Pinkie Pie answered, bouncing into the train.

Rainbow and Applejack followed suit, the former giving the stallion a less hateful glare while the latter shrugged and smiled. Rarity nodded and smiled as well, and Fluttershy blushed as she told him that she would try to save him a seat, that is, if it was okay with him. At his nod the mare eeped and made her way into the train, blushing brightly. Spike punched Sora’s foreleg as he passed by, not hurtfully but still not soft either. When it was just Twilight and Sora, the stallion turned to face her.

“I’m the one who should apologize Twi. I’m keeping secrets from you…from all of you.” He looked away. “I should just tell everyone-“

Twilight placed a hoof on his chest. “Sora…You have your secrets and I can respect that. Don’t get me wrong though, I still want to know what you're hiding. You’re not your average pony. Still, forcing secrets from somepony I consider a friend is no good.” She leaned in and nuzzled his cheek. She felt hot fur against her own and the stallion reared away, eyes wide with confusion and his cheeks burning red with embarrassment. “You can tell me…no…you can tell all of us when you’re ready, Sora. I’m sure whatever it is, it can’t be as bad as you think it is.” She trotted onto the train, leaving Sora alone.

He looked down and shook his head before he boarded the train, letting the door shut behind him.

The empty void of darkness was all that Sora could see as he floated gently in the desolate space. The feeling of sinking/falling overcoming all of his senses once again. Something was wrong though. He felt a heaviness that seemed to weigh him down. He struggled for breath as the weight tightened itself around his being…around his soul. What was making him feel this way? Why was he feeling like this? It felt…familiar somehow.

He tested the movement in his limbs, but they felt too constricted, as though something was holding him back.

“W-What is this…?” He struggled harder but it was to no avail. Each attempt seemed to cause his chest to tighten more. "Where am I?"

What’s the matter Sora? Afraid of the dark?

Sora’s eyes widened at the voice that spoke to him from everywhere at once. “W-Who’s there?"

The one who’s always been with you Sora…Ever since you were that young helpless little boy on the island.

“W-what?” Sora looked around, trying to ascertain where the voice was emanating from, but it was to no avail. “Who are you? Who’s there?” Sora growled. “Stop playing games with me!”

Games? But Sora, I’m dead serious. I’ve always been with you. Right there in the deepest recesses of your heart.

Sora felt his chest tighten at the word heart and he cringed with flareing pain. “M-my heart?”

Yes Sora. You try your best to cover it up but you can’t escape the truth…No matter what you say out loud, your heart always knows…

“What do you mean?”

Oh Sora. You can play dumb all you want but I know you…maybe better then you know yourself. I know you feel hate for those that left you. So much anger directed toward yourself for being so weak, so much despair filling every fiber of your being. And jealousy for the one who always came out on top no matter what. All of these things you try to cover up with pretty words and self-assurances, but you can’t escape me. You can ever escape your heart Sora.

Sora shut his eyes, not liking what he was hearing one bit due to the fact that he could, no matter how much he denied it, feel some sort of truth behind what the voice was saying. Still he couldn’t give up, not so easily. “N-no. You’re wrong. I’m not like that. I-I trust my friends!”

Oh but you are and you do little Sora. And you should. They left you all alone on that sorry excuse for an island. You who have saved worlds three times over. You who have the strength to overcome obstacles that a normal boy could only dream of doing. You are strong Sora. Even now I can feel it… but your strength is bogged down by emotions you don’t need.

Sora stayed quiet as the being spoke. He wanted to shut it off; all of it.

You know I speak the truth Sora. I can feel your heart listening to me very well. Just open yourself to me. Get rid of any and all unneeded emotions and allow me to take over. Allow the dak-UGAH!

Sora felt something force the tight feeling that enveloped him off of his chest, freeing his body from its hold. As the taint slipped away from him his body began to fall back into the void of the darkness. The last thing he saw just before his eyes closed was a ball of pure light floating where he had just been. Beyond it was a deep green eye that seemed to shake with anger.

Sora!

Sora’s eyes closed as the ball of light called out to him. It was different than the last voice, sounding both desperate yet kind. The keybalder, while disappearing into the void, heard it call out to him once more.

Don’t give in! You have to stay strong! For all of our sakes!

“V-Ventis?”

Sora awoke to a pair of blue eyes staring straight into his own, a look of genuine concern etched into them. She seemed to be shaking him gently, pulling the stallion slowly from his dreamlike state in a manor he would rather get use to.

“Um…” Fluttershy spoke in a loud whisper. “Are you ok?”

Sora blinked a few times, trying to gather his wits about him. “Huh? Fluttershy? Wha…?” He lifted his upper body, forcing the mare to back away for him to do so. He gazed about the room he and Fluttershy occupied. “Where are…Oh! That’s right. We’re still on the train.” He yawned and stretched as he collected his thoughts.

What the heck was that? That dream seemed so real. He thought to himself. That voice. I said it was Ventis…right? Sora rubbed his eyes lazily as he turned to face the mare, who had a hesitant look upon her features. “Is something going on?”

Fluttershy looked off to the side as she spoke, a deep blush on her face. “Well, um…Yes…W-We have a few…um…extra passengers on board…”

Sora’s mind instantly grew alert. “Is it the heartless!?”

Fluttershy cringed at the loud volume, but answered all the same. “W-Well no...But...Maybe its best if you come and see for yourself...If thats ok with you."

Sora nodded before jumping off the chair, following after the mare soon after.

“What the hey were ya’ll thinking sneaking onto the train! A train, mind you, going to one of the most dangerous places on Equestria right now! Did ya’ll have stupid oats for breakfast?!”

Sora and Fluttershy entered the next car to a scene of two older mares looming angrily over three younger ones. Upon seeing Sora enter the three fillies instantly ran behind the stallion, Applebloom and Sweetie Bell clutching his hind legs while Scootaloo hid under him.

“Sora!” Applebloom said with a hopeful smile. “Thank goodness ya’ll are here! Tell ’em we ain’t meant no harm by it! Honest!”

“Yeah! Scootaloo added. “We just…We just wanted to go with you guys, that’s all.”

“What they said!” Sweetie Bell added for good measure.

Applejack stomped her hoof on the floor. “You three leave that stallion alone this instant! He ain’t got nothing to do with this!”

“That’s right girls.” Rarity added. “He has enough to worry about and you three just added to that.”

“Sora…W-We just wanted to support you…” Applebloom said in low voice. “I just wanted to help...”

The three fillies looked up toward the stallion who had yet to say anything. Sora just stared down a loss for words. He had wanted to say anything, scold them for being here, comfort them for getting yelled at, but his voice was lost to him. Ah geez...I...Ah...What do I even say?!?

Before he could allow himself to falter Fluttershy stepped in front of him, a stern look upon her features.

“Girls…Come here.” All three fillies looked at each other worriedly before complying with the yellow mare’s words. “Now I get why you came and why you’re here, but think of your poor parents and siblings looking for you all over town.” All three fillies hung their head down in shame. They had not, apparently, thought of that at all. “Plus you know how dangerous it will be, especially when you saw what the creatures did to Ponyville.” All three fillies felt the shame of what they had done set in and tears slowly began to form in their eyes. Fluttershy, seeing this, wrapped her hooves around the three of them. “Now now, don’t cry. Despite what you have done, I know in my heart that your intentions were good.” She turned to face the stallion. “Sora would it be ok if I kept them by my side, at least until we return to Ponyville?”

“I…Um…y-yeah…” The stallion stuttered. He didn’t know why, but her kindly telling them off in the most gentlest way he had ever seen kind of scared him.

She smiled and ushered the three fillies to the next cart, each one lowering their head as she did so.

When she left, Sora instantly turned to the first mare that was in the vicinity, which was Pinkie Pie. “What in Ramza’s name was that?!”

Pinkie smiled and booped his nosed. “Silly Sora! Ramza is part of a different series.”

Sora and the rest of the girls looked toward Pinkie with raised eyebrows, only stopping when Rarity coughed into her hoof. “Yes…Well, that would be our Fluttershy. I can only explain it by saying this. She will shame you with kindness.”

“Thats all there and good but,” Twilight motioned for Spike. “I’d best get a letter to the Princess so she can tell everypony in Ponyville where the three of them are. In the meantime Sora, you best gather your things. We will be arriving in the Crystal Kingdom in thirty minutes.” She turned to the rest of the girls. “That goes for all of you.”

They all nodded and made their way to the cabins, Sora and Rainbow being the last to leave. Before he could however, the mare flew in front of him. She huffed and looked away from him for a bit before turning an eye his direction.

“So, uh…Thanks and stuff.”

What the hell? Wasn’t expecting that. “Err…For what?”

“Geez do I have to spell it out for you? This is hard enough as it is!” She poked his chest. “Thanks for saving Twilight. Thanks for saving Ponyville.”

Sora blinked before smiled brightly. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without you all. You and the girls really saved me back there as well.” He hung his head at that. Story of my life.

“Yeah, I was pretty amazing wasn’t I?” She puffed out her chest and smiled brightly but then took a more kinder expression. “But…I do have to give credit where credit is due. You were pretty okay out there.” Rainbow looked his way for a second and, upon seeing the smile, her eyes widening by degrees. She quickly turned to face the door to the next train cart. “A-Anyway, you better keep it up hero, or else I might just have to step up and take over all the work.” Without another word she exited the room, but not before looking back at the stallion one last time, her rainbow mane draping over her eyes slightly as she did. She gave him a cocky grin and with a click of the door she left behind her a very bewildered stallion.

It took a while for Sora to gather his thoughts, but when he did a heavy blush warmed his face and a gentle twitch of his wings caused him to shut his eyes tight, trying to ignore the feeling that just shot through his body. “What the heck was that?”

Rainbow, upon entering her room, leaned her back against the door, placing a hoof over her chest, trying her best to calm her beating heart. “He...Sora is not him…he can never be him…” Her thoughts ran wild as an image of a blue pegasus colt with a gray-white mane styled ever so messily yet so perfectly on him. Upon his head was that ridiculous head wrap that he declared up and down looked “cool” on him. She remembered his smile, that warm smile he always gave to her and only her. She then remembered the rain…and the storm…and…he…he…

The mare slid to the ground wiping the tears that began to flow from her eyes. “N-No…he…I can’t be…Damn it…I don’t want to go through that…Not again.”

Sora was making his way out of his cabin, the image of Rainbow Dash weighing heavily on his mind. Her mane, her fur, her fla- Gah! I can't be thinking that! She’s a pony! It’s…its…I…But I am a pony too I guess…Celestia said it’s not just any spell, she transformed me into a full pony, weird taste buds and all. Gah! Why would she do that anyway! She’s weird! They’re weird! This whole thing is weird!

So in deep in thought was he, that he barely noticed when the door to Fluttershy’s cabin opened. Both ponies stood and looked at each other for a moment before the mare turned to look into the room. “I’ll be right back girls.” She closed the door and focused her gaze on the young stallion. “I’m so sorry you had to see me yell at the girls before. They really did make a bad decision on this time.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. That was yelling? “It’s alright Fluttershy.” He made to bypass her and as he did so, he felt a hoof gently grip his own. Turning back, he found the mare looking away from him. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have, but…that is to say, I heard you mumbling in your sleep.” She looked back towards him. “D-Don’t worry. You didn’t say anything coherent, but you…you really seemed afraid of something..”

Sora’s heart sank as the voice from before began to fill his mind with what it had said. He shook his head lightly, trying to rid himself of the thoughts. “It was just a nightmare, nothing to worry about.” He didn’t need to have her worry over him. Not her or anyone else. “I’ll be fine so…”

He made to leave again but felt the grip on his hoof tighten. “Sora,” There was so much she wanted to say to him. She wanted to let him know that whatever it was he was feeling, she would understand. That even if nopony else would, she would be there for him. She drew into him, much to the stallion’s chagrin, letting her head nuzzle just under his chin. She felt him resist slightly, but he did not pull away from the affection. Her wings twitched a little upon the contact. When she was done, she pulled away from him. Her cheeks had a bright pink hue to them but a gentle yet sad expression was on her face. “I’m happy to have you as a friend. I just wanted to let you know that.” The stallion smiled gently at her words and nodded before taking his leave.

As Fluttershy watched him leave, she placed a hoof on her chest and closed her eyes, the warmth of his touch still clinging to her hoof. “Sora...”

The wind blew relentlessly around the small group of ponies as they exited the train, and despite the warmth of the fur on his back, the cold air chilled Sora to his very core. He looked behind himself when he heard Rarity’s voice.

The fashionista held her head up high and bore a smug smile as she stepped out into the snow. “Ha! And you all made fun of me for packing so many scarfs.”

Spike, who took it upon himself to carry all of Rarity’s bags despite Sora’s offer to help, stood behind the mare, struggling to hold on to his charge. “I didn’t say a wo-” He never got to finish what he was saying due to three over eager fillies bowling the drake over.

“Wow!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “There’s so much snow!”

Sweetie Bell shivered slightly. “Yeah, too much snow if you ask me.”

Applebloom bounced out in front of the girls. “Hey! Maybe we can get our cutie mark in snow shoveling.”

At a soft spoken ‘ahem’ from Fluttershy, all three fillies stood at attention. “Now girls, no wandering off and no crusading. I don’t mind watching you but you must stay by me at all times.” The girls sighed dejectedly but agreed none the less.

Applejack smiled as she placed a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Mighty nice of ya to do this for us Shy.”

“I agree.” Rarity added. “Once this is done, we will gladly take them off your hooves.” She turned to the girls. “It will also give us time to think of a fitting punishment for when they get home.” The Cutie Mark Crusaders all looked away from the rest of the group, each one having a face of innocent worry.

Sora raised a hoof against the wind as he ventured out into the snow, checking the surrounding area. He found, off in the distance, a lone figure making its way toward them. He moved to the head of the group, summoning his Keyblade as he did so. “I think we have company everyone.”

As the figure became more visible, Sora could see that he, unless it was a very muscular female, had a pure white coat, maybe even purer than the snow. The ponies two tone blue mane flapped in the wind, along with the black scarf he had wrapped around his neck. The picture that was on his flank seemed very reminiscent of Twilight’s for some reason, a fact that was proven correct when the stallion raised the goggles upon his head and called out a name that was very unfamiliar, but at the same time he knew exactly who he was talking to without question.

“Twily!”

“Shining Armor!”

The lavender mare wrapped her hooves around the white stallion, further proving Sora’s suspicions. “So, you must be Twilights brother, right?”

The stallion in question tuned to look toward the younger caramel one. His eyes seemed to narrow when he looked Sora up and down. “And you must be the Hero of Light Princess Celestia told me about.” Shining placed a hoof upon his chin, rubbing it. “You look a lot younger than I thought you would be.”

“Yeah I know right!” Pinkie said bouncing in front of them. “Hard to believe, right, but he’s him. The Hero of Light! Good thing he’s not wearing a horned helmet! He would just look silly!”

The ponies, for a second time today, just stared at Pinkie for the longest of times before renewing the conversation.

“Besides,” Twilight said, “If it went for him then I…I wouldn’t be here.”

Shining’s eyes widened. “What do you mean by that?”

Twilight’s eyes widened as well. “The Princess didn’t tell you!?”

“No,” Shining’s eyes narrowed again. “She didn’t.”

Celestia busily worked through some paper work that she had been given detailing all of the tactical positions that she had set to guard against any and all Heartless attacks when realization hit her hard. She turned to Luna and whispered softly in her ear. “Oh shoot, I forgot to tell Shining Armor about what happened to Twilight!”

The princess of the night, despite all of her steadfast restraint, could not help but smack a hoof to her own head at her own sister’s words. “For the love of Faust…”

Back at the outskirts of the Crystal Empire…

Shining closed his eyes. “You and I will have a long talk about what happened to you later for now….” He turned toward the direction that he came from. ”We better get moving. There are things out here that we really don’t want to run into after dark.”

Fluttershy gulped pulling Applebloom and the rest close to her. “What kind of things?”

Shining Armor looked toward the barren snow land as he spoke. “Let’s just say…the Empire not the only thing that’s returned.” The Prince made his way to Sora, a hard expression on his face. “I want you to be rear guard. If you’re as good as Twilight claims you to be then that should not be a problem for you…right?”

“Yeah…I can handle it don’t worry.” Sora smiled as she pounded his chest.

Shining nodded and turned to lead the way. “Alright everypony. Follow me and keep close. Keep the children in the middle as we trek. Let’s move out”

~

The black coated pony stood beside the crystal pool as it showed the image of the image of Sora and the others making their way to the Crystal Empire. She touched the glass, more so towards Sora than anypony else. “You…You made me look like an utter foal…” She cursed under her breath. “You will pay little Hero…All of you will pay…”

“And pay they shall…” A cloud of smoke snaked its way around her lifting her chin as a chilling voice filled the crystal like room.

She pulled away from it and gave it a dark glare. “You have no right to touch me. It was your Heartless that cost me the battle.”

The cloud chuckled. “Heh…so you say, but I was still weak then. Now…” The could began to take shape, morphing into that of a pony’s head. Deep red eyes focused hard on the cloaked mare. “This time…They will be dealing with my full power. I will show them the fear of Darkness!”

The heavy snow storm bashed the small group of ponies relentlessly. Each step they took seemed as though their feet were laced with lead. Sora believed that despite his fur covered body, pants would be really welcomed right about now.

Forcing his eyes to look forward, he could see that the others were faring no better, especially the three little fillies traveling as close to Fluttershy as they could. They seemed to struggle the most, more than likely due to their small size. The Keyblader gritted his teeth slightly. How can anything survive out here? Let alone a whole Empire. This cold is intense.

The sound of Shining Armor’s voice drew him from his inner thoughts, though what he had to say was far from comforting. “Something keeps trying to get in. We think it’s the Unicorn King who originally cursed the place!”

Sora could hear Twilight’s voice next, though he could barely see the lavender unicorn. “B-But Princess Celestia said we were being sent her to find a way to protect the empire. If King Sombra can’t get in, it must already be protected!”

Before Shining Armor could offer any response, a loud unearthly sound fill the air around them somehow even drowning out the noise of the snow storm that seemed to rage endlessly. Sora’s eyes darted frantically as he searched for the source of the disturbance. “What in Shiva's name was that?!”

Fluttershy quickly pulled the fillies closer to her, her all four shaking from both the cold and the foreboding feeling of fear. “I-It’s one of the things, isn’t it!?”

Shining stomped his hoof on the ground as he turned to face the group, a determined frown on his face. “We have to get to the Crystal Empire! NOW!!”

Before any of the ponies could start running however, a thick cloud of smoke began to swirl behind them, the elements of the storm did little to affect it as it rose high in the sky. As it formed it began to grow dark and the feeling of dread could be felt emanating deep into everypony who looked up at it.

When it was fully formed, blood red eyes opened at the top of it and stared down at all the ponies present.

Sora, after recovering from the shock of seeing the creature, turned to the girls and yelled one word. “RUN!”

And run they did.

Scooping up Spike onto his back, Sora kept pace with the mares and the stallion while still staying at the end of the group to defend against any attack that may come their way. He chanced a glance backwards, only to find whatever it was chasing them down without remorse. He clicked his teeth and put on an extra sprint.

A Bright dome of light could be see over the horizon causing Shining to smile with relief. “Look! We’re almost…”

His voice died on his lips as he noticed something coming out of the ground. All the mares stopped and gathered behind Sora as they looked upon the enemy in front of them. They were the same Shadow Ponies as before except with one small terrifying difference.

“Twilight…” Spike called out pointing a shaky claw finger toward the waiting creatures. “They got…”

“Horns!!” Twilight finished. “ They have horns! They can use magic!”

Rainbow threw her forelegs in the air. “Aww! COME ON!”

Applejack stood in front of Fluttershy and the fillies. “This looks badder then a swarm of grasshoppers in a corn field…”

“You’re telling me!” Pinkie said with a sigh. “How can I make friends with the crystal ponies if Meanie McShadow Pants stops us from reaching the place!”

Rarity gulp as she made her way behind Sora. “You don’t suppose they would let us through would you?”

Rainbow landed and dug her hoof into the snow growling angrily. “These guys only understand one thing Rarity! A good old fashion Hoof to the face!”

Shining Armor gritted his teeth and fell back so that he was right next to Sora. “ I need you to take the girls and go on ahead! Find a way to get them to safety!”

Sora took not his eyes away from the heartless. “What about you? What are you going to do?”

“I’ll take care of big bad and smokey!” Before Sora could object to him facing the king alone Shining turned fully around and ran toward the giant shadow behind them.

Seeing that he was left to take care of the girls, Sora shot ahead and transferred Spike over to Applejack with a quick buck of his hips. He then ran ahead summoning his key blade as he went. “I’ll make an opening! You guys take it when-Woah!!” He yelped as he just nearly dodged a beam of dark energy as it shot past the stallion, nearly clipping off more than just a few strands of his mane.

“They have magic Sora!” Twilight called out. “Getting in close will only cause you to get hurt needlessly. I think I can put a shield around us so we can charge on through but I don’t know if it will last long. With this many ponies the effectiveness would only diminished the endurance of it.”

He gritted his teeth as his mind raced with ideals. “Darn it! If only I had my…magic?” Sora’s eyes brighten and a bright smile played on his lips. “Magic. Magic!!” He turned to Twilight. “Twilight! I Can’t use magic! But you can! I need you to form a shield around me!”

Every pony looked at the stallion with shocked expressions, all of them saying the same thing. “What!?

He made his way to Twilight’s side and whispered into her ear and, when he was finished, her eyes widened considerably. “A-Are you sure that will work?”

“Don’t know…” Sora’s smile never left his lips as he turned to face the Heartless. “But it’s better than nothing!”

“W-Well even if it did, I would have to be close to you. The further away you are with my magic the more I have to produce to keep it together.”

Sora only had two words to say to her.

“Jump up!”

He saw that the heartless were starting to move toward them.

“Hurry!”

Twilight made a confused expression as she made a leap. Quick as a fox the stallion slipped under her just as she reached the apex of her jump and grunted as she landed on him. She wrapped her hooves around his neck as he started to pick up his pace. Before they got too far ahead Twilight turned to face the girls and dragon. “All of you, stay close and stay behind us!”

The girls all complied just as Twilight formed the energy around her and Sora. A big purple orb enveloped the Stallion, incasing the two ponies.

“All right Twi!” Sora called out. “Let’s show them how heroes fight!” Like a hamster in a mobile ball Sora began running at full speed. The orb around them glided effortlessly in the snow as it made its way toward the front line of the heartless army. The heartless, seeing this, began to shoot the same dark energy toward the ball, but it had little effect as the it just bounced right off the glowing surface, sometimes sending it right back toward its owner. Disorientated, the heartless could not even escape as the Sora/Twilight ball of energy bowled them over, sending more than a few flying into their brothers.

Sora was thankful the defense line of the heartless was thin, the small group being able to reach the other side in mere seconds before the heartless could regroup. Before they did however Sora jumped in the air allowing the ponies behind him to dash under Twilight and himself. He would then call out to the mare on his back.

“Expand it now!”

Twilight blinked, smiled and nodded before raise her hooves to either side of her body, activating her horn and expanding the bubble outward hard and fast making sure that it would not hurt her friends in the process. The result was devastating as the heartless were sent flying away from the pair.

When the two landed, Sora twirled around to see the effects of he and the mare's work. "It worked! Twilight we...Twi?" He felt Twilight slouch on his back, her cheek heavily leaning upon him and her grip loosening. “Twilight!? What’s wrong?!”

“I…I used…too much…energy…” She huffed, her grip around his neck slipping more and more.

He looked toward the dome which was only a few feet and back toward the heartless blocking his way to getting to Shining Armor. He really didn’t have much of a choice in what he had to do. “Come on! We need to get you to safety!”

Rainbow landed beside him. “What about Shining! We can’t leave him!”

I know! Sora stood firm. “Twilight is down and we have kids with us! Their safety is comes first.”

“So we just leave him!?” Is that it?!”

I don’t want too! Sora nodded “Yes! He can take care of himself. As soon as we get them inside then I can go back for Shining!”

Rainbow scowled. “B-But we can’t just leave him!”

“Go…”

All the mares turned to look toward Twilight, who was raising herself off the stallion. “The fillies…They come first…Go...”

Rainbow looked defeated as she tried in vain to rebel. “B-but…Twi…He’s your…” The cyan mare felt a tug on her tail and found Applejack pulling upon it.

“Come on ya’ll…” Applejack said lowering her hat over her eyes. “Ya heard Twilight…Applebloom and the fillies first. Trained solider later.”

Rainbow closed her eyes tight and shook before flying upward and toward the dome, the rest following soon after. As soon as they entered they were greeted with a sight beyond sights. The town while pretty, was nothing compared to the what lay in the middle of it all.

Sora gaped at the crystal spire rising higher than any of the buildings he had seen in his life, even higher than the one where he had fought Xemnus. Its slick crystal exterior would more than likely may make marvel at its beauty and namesake. The most noticeable thing was the fact that it felt like a bright summer day inside the dome they entered, a complete contrast to the harsh winter outside. All the ponies gasped at their surroundings but Sora could not enjoy it for long. He slipped Twilight off his back and gave her to Rarity. As quickly as he could he turned to run back out into harsh elements of the snow ready to join Shining Armor in battle.

To both his utter surprise and deep fear he found…nothing.

No Heartless.

No Sombra.

No Shining Armor.

Nothing.

“What…What!?” Sora ran out summoning his key blade, hoping to coax something out but nothing came. He sat his hunches in the snow and his eyes widened with regret. “No...I was too late...”

See...You’re just too weak…

Sora’s eyes widened at the voice. He knew that voice. It was the same one…from his dream on the train.

If you had just left the girls you would have taken care of that monster no problem. You’re just too weak Sora…

Sora raised his hooves to his heart, feeling a tight tingle within. Before he could even guess what it was he felt a gentle tug on his jacket and found Applejack looking at him with sorrowful eyes.

“Sugercube…Come on…Ah…Ah’m sure he’s fine…Come on now…We can't afford to lose y'all too.” She tugged the stallion with her by his hoof leading him back to the safety of the Crystal Empire. Before Sora entered though, he took one last look toward the snowy waste land.

“I…I’m sorry…Twilight…I was too…”

Weak

Crystal Empire Throne Room…

“Oh my goodness! Twilight!”

Sora watched as a pink pony, one not unlike Celestia and Luna, having both wings and a horn, came bounding weakly towards his side. Her three toned mane, while pretty to look at, seemed as though it had not been well taken care of for quite some time. The tell-tell signs of sleeplessness and fatigue seemed to weigh heavily on her violet eyes. All and all, she seemed to have seen better days.

There was also the hint of a noticed that constant bluish glow to her horn, something he found rather odd.

After gently nuzzling the lavender unicorn that was laid upon Sora's back, the pink alicorn turned to face the others, a look of concern on her normally regal features. “What happened to Twilight?” She took a look around at the group as if she was looking for something specific. “A-And where’s Shining Armor? I didn’t sense him come through the barrier. Is he still out there?” Every pony as well as one little dragon looked away from her as she looked to each and every one of them, none wanting to answer her.

After some time, it was Applejack who, after tilting her hat a bit in greeting, stepped up to relay the news. “Twilight used her magic to help us get inside, Princess Cadence. Outside was swarming with those freaky Shadow Ponies. Twilight was able to open a path for us with Sora’s help but she ended up using up all of her magic and passed out not too long after. She just needs some rest and she’ll be right as rain soon.”

“And Shining?” The mare asked with growing concern. “What happened to Shining Armor?”

“He…T-That is we…” Applejack looked away as she finally relented. “We don’t know.”

Sora took over the conversation, shifted Twilight on his back so he could become more comfortable. “He stayed behind to face King Sombra so we could escape.” Sora said closing his eyes as the alicorn gasped before continuing. “He gave us all the opening we needed to make it to safety.” Sora looked away from the alicorn mare. “I…It’s my-“

Pinkie Pie jumped in front of him, her normally bouncy mane having lost some of his luster. “Shining stayed behind to distract Kingy McMeanypants from getting at us. Sora wanted to help him, he really, really did!” She pulled him into a hug as she gave the stallion a reassuring smile, all the while not disturbing Twilights rest..somehow.

Applejack made her way up front as she took over the explanation. “It was everypony’s decision to get these little ones to safety.” She pointed to the three fillies that had lowered their heads upon being put on the spot. They were instantly wrapped within Fluttershy’s protective hooves. The farm girl turned to face Sora. “We needed to get them to safety above everypony else Sugarcube.” Sora looked down and nodded his head. "Shining knew what he was doing."

Cadance looked toward the group before lowering her head. Everypony could tell that she was trying her best to keep her emotions in check. “Tell me what happened.”

Sora and Applejack relayed what they had happened, from the time at the train station to the time after Sora went back for Shining Armor. Cadence listened to their story, and though she tried to hold posture, her body seemed to shake more and more as they continued their tale.

“When I went to help him,” Sora said finishing the story. “They were gone, every last one of them.” He hung his head down. “If I had stayed by his side then-“

“Then the others would have been put in danger as well.” Rarity said placing a hoof on his shoulder. “You did what you had to do in order to protect us Sora. Nopony will fault you for that.” She shot a glance toward Rainbow, who seemed to be looking away from the stallion. “Or at the very least I wouldn’t.”

“She’s right Sora. As strong as I have heard you are, you are but one pony. You can't be everywhere at once.” Cadence said in a gentle tone, gaining the stallion’s attention. “It…It pains me that Shining Armor has been captured but I promise you I hold neither you nor any of the element users accountable. I’m sure you all did everything you could to help him.” Her words seemed laced with sorrow as she spoke, and she seemed to struggle as she said the next few words. “We…we can discuss it later. I suspect he is safe for now, Sombra might find him more useful alive. Right now we must worry about the kingdo-Nggh!!”

Everypony gasped as the alicorn cringed, her horn fluxing in power, almost like a power surge. A flash of light caught Sora’s eye and he looked out the window. To his shock, the shield that seemed to be keeping the heartless at bay seemed to be blinking in and out of existence.

“Princess!” Applejack ran to her side, placing a hoof upon her shoulder. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

The alicorn sighed. “I…I have been able to use my magic to spread love and light throughout the empire. I think that’s the only reason King Sombra has not been able to get in.” She shook her head. “Shining Armor’s spell kept getting countered by King Sombra so…”

Rarity gasped. “So that means that you have been awake ever since we left the train station three days ago.”

“It’s because of that shadow varmint!” Applejack said with irritation in her voice. “Ya’ll haven’t been taking care of yourself, cause ya’ll can’t?”

The alicorn shook her head slowly. “It…it is alight. I am fine.”

“I’m sorry princess but no way in hay do you look fine.” Rainbow said landing in front of her.

“Rainbow is right.” Rarity quipped. “Just look at you. You can’t keep going on like this.”

“But if the barrier fails then…” Fluttershy shuddered. “You know who will be coming after us.”

“I won’t let that happen everyone.” Sora said with a determined frown. “I promised to do my best to stop Sombra! It’s why I’m here!”

“It’s why we’re all here Sora.” Applejack corrected. “And we’ll do our best as well.”

Cadance smiled and nodded. “Neither I nor Shining have been able to collect any information due to me putting all my strength into keeping the spell going and-” Her voice broke as she spoke “Shining looking out for signs of trouble in the arctic. We haven’t been able to gather much information from the Crystal Ponies.”

“Crystal Ponies!” Rarity cried, her eyes glowing brightly. “There are Crystal Ponies?!”

Everyone, be them big pony, little pony or not-a-pony, stared at the white mare with varying degrees of looks that all screamed, ‘Really?’

Rarity, upon seeing this, straightened out her mane and chucked nervously. “Oh. Please, continue”

Cadance closed her eyes as she spoke again. “We have to believe that one of them knows how we can protect the empire, without relying on my magic.”

“Well what are we waiting for?!” Rainbow Exclaimed. “The faster we figure it out, the faster we can save Shining Armor, and the faster we can kick that Dark King’s flank!” She made a beeline toward the door leaving behind a rainbow trail in her wake. The rest of the mares followed suit, leaving only Applejack, Cadence and Sora behind.

“Here Sora,” Applejack slid Twilight off his back and placed her upon her own. “I’ll take care of Twi. You go on ahead and find out everything you can.”

The stallion nodded and then turned toward Cadance. “I will do everything in my power to save him princess. You have my word.” He held out a hoof to her, “As your friend.”

The princess of love smiled warmly and took the hoof into her own. “Then as your friend, hero of light - no, Sora. As your friend, I wish you both a safe return, and may Celestia guide you.”

Sora smiled brightly and ran off after the rest of the group. When he was gone Applejack turned to look toward Cadence. The princess in return was looking back at the mare, tears starting to fall freely from her eyes. “He will succeed, won’t he?”

Applejack nodded determinedly. “Trust me princess,” She smiled. “He’s not the type of stallion to leave a pony hanging.”

~

Sora had run around like a chicken with his head cut off as soon as he exited the building. It was then, after several minutes of running from one street to the next that the stallion realized he didn’t have a plan to acquire the information he needed to stop King Sombra. He was about to go into thinking mode when a tap on his head caused him to turn around.

“Spike?” His eyes widened as he looked at the purple dragon on his back. “I thought you went with the girls.”

The purple dragon rolled his eyes as he folded his arms about his chest. “Yeah well, I didn’t. I was still beside Applejack before you took off so I couldn’t catch up with them. I hopped on your back deciding to go with you.” He smirked. “It’s a good thing I did too, you look like you could use more help than they ever could.”

The stallion smiled sheepishly. “Heheh. Yeah, I guess I could. I’m not really good at gathering information myself.” He looked around at all the buildings taking in the sights as he continued to speak. “So Spike…What do you suggest we do first? Because to be honest, I’m a bit lost.”

The drake thought for a moment, pondering that very question before slamming a fist into his open claw, an idea popping into his head. “I got it!” When Sora asked what he had, Spike continued. “Well, whenever Twilight is stumped she always turns to her favorite catch phrase.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?”

Spike pointed a clawed finger into the air and exclaimed in a voice that sounded very similar to a certain lavender unicorn. “TO THE LIBRARY!!”

The library? Sora hadn’t thought of that yet. He flashed a bright smile as he remembered that whenever he was stumped on what was what, he would always turn to Jiminy Cricket’s Notes. Hopefully, just hopefully, the library might provide at least something that he could find useful, no matter how little it might be.

“Well then Spike.” Sora reared up on his hind legs, force the dragon to clutch onto his neck so that he wouldn’t fall off. “TO THE LIBRARY!!”

~

Rainbow Dash was glad to be away from the others for the time being, especially that stallion.

“How could he just leaving Shining out there?!”

She asked the question out loud but she already knew the answer. He did it for the fillies. Still, she wasn’t just going to let him off the hook that easily.

“He should have been faster at getting back to him!”

Again, the mare’s mind defended Sora by stating the fact that he indeed tried his best to get to him, even feeling deep remorse when he could not. He was ready to blame himself and if Pinkie hadn’t stopped him...

“Gah! I know that! I know that he did try his best to save him…but…he just …he-”

Her mind questioned her relentlessly, wondering why she was trying to push the stallion away. Obviously she cared for him, so why not accept him.

“Because he’s just like him! That’s why!”

Rainbow began to rub her head with both hooves in wild frustration, many of the crystal ponies that had been around slowly backed away from the mare, not wanting to be on the business end of her rage filled rant with herself.

~

It wasn’t long before the duo, after asking quite a few of the ponies in town, found themselves at the Crystal Empire Public Library. They both smiled brightly and had hyped themselves up, ready to find what they needed, stop the king, and save the prince, but both stallion and drake gasped at the sight they beheld once they entered the establishment.

“Dear Celestia of Equestria.” Spike eyes widened with both wonder and fear. “Just look at them all! Twilight would totally have a nerdgasm if she saw this place!”

Sora gulped as he stared straight up at the floors upon floors a books. “This is the largest amount of paper I have ever seen in once place at one time, ever.” He turned Spike. “Where do we start? How do we start? It will take us forever if we have to go through each and every last one of these books.”

Spike thought for a moment, not really knowing himself, that is until some movement caught his eye. “Hey, what about her?” He pointed a claw to an elderly mare walking towards them. “She looks like she works here.”

The mare stopped a short distance away from the pair, adjusting her glasses as she did so. She was another one of those crystal ponies that Sora had seen in Celestia’s little image thingy, though she did not, like some of the other few he had talked to, have the same luster they seemed to be famous for. ”Ahem. May I help you gentlecolts?”

Sora smiled as he stepped up. “Yeah. We’re looking for a book.”

The mare cocked her head to the side before motioning toward the bookshelves around her. “Well, as you can see, we have plenty of those.”

Spike rolled his eyes and shoved Sora’s head down so that he could be seen. “What my wayward friend is saying is, we’re looking for a book about…um…how about the history of the Crystal Empire.”

The stallion looked up at Spike as best he could. “Huh? Why a history book Spike?”

Spike smiled smugly. “Well, I figure it’s the best way to find out how the empire used to protect itself from danger before. Maybe we can use it now.”

Sora eyes widened at that. “Hey! That’s a good idea Spike!” He turned to face the mare with a smile on his face. “Got any history books?”

The mare placed a hoof on her chin and began to repeat the word history over and over before looking back at the pair. “Ah yes, history.”

Sora and Spike leaned in as she paused, expecting some sort of guidance. When she didn’t say anything, Spike spoke up on their behalf. “Which is…where exactly?”

The mare eyes widened. “I…I can’t seem to remember.”

Sora somehow fell flat on his face at that statement and Spike ran a clawed hand down his own in irritation.

“Looks like we’re on our own after all.” Spike groaned before looking toward Sora. “Listen, I’m pretty good at finding books but I think we’re gonna need the girls’ help on this one. Mind finding them for me while I get started?”

Sora raised a hoof in a salut. “Not a problem! Good luck Spike!” He ran off as the dragon wished him the same.

~

Shining groaned from the blow to the head he had seemed to sustained from unknown origins. He tried to move a hoof to rub at his head but found that it was impossible due to all four legs being trapped in ice. He tried to struggle but found it a fruitless effort. He ceased his struggling as he breathed heavily. He could feel his beaten body shiver in the cold cavern like room he was in.

“Well, that could have gone better.”

“You can say that again, Prince.”

Shining strained his head to turn finding a black cloaked pony making their way slowly toward him. He focused a hardened glare in their direction as he spoke to her. “You know you’re not going to get away with this.”

The mare shrugged as she sauntered her way toward the trapped stallion, wrapping a hoof around him to pull him closer to her. “Is that so Prince Shining? I think you being defeated by the heartless makes what you say mean very little to me.”

Shining closed his eyes. “Heartless. So those are the heartless I’ve heard about.” He opened them again. “And you are?”

She raised a hoof to where her mouth was hidden. “You mean you don’t remember me?” She chuckled lightly. “Well I guess I’m not too surprised. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other, you know, with me whisking myself away through that mirror so long ago. Still it pains my heart to be forgotten, especially by the captain of the royal guard.”

“Wait, did you say mirror?” His eyes widened. “Your voice, I know it.” He squinted his eyes. “You can’t be…”

She giggled madly as she raised the hood off from her head, revealing bright yellow fur and two tone red and yellow mane. Her eyes shined with a deep red light as both orbs stared into Shining’s own. “Oh but it is. Sunset Shimmer, at your service you majesty.” She gave him a mocking bow.

Shining struggled against his bonds as he spoke. “But what are you doing here!? You were never heard from again after you disappeared into the mirror!” He glared at her. “Are you…Are you in league with Sombra?”

“Hmm” She placed a hoof to her chin before smiling smugly toward him. “Well its more like we have a common enemy, dear prince.” She moved her face close to his, her lips barely inches away from his own. “Are you mad?”

Shining gritted his teeth. “Why!? Why are you doing this?!”

“Because they took everything away from me!” She snapped. “Both Celestia and her prized student. Now, they will pay. Both of them will pay with their hearts.”

“You leave Twilight alone you witch!” He struggled furiously as he tried to leap out of the ice toward the mare. “I will never forgive you if you hurt a single hair on her head!”

“Oh…I don’t think you have a choice in the matter Prince Armor. “ She waved a hoof around her. “These caverns, they were meant to keep Sombra here forever. I’m sure with you, the way you are now, you’ll have little to no chance of being a thorn in my master’s side. Can’t have two heroes running about can I?”

She kissed his cheek before pulling away . “I’ll see ya later little Shine-Shine. All-powerful ponies to overthrow and worlds to conquer and all that.” She crackled loudly as she left the still struggling Shining in his bonds, failing to notice a pair of piercing green eyes watching them from the ceiling above.

~

It took little time for Sora to find the rest of the mares, though finding Pinkie Pie dressed in a flawless Fluttershy costume was quite the experience. He would have to remember to ask where the heck she get it after everything was said and done. When he had gathered them all together at the library, they quickly got to work, looking for what they needed to find.

The real Fluttershy went from shelf to shelf with the CMC beside her, all three checking the lower parts of the book shelves while Rainbow, with the aid of her wings, and Pinkie, with the aid of bouncing, checked the higher shelves. Rarity and Sora stayed on the ground, making sure nothing was missed while Spike climbed ladder after ladder, putting his skills as Twilight’s assistant to the ultimate test.

It had been hours since they started, yet the group of ponies seemed no closer to finding a solution than they were this morning.

“Is it just me,” Rainbow asked after flipping through what she believed was her hundredth book. “Or do we seem to be putting all our effort into a lost cause?”

“Rainbow is right!” Scootaloo complained. “How do we know a history book even exists?”

“Scoots, it would only make sense that if Cheerilee’s class has a history book, then so would any other place around equestria.” Sweetie Bell deadpanned. “Maybe you should stay awake more in class.”

“Well maybe you should…stupid.” She folded her hooves about her chest, proud of her retort.

Sora groaned at the book he had just flipped though, tossing it to the side when he was done. “Darn it! Not that one either! Not one of these books seems to have what we’re looking for!”

“We can’t just give up though!” Applebloom called out from a book pile she was sifting through. “There’s gotta be something, there’s just gotta!”

“I’m not giving up Applebloom.” Sora said reassuringly. “There has to be a better way to-“

“Found it!” Spike exclaimed, interrupting the stallion. He smiled brightly as he held up a heavy tome high in the air. “It’s the History of the Crystal Empire!”

“You did!? YIPPIE!” Pinkie bounced up and down on her tail as she cheered.

Rainbow whistled, impressed. “Way to go Spike! Who’s the dragon?”

“Heh, I’m the dragon!” The drake puffed out his chest and smiled brightly. “Just doing what I do best…And what is that you may ask? Why it’s none other than being amazing!”

So enticed was the dragon with himself that he failed to notice the black and red blur coming at him until it was too late. Knocking the drake upside the head, Spike hit the floor and dropped the book, the tome in question sliding a ways off. Just as it stopped two more of the same creatures appeared around it hovering about as if they were dancing. They looked like little pouches filled with some type of black tar. Glowing yellow eyes poked out from the back to look at their prize.

Rarity cleared her throat as she turned to face Sora.

“Sora dear. Please don’t tell me those horrid things are what I think they are?”

“You mean Heartless?” The stallion frowned as he nodded gravely. “Yeah. They are Rarity.” He summoned his keyblade in one quick motion.

Rainbow slid a hoof down her face. “You have got to be bucking kidding me! How did they even get in here?! Why are they even here?!”

“Look!” Pinkie called out, pointing a hoof toward the heartless. “I don’t think they want us to have that book!”

“I thinkyou might be right Pinkie! Which can only mean that whatevers in there is something we need!” Sora geared himself up to attack, as did Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, both mares on either side of him, while Rarity and Fluttershy stayed back to protect the fillies.

The heartless, seeing the three ponies gearing up to fight, turned their attention back to them. One of the heartless began to glow in a faint red light before releasing a small fire ball toward the group. Sora, upon seeing this, jumped to their defense, reflecting the ball of fire with the keyblade.

“Oh for the love of-?!” Rainbow narrowly dodged another, the fire striking the floor behind her. She growled as she zoomed toward the heartless, slamming a hoof against it as she did so. Doubling back, the cyan pegasus zoomed past it again, this time striking the heartless with swift buck. “Heads up Pinkie!”

The pink party pony smiled brightly as she looked up from the green bag heartless she was currently tickling with a feather just in time to see the red bag heartless rocketing towards her. Reaching behind a bookcase, Pinkie pulled out her party cannon and positioned it just so, allowing the heartless to land inside the opening. Raising her hoof, she called out with a little too much enthusiasm, “FIRE.” She slammed down on the fuse, causing the heartless to shoot towards another one just as it fired off an ice bolt. It struck its partner, freezing it within the confines of an ice block.

Pinkie giggled. “Hey! No need to give somepony the ‘Cold’ Shoulder.” The pink pony gasped as another one shot just over her head. “Hey that wasn’t very ‘Cool’! You forgot to yell ‘Freeze’!” Not being able to hold herself back, she laughed uproariously, rolling on the ground as she did so.

As the pink pony laughed her flank off the Ice Heartless charged itself up for another attack. Its retaliation was cut off due to a book knocking it out of the sky.

“Ha!!” Scootaloo yelled. “Take that ya freaky thing!”

“Scootaloo!” Fluttershy hooked a leg around the orange filly pulling her in as the a yellow bag heartless appeared in front of her. Fluttershy and the fillies stared in wide eyed shock as the heartless began to surge with electricity. Before it could do whatever it was about to do though, Sora’s keyblade sliced clean through it, causing it to dissipate and its crystal to dissapear into the air.

Swift as a fox, the stallion slammed his keyblade into the remaining dazed heartless, finishing the battle within record time. “Too easy!” Sighing lightly, he made his way to the book and picked it up with his hooves. “Right...so evil minions trying to capture a book that might be able to help us defeat an evil entity.” He smiled as he opened the book, the rest of the mares gathering around him as he did so. “Lets see what we can find.”

Sora made his way through the vast crystal hallways, taking in any and all sights his blue eyes would allow. He had decided, for all intents and purposes, to make himself useful and trot through the castle, making sure no other surprises were waiting for him and his friends while the others tried to figure out what to make of the history book. Despite Applejack insisting, and Rainbow asking in a roundabout way to come with him, he had declined their help and went to explore alone. Not that he wasn’t grateful for their help; he just needed time to think about a few things. He also didn’t want to put anyone in unnecessary danger in case any heartless appeared. Though seeing the twinge of disappointment in their eyes when he said he would go alone caused him to feel a little miserable for declining their offer.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He needed to figure out what he was going to do next. The book was a good start and he was sure they had found some information, but they needed plan. He looked up to the crystal ceiling.

“What do we do now…”

I’m sure they would know…

The voice rung in his ears as he made his way down a particularly long hallway; its tone was very familiar…

Why didn’t you let one come with you? It’s obvious they wanted to be around you. Even that blue one. It’s like you’re keeping them at…well…arm’s length so to speak.

Sora shook his head as he began to argue with the internal voice. “That’s not it. I just don’t want to put them in danger.”

Oh come on. You seem to be using that excuse a lot. You’ve seen them fight. They are more than capable of taking care of themselves if need be. Keeping them from danger isn’t the problem.

Sora lowered his head. “I…it’s just…I want them around but-”

But you don’t want to fail in protecting them, right? That’s why you want to keep them from fighting. It’s also why you haven’t told them you’re not really a pony either.

Sora nodded begrudgingly.

Sora, they’re your friends. Even if you just met them, the fact that you were able to connect with them, like you do everyone you meet, just proves more and more how they will take it if you told them. If anyone would understand it’s them, even more so due to certain feelings a few have for you.

“Huh?”

Never mind. Besides, the point is that they wouldn’t abandon you because of something stupid like that. It’s not like either Kairi or Riku could abandon you, or anyone else either Sora. You know them better than that.

“Yeah, but if I hadn’t had failed the Keyblade exam then I would be right there alongside them. It really sucks.” Sora said with slight annoyance.

The keyblade exam eh? You like to use that excuse a lot too.

Sora frowned at the response from his inner self.

Come on…for someone who always has an open heart for others you really like to put up barriers when you don’t want others to know about what’s wrong with you. Sora, I can see inside your heart right now, and tell that’s not what you’re really mad about. Though you keep saying that’s what’s wrong so I can see why you’ve been thinking that way.

Sora looked away. “That’s not the… wait, what?” The stallion stopped moving and looked from side to side.

Do I have to spell it out for you? You-

“W-who are you!?” Sora suddenly yelled out loud, looking around frantically. “Where are you!? How are you speaking to me!?”

What do you mean?! I…I…I’m speaking to you? I’m speaking to you. I’m speaking to you!

“What? Who are you?! Where are you!?”

I…I don’t know…I…Sora…Its me…Its me…Ventus…

Before the stallion could respond or comprehend what in Cid’s name was going on, a sudden noise coming from just down the hall caused the stallion’s ears to perk up. “What the? That sounded like…” Wasting no time, the stallion galloped at full speed towards the source of the noise, gearing himself up for a possible attack.

~

Twilight awoke, rubbing the grogginess from her tired eyes. A sharp twinge of pain erupted from her head and she groaned inwardly. She knew what such an agonizing headache entailed.

“Gah…must have over used my magic again.”

The lavender mare slowly blinked a few times before yawning and stretching her hind and forelegs. “Huh? Where am I?” Looking about, the mare noticed the crystal like décor, ranging from the furniture to the wall itself. Never in her life had she had seen such a remarkable sight before. She stared in awe for only a few moments before reality came crashing down upon her. Her memories of that morning came flooding into her like a parasprite to food. Out of all of her memories though, three facts pushed to the forefront of her mind.

Number one; she was in the Crystal Empire.

Number two; she and the others had come here to defeat Sombra.

Number three; Shining was…

“Oh no! Shining!” She leapt out of bed and ran for the door, opening it with her magic. Muzzle met muzzle as she collided with a caramel stallion, his two sky blue eyes widened in shock, much in the same way that her purple ones were. The two ponies tumbled into a roll and when they finally stopped, the mare ended up lying on top of the stallion. Her eye swirled for a moment before focusing again, when she looked at what she had landed upon.

Sora was rubbing the back of his head tenderly, feeling the bump he had just received for the trouble of checking in on his friend. When he finished, he looked up to find purple eyes staring down upon him. “Twilight!? You’re awake!”

Twilight felt her cheeks redden as she noticed where she was. It instantly faded when she remembered why she was running. “Forget about me!” The mare said as she moved to let the stallion up. “Shining Armor! Where is he? The last thing I remember was…was…” She clasped a hoof over her mouth. “T-the heartless and King Sombra. They… what happened? What happened to Shining?”

Sora shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry Twilight, I don’t know. Everything, ranging from Sombra to your brother, was gone before I could get back to him.” The boy turned stallion looked away. “I can only guess at where he might be. In other words, I know just about as much as you do.” Upon seeing Twilight’s ears begin to fold back he gave her a reassuring smile. “Hey, don’t worry. Cadence said that she could still feel Shining’s heart. She could still feel that he was alive.” He pounded his chest. “You can believe I’ll rescue your brother.”

Twilight looked into Sora’s eyes as she spoke. “Sora…” She smiled, “Thank you.” She stood up straight before speaking again. “What are you doing here anyway Sora? What’s going on with the Crystal Empire?”

“Well…” He began to weave the tale that he and the others had just been a part of earlier that day. He could see her brighten up considerably at the mention of the Crystal Library and the part Spike had played in finding out about it. Her happiness turned to shock and then anger at the mention of the heartless that had attacked Spike in hopes of destroying the book the group had found before.

“How did they even get past the barrier? I thought Shining said this place was protected.”

“It is…and it isn’t.” He explained. When asked to elaborate he gave her a cliff note version. “Cadence said that she is using her magic to spread love and happiness all over the empire, but it’s costing her a great deal. If we don’t find a solution soon then…”

Twilight looked away in contemplation. If what he says is true then they didn’t have long. Cadence was powerful, but even an alicorn’s magic could not last forever. If those heartless were after that book then…

“Sora, where is that book?”

~

Twilight made her way to the circular table where Sora, her friends, and the fillies were all waiting for her. They were happy to have Twilight up and active again but their joy was put on the back burner for now. She had seen for herself the state her sister-in-law was in and she didn’t need to waste any time on a welcome. They needed to discuss what they were going to do to help the empire.

Twilight cleared her throat as music began to once again fill Sora’s ears, causing the stallion’s eyes to widen. He actually began to look around, trying his best to find the source of the melody, even going so far as to look under the table at one point. He gave up the search however as Twilight’s voice began to ring gently in his ears.

One Song later...

Twilight smiled as she closed the book, the sound of their last notes still hanging in the air. “It’s obvious that it’s the crystal ponies’ love and friendship that was able to fend off evil beings before Sombra came to power. If we can recreate that with the crystal festival, then we might be able to deal with Sombra a little easier.

Sora nodded as he slid the book towards him and opened it again. “Looks like we have a lot of work to do then.” Flipping through it, he stopped at the last page as a particular passage caught his eye. “Crystal…Heart?” He couldn’t help but noticed that It looked rather familiar.

Twilight used her magic to pull the book towards her. “Hmmm, good catch Sora. It says here that the Crystal Heart is the centerpiece of the festival. I think I can cut one out of some crystals using my magic.”

Sora nodded and smiled. “Right! Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get this fair on the road!”

“I’m ready to get this rodeo started! Yee-haa!”

“Yeah! I’ll bring the flugel horn!”

“Y-yes. Let’s all do our best… for everypony.”

“Quite right darling, I shall give it no less than my all.”

“What are we standing here for! Come on everypony, let’s roll out!”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders: Empire Savers! YAY!”

Twilight looked upon every pony before dipping her head in a nod. “Let’s save the Crystal Empire!”

~

So…having a fair to save the day. Its original to say the least.

Sora looked around to find the voice that had spoken to him, only to remember that the only one it could belong to was the one that was inside him. “Ventus?

Who else? And don’t talk too loudly. You might sound crazy if you do.

Sora looked around at the growing crowd of ponies entering the newly erected Crystal fair. Speaking in a whisper, “You were silent for a while. What happened?”

Didn’t think I should interrupt. It was a nice song.

“Yeah.” Sora watched a pair of foals pass by, their coats shining like crystals in the heat of Celestia’s sun. “Twilight really knew what she was doing. The ponies seem to be happier than when we last talked to them. Some of their coats are even crystal.”

Yeah. Crystal Empire, crystal ponies. This place really is quite literal in everything. Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

“You mean your ability to talk to me inside my mind.” Sora observed.

Correct. If I can do this, thenmmaybe I’m awakening from inside your heart.

Sora nodded as he closed his eyes and folded his hooves about this chest. “This is surreal. Though I do remember feeling your heart sometimes helping me. You were there during the Exams when I fell into darkness. I could also feel your heart when I was with the Dream Eaters back in the Realm of Sleep’s Traverse Town.”

Maybe I can be totally free somehow.

“Yeah, but how?”

Before either of the boys could think more on the subject, the stallion felt himself whisked away by a pair of cyan hooves. He yelped at first, waving his arms wildly about before he looked up to find out just who it was that was kidnapping him, or in this case, foalnapping. “Rainbow? What the heck is going on?” He paused. “And what’s with that cloth in your mouth.”

The rainbow maned pony looked down once before veering off towards the castle where Twilight was just putting the finishing touches on the crystal heart she had just erected.

Letting the stallion drop with a crash, she quickly covered the monument with the flag she had snagged earlier, much to her lavender friend’s annoyance. Before Twilight could even say a thing to her cyan friend, Rainbow cut her off.

“I think we may have a problem!”

Both Twilight and Sora looked towards each other before the same question popped into each other’s minds. “What?”

~

To say Twilight was distraught was an understatement. Not only had she missed the fact that there was a torn page in the Crystal Kingdom History book, but it seemed to be the very page that told them exactly what they needed to keep the crystal empire safe. She paced the balcony, somehow wearing a ditch into the floor as she did so, her usually straight mane now out of place in several places.

“How could I have been so inattentive? I should have noticed that a page was missing. I bet those heartless knew that and were just trying to wear us out. We need the crystal heart! Without it, all our work would have been for nothing! Oh no, oh dear, oh no, oh dear-”

Sensing her troubled mind, Cadence placed a shaky hoof upon her shoulder, stopping the mare in her tracks. “It’s ok Twilight. We will…” She began to falter and fell to her side. Before she could hit the ground however, Sora was as quick as a cat and caught her within his hooves. With a fizzle, her horn blinked out, causing everypony present to gasp.

That can’t be good…Ventus committed within the depths of Sora’s mind.

Before the stallion could respond, he looked off towards the barrier and found it slowly blinking in and out of existence. With each blink, he could see the dark shadow edging closer and closer until it began to slowly engulf the green land the barrier had surrounded. Sora’s eyes widened as he watched. “Crap! It’s Sombra!”

He looked down to see the alicorn recover from her fainting spell. She smiled at the concerned gazes she was being given before raising her head up and activating once again. Sora could see the shadow rear back before quickening its pace, only to be stopped by the newly erected barrier. Something red however fell from where the shadow was the closest, not being missed by the stallion’s eyes.

As it landed, a black crystal began to grow from the very ground it dropped from. Sora’s eyes squinted as he watched as Shadow Colts began to emerge from the crystal itself. “Heartless!”

Twilight ran to the side of the balcony, her eyes widening at the sight of the monsters. “Oh no! We have to stop them! If they get near the fair…!”

Sora unfolded his wings before placing his forelegs upon the balcony railing. “Leave it to me! I’ll take care of them!”

Rainbow flew upwards into the sky rearing herself to go as well. “Me too!”

Before Sora could say anything Twilight gripped the mare with her magic. “Sorry Rainbow! I need you to tell the others to keep the fair going!”

“What?! Why!?” The cyan mare complained. “I wanna kick heartless flank too!”

Twilight shook her head. “If the crystal ponies get wind of the attack, then they would want to use the crystal heart right away. And we still have to find it! We need to keep them calm for as long as we can, which is what you and the girls will do. Sora will stop the heartless before they can cause an uproar and I’ll find the heart.” She turned to Sora. “Is that ok with you?”

The stallion nodded before turning to face the ground. “Leave it to me! I’ll keep everyone safe!” Using his forelegs as momentum, he launched himself from the balcony, using his wings to guide himself down to the rooftops as he did so. From there he proceeded to jump from rooftop to rooftop towards his destination.

When he was gone, Twilight turned to the still held Rainbow dash. “Sorry Rainbow. I want to help him too, but we have to think about the crystal ponies as well.” She released the mare, allowing her to be suspended by her own wings.

“Yeah, you’re right Twi.” She turned to face the way the stallion went. “Stupid Sora, getting all the action.” When she zoomed out of earshot, she growled softly to herself. “You better be careful.”

~

Sora landed with a skid on the grassy plain. He flapped once, ignoring the pain of disuse as he righted himself. “Ok…wings…They’re more trouble than I expected.” His gaze fell on the black crystal that loomed over him, heartless slowly pouring out of the shadow that it casts. He summoned his keyblade with a flash of light, causing any and all heartless to focus on him. “Alright. You want someone to attack, then attack me!” With a swing of his weapon he dove into the first batch of Shadow Colts, his keyblade shining in the mid-day sun.

“I’ll show you the power of the Keyblade!”

~

“What!?”

Fluttershy Spike and the Crusaders all stared at the cyan mare in disbelief, reeling at what they were told. Rainbow dash had informed Rarity and Applejack before she had managed to find Fluttershy and the kids. After pushing them to a secluded area, she informed them of their current development and was met with the reaction she had expected of them. Despite the joyful sounds of the fair not too far away from them, the small gathering was quiet for a few seconds, the silence only being broken by Spike as he spoke up with a shaky tone.

“So your saying that the Heartless are here, and if we don’t find the heart soon then we’re finished?”

Rainbow nodded as she looked towards the way Sora had gone. “Twilight’s looking for the Crystal Heart as we speak. She told us to-Hey! Spike?! Where are you going?!”

The little drake dashed past Rainbow, making his way to the castle. Looking back over his shoulder, he called out to the group. “No time! Helping Twi!” Was his only statement before rounding a tent’s corner.

Rainbow looked back towards Fluttershy who had just as much of a dumbfounded expression as she had. “Well, for now, while Sora keeps the heartless at bay, we can tend to the fair. If things do turn south, we can get everypony inside the crystal castle and defend them from there.”

Fluttershy shook herself out of her stupor to looked towards her friend. “It won’t come to that. I have faith that Sora and Twilight will succeed in their ventures.”

“Yeah, I know.” Rainbow looked down and raised an eyebrow. “Hey, where’s the squirt and AJ’s and Rarity’s sisters.”

Fluttershy looked down as well, her eyes widening by degrees. “What? But they were right here.”

Rainbow looked towards the castle and then towards where Sora was, her eyes widening as well. “You don’t think?”

Fluttershy started to panic as the thought crossed her mind as well. “They wouldn’t.”

Rainbow deadpanned as her wings twitched agitatedly. “They would.”

Both mares looked at each other for a second before taking off towards the dark crystal’s origins. Hopefully the little fillies didn’t get too far.

~

Applebloom popped her head from around the purple crystal that she and her friends hid behind, the yellow filly taking in the sight with all the admiration she could muster. She and her friends had wordlessly slipped away from Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and, despite Sweetie Bell’s uncertain glares, had quickly covered the distance on Scootaloo’s scooter to the place where the heartless were appearing.

The girls watched in awe at what was playing out in front of them. Even from this distance, they could see Sora in action as he fought against countless heartless. Every slash of his keyblade seemed like it came second nature to him. The two fillies who had yet to see the stallion in action watched with amazement as he downed another five heartless in less time than they wanted to believe it took.

“He’s…He’s amazing.” Scootaloo mused as she watched on. “How can a pony fight like-Oh! Did you see that?! He just destroyed three at once!”

Sweetie Bell was also in awe. “Wow, he really is a hero. I mean, I know he saved Ponyville and all, but I never got a chance to see how good he really is.” She blushed a little. “He is kinda cool.”

Applebloom swelled with pride as she watched the stallion as well. “Yeah, he really is.”

Scootaloo tried to lean out more from behind the crystal but ended up falling over it and landing on the other side. She looked up as, all at once, the heartless and then Sora, after finding that they had stopped moving altogether, looked her and her friend’s way.

“Buck.” The orange filly was glad that Rainbow wasn’t around to hear her.

~

Sora looked around, finding the heartless not moving an inch. The stallion, while happy for the break, stood in befuddlement as they all turned to look in one general direction. “What the… why are they?” Sora turned as well, finding a familiar orange filly not too far away. “Scootaloo?” He then noticed two more fillies looking over the crystal at their fallen friend. “Applebloom? Sweetie Belle?”

Sora! Ventus yelled from within his mind. Stop gawking! Get them!

As Sora moved, the heartless moved as well. He tore through the heartless, using his keyblade to knock all of them back as he made his way to the fillies. He could see the orange filly every now and again, her friends struggling to pull her back up the crystal. He upped his game, kicking in a bit of extra speed as he neared the girls. It wasn’t long before he made his way to the front of the pack and closed the distance just as the fillies pulled Scootaloo up. As soon as they did, he dived over the crystal, catching all three within his hooves.

The stallion was quick to jump out of the way just as the heartless came crashing down where he had once been. He flipped once in the air before landing on his hind hooves, only to fall on his rump due to his new form. All three fillies looked up at him before looking back towards the heartless.

They had renewed their attack without rest and were in mid-lunge, blasting towards the four ponies on the ground. The fillies screamed as they clung to the stallion while Sora gripped his keyblade within his mouth, ready to defend them to the end.

Or he would have if a cyan blur hadn’t come blasting in and pushed them out of harm’s way. Sora held the fillies tight as he and Rainbow bounced away, skidding to a halt before stopping a short distance from where the heartless impacted. The stallion let the fillies go, letting them run to an angry yet concerned Fluttershy, before picking himself up and wielding his keyblade once more. Rainbow came to his side and pawed roughly at the ground.

“Don’t you dare Sora!” She yelled before he could say a thing. “I’m not gonna stand on the side lines while you have all the fun!” She looked over and smiled at him. “Besides, I still gotta show ya what I can do. Who knows, maybe the Keyblade might want to be with somepony more awesomer than you after it sees my skills.”

Sora looked towards the mare, before a slow smile appeared on his lips. Ventus’s words echoed through his mind, at least he hoped it was and not actually Ventus reiterating what he had said before. “Ok. Stay close though. I’ll watch your back if things get too out of control.”

A light tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks. She knew what he meant. It was too simple to even think otherwise. Still, that did not stop her from a cheeky comment. “Just don’t stare too hard.” Her rainbow tail snapped sharply. “Don’t want you to get too distracted.”

Before Sora could process any meaning of what in Zidane’s name she just said, the heartless struck.

~

Applejack had her hooves full with keeping the crystal ponies from getting near the fake crystal heart. The mare did her best to never lie, though she was surely tempted to do so on several occasions, despite her knowing she wouldn’t be very good at it. Directing more than one pony to one stand or another, she was able to keep them at bay for the moment. She felt in her heart however, that it was not going to last.

“Come on ya’ll. These crystal ponies are more curious than a cat.”

She looked off to her side to find a cloaked pony making their way to the fake heart. She sighed heavily before intercepting him. “Kinda sunny out for a cape like that aint it? Why don’t ya’ll go take a load off and have some crystal nectar over yonder.”

The pony just stood there, tilting their head at the suggestion. While it looked, Applejack sized the pony up and down. They seemed to be just below Luna’s height. While their cloak covered most of their face, a light silver muzzle could be seen protruding from the hood. Though she couldn’t see their eyes, she could feel the creature staring down upon her. It made her more than a little uncomfortable.

“Um, well if the nectar isn’t your thing you can try the crystal pie.” Applejack pointed to another stand. “It’s hoof licking good.”

The figure looked towards where she had pointed and then back towards her, shaking their head. “I’m looking from someone actually. Overly cheerful. Kind of a pain.” His voice, for it was definitely male, sounded rather young for such a tall pony.

Applejack raised an eyebrow before she narrowed her eyes. “What do ya’ll need Pinkie Pie for?” Her tone held a hint of suspicion.

The figure tilted his head before shaking it. “No, I don’t know anyone named Pinkie. The one I’m looking for is male. Deep brown hair. Might have on a black jacket. Carries a…!”

The male looks off towards the doors of the crystal empire castle with a start. “Sorry, hold that thought.” He ran off, leaving a befuddled orange mare in his wake.

“Boy howdy, he was a strange pony. Now, who was he looking for?” Applejack tapped a hoof to her chin. “Brown hair, black jacket?” Her eyes widened slightly. “Wait did he mean….” She looked off towards the fake heart and nearly yelped. “Hey! We’re not ready for the grand unveiling yet!”

~

Sora and Rainbow, Fluttershy observed, were more than amazing. Despite any confrontation they may have with each other, more so Rainbow had with Sora, the pair of ponies seemed to be more than capable of working together if need be, even playing off each other’s strengths. Rainbow zipped in and out of the crowds of Shadow Colts, knocking groups of them into the air with a flurry of kicks from her hind or fore legs, her black belt in her pony based martial art coming into full effect. Sora, on the other hoof, was keeping towards the ground, destroying heartless everywhere he went in a flurry of steel and fur.

Sora struck at one heartless, knocking it into the air just as Rainbow was about to pass. She smirked as she struck it in the air as she passed by, and then circled around to strike it again. And again. And again. On the last strike, she bucked it hard, sending it sprawling to the ground where Sora had just dispatched of a herd of Shadow Colts.

“Head’s up Hero!”

The warning was all he needed before he jumped back, spun his keyblade within his maw, and dashed forward, striking the heartless before it hit the ground, dissipating it with one strike.

Rainbow couldn’t help but almost squeal, catching herself before she really let her fangirl side show. She coughed before dashing back into the fray, though she made sure to stay close to the stallion. In case he did something…um…stupid. Yeah, stupid is what she wanted to say.

Fluttershy’s eyes looked back to the fillies, all three watching the battle intently. Applebloom seemed to be cringing each time it looked as though Sora was going to get hit by a stray attack. Scootaloo was nearly shivering from excitement upon seeing Rainbow tear into the heartless and Sweetie Bell just stood with wide eyes, taking in the whole thing.

Fluttershy’s eyes turned to look back towards the battle, her ears lowering slightly. I wish I could do more for you Sora, instead of just being in the way. I know I should take care of the girls but I…I want to be out there with you. I don’t care if I’m even scared.

~

Sora came out of flip, landing beside the rainbow maned mare just as she did the same. He looked off to the side, finding the mare slightly out of breath. “Hey, you okay Rainbow?”

“I’m fine Hero.” She said with a wave of her hoof. “I just need to catch my breath.”

He looked towards the crystal, finding it had diminished quite a bit. Putting two and two together he turned to look back towards the cyan mare. “I think we’re almost out of the woods. Still, if only I could gather them all together.”

“Together huh?” She looked towards the crystal herself. “Well if it’s a gathering you need then a tornado is an option.”

“You can summon a tornado?” Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Summon? Pftt! I can make one!” She lashed out and kicked away an overzealous heartless.

He thought for a moment and smiled. “Okay then, make one around me!”

The mare gaped. “What? Are you crazy?”

The stallion turned and smiled at her. “Trust me.”

Rainbow stared at the stallion for a second before flying into the sky. Starting low, she began to spin around and around until a cloud of dust began to rise off the ground in a cylindrical motion. Sora held his ground as the heartless seemed to look around in a panic, not knowing what was going on. When Rainbow had built up enough speed, she began to rise higher and higher, and fly faster and faster, causing the tornado to become larger in the process. At first it did nothing, but then one, and then two, then ten heartless began to rise into the air, suspended by the g-force of the wind Dash had kicked up. Sora too could feel the effects raising him off the ground and a smile appeared upon his lips.

As more and more heatless began to gather towards the center, Sora began to spin in place, moving along the outer rim of the tornado. As the heartless began to congregate unwillingly into the center vortex, Sora’s Keyblade destroyed any and all that it dared to come across.

Rainbow watched as much as she could at what he was doing, her eyes bulging slightly. “No way.” She nearly squealed into her hooves as she watched the stallion cut through the heartless suspended in midair. “That’s…kinda cool.” She wanted to get closer but she needed to keep the tornado going. She raised higher into the air until she saw Sora veer upwards, shooting past her into the open sky.

“Rainbow!” He held out his hoof to her and the mare didn’t need him to tell her twice. She stopped the flow of the tornado and found, as the tornado began to dissipate, many of the heartless near the epicenter. She smiled as she flew hard and fast towards Sora, gripping his hoof with both of hers. He looked towards her, smiled, and nodded. She did the same before twisting around once and releasing the stallion from her grasp towards the tower of heartless. He spun as he crashed into them, hundreds of crystal hearts being released from the Shadow Colts as he obliterated them. He ended his descent with a twist and a spin, landing on all four hooves as if it was an everyday occurrence for him.

Sora looked around to find that the heartless were all gone. “Hey, it worked,” he said, sounding slightly surprised.

Rainbow landed in front of him, tired but also beaming. “That was so awes- I mean,” She coughed into her hoof. “So yeah,” She fidgeted. “That was ok I guess.”

Fluttershy and the fillies came dashing towards the pair, the yellow mare stopping in front of Sora. “I’m so glad that you’re alright! Are you hurt anywhere?”

Sora lifted his one hind leg and one foreleg before looking back at the yellow mare with a smile. “Naw. I’m fine. Didn’t even scratch me.”

Rainbow’s eye twitched. “Hey! What about-!”

“That. Was. So. Sweet!” Scootaloo bounced around the caramel and the cyan pegasi. “You two are like…like…Superheroes!”

“Yeah! You two are amazing!” Sweetie Bell agreed.

“Told ya! Do ah know how to pick ’em or do ah how to pick’em?” Applebloom attached herself to Sora’s leg, nuzzling him gently, much to his embarrassment.

Rainbow watched as mostly all the fillies fawned over the stallion. She looked off to the side with a huff. “Yeah well…Whatevs. Lets just get going. We need to help Twilight find the heart thingie!” She turned to leave but stopped when an explosion was set off. The origin making eveypony’s head swivel around and eyes widened.

“The Crystal Castle!”

Sora and the girls watched in horror as the top of the crystal palace exploded. The screams of the ponies could be heard in the distance as debris began to fall upon the ground, the shattering of the crystals could be heard reverberating throughout the entire city. Sora stood with a stoic face as the cause of the explosion was made known to him.

A creature right out of a nightmare emerged from on top of the broken pillar. It seemed to stand at half the size of the castle itself, and even from this distance Sora could make out the details of the being. It almost reminded Sora of a Neo-Shadow, except it was purple and covered in armor on its arms. An almost helmet type deal covered all of its face except its eyes and antennae. Yellow soulless eyes scanned the area before it roared loudly, and began to swing its arms around as if it was swatting a fly.

In the distance, within the giants reach was a black dot, carrying what appeared to be a pink one and a purple one. He couldn’t see them well but he knew, he just knew, who at least two of them were.

“Cadence and Twilight are in trouble!!” Sora called out. With keyblade in mouth, he started to jet forward when the sound of a cracking behind him caused the stallion to stop. He turned around slowly, just in time for him to see the glass barrier falter and crack before shattering like glass. The harsh winds and snow hit the ponies close to the barrier hard, but nothing was more frightening than the black shadow that formed in front of them.

“Ahahahahahaha! So good to be whole again! Now where was I…” He looked Sora’s way. “Ah yes…Welcome, my little ponies, to the end!”

The Dark King had risen again!

Sombra had returned!

Rainbow’s gaze shifted from the creature attacking the castle to the Dark King that was but a few feet in front of them. She was never one to outright rely on somepony, at least not without an undertone of not needing it, but for once, she swallowed her pride before turning to the stallion beside her and whispered out the corner of her mouth in a somewhat semi-controlled tone. “Okay hero…N-Not that I’m scared or anything, but ya know…if you wanna kick some serious flank then please be my guest.”

Sora himself had looked between the three beings near the castle narrowly escaping the Heartless that was lashing out at them, and the spectre like form of Sombra, eyes glowing with dark energy. He was about to say something when a small whimper from behind him caused the stallion to look in a third direction.

Fluttershy and the Cutie Mark Crusaders all sat huddled together, not knowing whether to look towards the Dark King himself or the Heartless that had attached itself to the castle. The look of fear within their eyes caused the stallion to grit his teeth against the handle of the blade he held in his maw. He looked back towards Rainbow Dash, the cyan mare in question looking at him with expectant eyes. Sighing, he turned his attention back to Sombra, though he began to address Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow, you’re the fastest right?”

Rainbow scoffed. “Was there ever any doubt?” she asked smugly.

He didn’t want to put her in danger, but Twilight and Cadence needed help. “Then I need you to go and help Twilight and Cadence. Whoever is helping them needs someone that can get in and get out fast.”

“What about tall dark and ugly over here? You don’t mean to face him by yourself do you?” Rainbow asked, a hint of concern within her voice. When he didn’t answer, she began to speak again. “I can’t just leave yo-“ she stopped herself and corrected her wording. “I can’t just leave all of you.”

“And you can’t just leave Cadence and Twilight either,” Sora shot back softly. He glanced her way, noticing her conflicting emotions, and smiled brightly. “Hey, I am the Hero of Light. I can handle some self-proclaimed king, or my name isn’t Sora.” He pounded his chest before cutting his eyes back to the mare. “I really need you to help me on this. Until I can get over there, I have my hands tied with this guy. I want everyone to stay safe so…”

Rainbow thought for a second before she relented and began to fly away backwards, away from the caramel stallion. “Okay, I got it hero. You need me to be my amazing self and do the things of which you cannot.” Her smug attitude diminished somewhat as she turned around to face the castle. “Just…be careful hero. Got it? And you better make sure you protect Fluttershy or I’ll be the one to kick your flank!” Sora nodded before turning his gaze back to the monster in front of him. Seeing that she had nothing else to say to him, she zoomed off, leaving the stallion to take care of himself.

“So…” Sombra’s voice boomed, causing Sora to turn in his direction. “The goddesses send a colt to finish off their dirty work I see.” Sombra looked the boy up and down.

Sora flipped the weapon around in his maw before taking a step towards him, ignoring the obvious jab at calling him a child. “Cut it with the small talk Sombra!” Sora shot back, digging his hoof into the dirt. “How about you just give up now and save me the trouble of embarrassing you!” Sora’s ears flinched at the cackle of the Dark King.

“Do you really think I’m as easy to take down as some lovesick mare! I will destroy you. I will destroy Celestia, and then Equestra will be mine!” Red scythes began to form all around the stallion as the king spoke. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Sora flipped his kyeblade within his maw once again replacing it back in its original position. “Alright then Sombra. Let’s fight!!”

Rainbow Dash stopped at the sounds of a loud explosion behind her, a cloud of dust rising up from where she had left. She was about to see what was wrong when her focus was brought back towards the castle, the heartless having jumped from his perch upon it and down towards the ground. She shook before rushing towards where the heartless had landed. She needed to focus on rescuing Twilight and Cadence, not fussing over somepony she knew could take care of himself. Heck, he destroyed a being the size of house and came out with little to no scrapes. Still, the feeling she had when she left him to his fate with the dark king, she could not shake it. She was the element of loyalty after all. She couldn’t just leave him to his fate in good conscience.

“Darn it Rainbow! Stay focused! He can take care of himself! He’s a big colt!” She shook the feeling off her once again before focusing ahead, much too busy trying to gett the thoughts of the keyblade wielder out of her head to notice the orange and pink dots making their way to where she had just come from.

Sora shot backwards as Sombra’s deadly scythe came crashing down where he had just stood. The stallion started to run towards Sombra, only to find another scythe trying to cleave him in two. He ducked it, sliding under the blade just as it passed by overhead. He shifted his weight before jumping off to the side, twirling just before another blade crashed down upon where he had just been. He landed on his hooves, his blade at the ready, before launching himself towards Sombra, galloping at him at full speed, hoping to strike before Sombra had time to recover the scythes. The fourth scythe stood in his way however, ready to do away with the keyblade wielder with one desperate swing downwards.

To Sombra’s surprise however, Sora had anticipated his attack, for the stallion had quickly shifted his head, parrying the blow with the Keyblade and forcing it out of the dark king’s smoky tentacle and causing it to fly upwards into a spiral. As Sombra’s scythe came down, Sora dissipated his Keyblade and gripped his enemy’s weapon within his hooves as best he could. Finding the Dark King open, the stallion launched upwards with scythe in hoof, bringing it about his head and slashing downwards upon his enemy.

To his surprise, he found the blade passed through him like a hot knife through butter, and even more surprising, the blade did no damage whatsoever. He could hear the laughter of the king before the blade was gripped within the King’s smoke like tentacales and yanked from Sora’s grasp. He twisted the blade until it was raised above his head, and brought it down a half second later, striking down on the stallion.

Sora was quicker than he anticipated however, the boy’s keyblade reappearing within his mouth and parrying with a quick turn of his head. As he did so, Sora found an opening within Sombra’s defenses. He let his keyblade fly, the odd weapon quickly closing the small distance between itself and Sombra.

“DO you really think that-ERK!!”

As it sailed towards the dark king, the blade began to emit a bright light, causing Sombra’s smoke like appearance to evaporate. It was here that Sora saw the Dark King in his true form.

Sombra’s ash gray fur and black flowing mane gave him a menacing appearance. As did the unnatural eyes he bore. The silver armor plating upon his chest, hooves, and head made him look as if he was a warlord. The red silk like cape flowing behind him waved majestically despite the surprised look on his face. Upon his forehead was the trademark of all unicorns, but where it started out the same color as his fur, it ended with a blood red tip, curving slightly as if it was a hook.

The Dark Lord was too surprised by his forced appearance change that he did not see when Sora dashed forward, his keyblade already reappearing within his maw. The keyblade wielder jumped into the sky, bringing his weapon down hard just as he was nearing the stallion.

He was too slow however.

Metal struck metal as the keyblade connected with the Dark Kings foreleg, the metal plating on his forehooves acting as a makeshift shield. Both stallions glared at each other as they fought for control of the gridlock, neither giving up more than an inch. Though he was holding his own against the boy, Sombra could see that he was not gaining any ground.

And that annoyed him.

“Not bad colt…” the dark king spoke in a menacing voice. “It’s not every day a pony can match me in strength.” Sombra smirked. “And for one so young too…” Sora did not answer as he pushed back against Sombra, the grating sound of the metal on metal filling his ears.

Sora was surprised when the Dark King pushed away from him, allowing a wide berth of space to separate both he and Sombra. Sora gave the king a wary glare as he began to trot around him, a devious grin appearing upon his features.

“Strength like yours is far and few between colt…” he said in a cool tone. “And your speed. Even I am impressed.” Sora stayed silent as the king praised him. Sombra continued when he did not gain a response. “I bet you’re wondering why I am praising you. You see, I am a stallion that will never deny the worth of somepony, especially my enemies.” Sombra stopped when he was about a half circle around the boy. “Given time I believe that you can be a foe worthy of even a god.” Sombra smirked. “To that reason I give you a proposition. Join me boy. With me as your teacher, I can show you the way to your true potential!

Sora scoffed. “Yeah right!” He stamped his hoof into the ground. “There’s no way I would abandon my friends!!”

“A pity…” the king said before raising his head up high. “On two accounts really.”

Sora raised an eyebrow at Sombra words. “The hey is that supposed to mean?” The caramel stallion tensed as Ventus began to speak.

Something’s not right…Sora heard Ventus say within his mind. He’s planning something…

“It’s a pity that you refused me boy.” His horn began to glow with dark energy. “And it’s a pity that your beliefs will be your downfall!!

Fluttershy could not make out what Sora and Sombra were talking about, but whatever it was made the mare uneasy. It didn’t help matters when she had three unruly fillies she was tasked with looking after. Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle all seemed to be staring at the pair of stallions, their eyes as big as dinner plates at the fight they had just witnessed. When it stopped however, Scootaloo was the first to complain.

“Awww!” Scootaloo whined. “It was just getting good too.” She turned to her friends. “Did you see when Sora used the stupid king’s weapon against him! That was so amazing!!” She turned back to look at her friends. “Why’d they stop fighting anyway?”

“Oh! Ah know!” Applebloom piped up. “Ah bet that dark unicorn is trying to get Sora to join the dark side!”

Sweetie Bell gave Applebloom in odd look. “What makes you say that?”

“Ah seen it all the time in the Neighga comic books. When a villain thinks he can’t win he decides to see if the hero will join him,” Applebloom said matter-of-factly.

“There’s no way that Sora will join him!” Scootaloo said, puffing her chest out. “He’s way too cool for evil.”

Fluttershy looked at the fillies as they chattered. She had indeed remembered a few stories where the plot ran along the same lines. The hero was asked to join the villain but the hero never does, except on that rare occasion. But she knew Sora well enough to believe he would never be tempted. She looked up in time to find Sombra’s horn glowing with wicked dark energy, and sadistic smirk playing upon his face.

Why was he smiling at Sora? She squinted her eyes before eep’ing softly.

He wasn’t looking towards Sora at all. In fact his focus seemed to be directed towards…

It was then that Fluttershy remembered another aspect of any Neighga villain she had read.

They would never play fair.

Before she could think she gripped all the fillies in her hooves, tossing them away from her in a feat of strength she didn’t even know she had. The Cutie Mark crusaders tumbled away from her as they hit the ground a few seconds later, all three fillies dazed from Fluttershy’s sudden actions. They were pulled from their stupor when they heard the mare scream out in fear. The fillies watched in horror as the mare was dragged underground in a cesspool of darkness, the dark portal closing again when it had totally enveloped her.

“Fluttershy!!”

~

Sora looked behind himself as the Cutie Mark Crusaders cried out. When he did, he could see the three fillies, but someone was missing.

“Looking for somepony, colt?”

Sora whipped his head around to find Fluttershy next to Sombra, her body wrapped in an extension of Sombra’s shadow. She hung limply at first before coming to, her head weakly rising up. It was then that she noticed where she was and who was beside her. She tried to struggle out of the dark vines that entangled her, but it was to no avail.

“S-Sora!” the mare cried out, tears forming within her eyes.

“Fluttershy!” Sora yelled as he began to run forward, only to stop when he noticed that the darkness around Fluttershy began to tighten, eliciting a scream from the yellow mare.

“Tisk, tisk…” the Dark King said with a smirk. “I wouldn’t move if I were you… colt. Unless you want me to kill this… delectable mare.” As he said the last part, he moved his muzzle slowly, coming within an inch of the mares face. “I have to say, if this is the company you keep little boy, then I can see why you would rather not join me.” Sombra placed a hoof under the mares chin to raise her head a bit. “Yes. I can see why indeed.”

“Sombra!” Sora yelled. “Let go of her now!”

The Dark King glared at him, a snarl reaching his lips, before tightening his hold on the mare, eliciting another scream from the trapped Fluttershy. “Who said that you can speak colt!?” He said in an angered tone.

Sora’s eyes went wide. Gritting his teeth he glared darkly at Sombra.

“Now then.” The king looked the mare over, examining her, lifting her chin and sniffing her mane deeply. “Yes, very well taken care of. Not as… strong as some of the other mares but very beautiful nonetheless,” He said with a smirk. He looked over to Sora who had a look that would have killed most other ponies. “My my, that look. What’s the matter? Don’t what me to touch her?” The king chuckled before turning back to Fluttershy, his hoof caressing her face softly. “I wonder how long it will take to break her.”

Sora had had enough. He shot forward again, his keyblade appearing, shining brightly, but before he could get more than a few feet, four scythes came crashing down upon him. Before he could react, the weapons were brought down upon the stallion, the blades missing him luckily, but locking him to a laying position upon the ground.

Sombra made his way towards Sora. Raising his hoof, he slammed into the stallion’s side, his eyes burning with anger. “Listen! To! Me! When! I! Talk! To! YOU!!” With each word, he kicked Sora’s side. When he was finished, he smirked at the unmoving form of the stallion. “Good. Now then.” He turned back to the noticeably quivering mare.

“Sora!” Fluttershy cried out, struggling in her bonds once again. She glared at Sombra, her eyes full of angry hot tears. “You…You…Monster!”

Sombra growled before raising a foreleg, his hoof ready to strike out at the mare. Fluttershy closed her eyes, preparing for the contact, and a loud splat followed soon after.

Wait...

Splat?

Fluttershy opened one eye to find that the King’s face was covered in whipped cream topping and pie crust. As he began to clear the substance from his face, his line of sight was filled with a very angry orange hoof. The blow came swift and fast, knocking the unprepared king down and breaking the magic that held the butter yellow pegasus. She toppled over into pink hooves as she fell to the ground and was instantly wrapped up in their warm embrace.

Fluttershy weakly looked upwards to find Pinkie Pie staring down upon her with tear stained eyes as well.

“Don’t worry shy,” Pinkie Pie said, her voice low and tender. “Auntie Pinkie’s got ya.”

Applejack tilted her hat as she watched the King lift himself up. “That’s what ya’ll get for messing with mah friends!”

Sombra rose from his downed position to glare at the intruders. “I see more ponies can’t learn their place,” he spoke in a low tone.

Applejack tilted her hat and was about to charge at the stallion, but was held back when Pinkie passed Fluttershy to her. “You two go help Sora. I’ll distract Baddy the Stallion.”

Applejack looked apprehensive. “Pinkie…Ya’ll sure that’s such a good idea?”

Pinkie looked back and winked knowingly, giggling. “Of course silly filly. I mean, have you ever know me to ever lose?”

Applejack was about to say something but then stopped. “Ah…Ah guess ah haven’t.”

Pinkie nodded before turning to face the Dark King. “Then let me do my thing and you two go do yours,” she said before walking away from Applejack and towards Sombra, humming a soft tune. As she hummed, music began to play, softly at first, but picked up in tempo as she went from a simple trot into a full on gallop.

Sombra looked at the mare, his eyes squinting a bit before firing off a spell from his horn. As he did, the mare moved to the side just in time for the attack miss her. With a giggle, she increased her speed as she continued humming.

Disbelief flashed in the stallion’s eyes before quickly being replaced by anger. With horn aglow, he released a flurry of strikes into the air. The beams arched before coming down to where Pinkie was running. He smirked as the beams struck the area where she was, clouding the place with a hefty helping of dust. Before he could relish in his victory however, the mare came crashing out of the dirt cloud, the humming continuing without pause.

“Impossible!” Sombra yelled as he watched the mare gain more ground. He lashed out with his horn once more, aiming a multitude of beams her way. It was all for naught however when she went from galloping to bouncing, each beam passing her without a single one grazing her fur, the hum still continuing within her.

She was only a few feet away from him now, and all the stallion could do was watch with fascinated horror as she jumped into the air and reached out away from her, pulling a cannon from out of nowhere.

“What the hell are you?!” he exclaimed with wide eyes.

“The name’s Pinkie Pie!” She raised her hoof, smiling brightly.

She slammed her hoof down, firing off a torrent of streamers towards the Dark King. In a panic, Sombra raised his shield, expanding it outwards as he did so. Pinkie, not expecting this, was blasted away from Sombra, riding upon the cannon she had used. Though that that did not deter the pink party mare. Taking it in stride, she raised her hooves in the air yelling “WEEEEEEEE!” as she flew backwards on her cannon.

“Pinkie!”

She turned at the voice, finding a now free Sora jumping her way, his eyes cold as ice and his blade shining brightly. With a smile, she lifted herself off the cannon and twisted it, turning it completely around. Sora, seeing what she was doing, twisted himself also, heading hind hooves first into the hole of the cannon. With a quick twist the mare faced the cannon Sombra’s way, her smile widening. “Here ya go Kingy McBaddy Bad! From me! To you! With love!” She pushed the fuse down once again, firing Sora from its oversized barrel.

Sombra tried to erect a barrier to counter, and had just barely managed to complete it before Sora could strike. Sora, seeing this, smiled lightly through clinched teeth and began to twist his body until he was spinning like a top. A field of light expanded into a cone like structure, surrounding him as he closed in on the barrier.

There was little resistance as it struck, the stallion’s momentum increasing as he pushed against Sombra’s magic.

“NO!” Sombra yelled. “NO! YOU CAN’T BEAT ME! YOU CAN’T!”

Without a word, Sora gave one final push, breaking the protection magic the Dark King had around him. Releasing the spin, Sora slammed down hard upon the stallion, catching him in his horn. It broke with little to no effort with a resounding crack. Landing on his hooves, he twisted around and reared up his hind legs. Looking back, he gave Sombra a sly smile.

“See ya!” was all he said before striking the king hard, sending him sprawling more than a few feet away from where he had once been. Sora turned to see the King stop to a halt, kicking up a cloud of dust in the process. The caramel stallion sighed as he made his way back to the group. He found himself in the tackle hug of a lifetime as Pinkie pounced him.

“Did you see that Limit Break we did!?” she exclaimed. “It has to be like, the best Limit Break ever in the history of Limit Breaks!!” she continued before hugging him again.

Sora’s eyes went two different ways before focusing on the mare crushing him. “Heh, sure Pinkie,” he said, patting her as best he could. “Now, if you could let me down?”

Pinkie looked up at him before saying, “Okie-Dokie-Lokie!” She dropped the stallion onto his haunches before bouncing away from him towards the three fillies that were making their way towards Sora and the mares. Applejack, seeing this, followed after the pink mare.

“The little varmints. So that’s where Applebloom and the fillies were,” she muttered under her breath.

Sora and Fluttershy were left alone, the former gasping in breath and the latter looking at him with tear stained eyes.

“Sora.”

The stallion turned to face the mare just as she wrapped her arms around his neck, her soft sobs once again staining his jacket. He instantly appreciated this hug just a little bit more than the one Pinkie Pie had given him.

“Sora!” he heard her say, muffled by his jacket. “Sora *Hic*! I-I was so *sob* So s-scared!”

Sora’s expression softened as he let his hoof drape over the mare’s mane, his voice low and somber as he spoke. “I’m so sorry Shy…I…I should have-”

The mare lifted herself off him, shaking her head. “No, it’s…it’s not your fault,” She said with a light smile. “I’m the one that should have been stronger.”

He moved her so that he could look into her eyes, his smile making her blush. “Don’t say that Fluttershy. I think you’re plenty strong.” Fluttershy blushed brightly at his words, her wings threatening to extend.

Applejack tilted her hat as she approached the duo. “How about we save the hugging game for later, ponies? We need to make sure Twilight and the Cadence are alright. I don’t know how long that bat pony can keep up with…”

She was cut off by the sound of curses so vile she had folded her ears back in disgust. “What in tarnation?!” Applejack, as well as the others, looked back to find Sombar rising to his hooves.

“You think this is over?” He glared at them, his voice full of spite. “You think you’ve won!?”

Sora pushed Fluttershy behind himself as he summoned his keyblade once again. “It’s over Sombra! Just give up!”

Sombra scoffed. “No, I don’t think I will!” He raised himself up on his hind legs and spread his forearms wide. “Darkness! Come in to me! Fill me with all your power!!” Heartless began to rise from the ground around him, and before Sora could blink, the shadow’s struck out at the Dark King, covering his whole body from the ponies’ lines of sight. A powerful wind descended upon the ponies, sending them skidding back a few inches.

“What is he doing!?” Applejack yelled, holding her hat down with one hoof and the fillies against her with the other.

“Oh no! My Pinkie Sense for something evil this way cometh is acting up!” Pinkie called out, holding on to Applejack’s tail so that she wasn’t blown away.

Sora held Fluttershy tight against him, his hooves wrapped around her body in a vice grip. “Why can’t they just give up?” he said with exasperation.

A flash of dark light descended where the Dark King had been, causing everypony to cover their eyes. When it cleared, they were met with an unsettling sight.

Where once Sombra was, a creature out of one’s nightmares stood.

It looked like a more horrific variation of the Dark King. It stood on its hind legs, which possessed multiple joints to provide more than one form of quick movement, and thick claws curved out from the hooves. The arms were almost human-like, though rather than slender hands with nails, these hands were thicker and sported talons in place of nails. It’s ears ended in sharp points, and it’s horn was glowing red with unholy light. Black flames had replaced its mane and tail, far too familiar to the princesses own ethereal ones, both of which licked the air hungrily. A pair of black flame like wings sat upon his back, completing the abomination’s appearance.

Deep green and yellow eyes focused in on the ponies before him

Fluttershy gripped Sora tight as she looked up in fear towards the monster, her hooves quaking hard. She barely registered when somepony had called out run, and barely felt when Sora had gripped her hoof in an attempt to lead the mare to safety. Applejack and Pinkie Pie led the way away from the demon like creature as he began to move towards them.

“Pinkie!” Applejack called out in a huff.

“Yeah AJ?” Pinkie said looking to her side.

“Ah ever tell ya ah hate bad guys!?” said Applejack.

“Nope-a-dope!” Pinkie answered.

“Oh…well ah do!” Applejack groaned.

“Fluttershy!”

Both pink and the orange mare turned behind them in alarm. They found Sora, tending to a fallen Fluttershy, the mare in question holding her hind right leg in her hoof.

She tried to stand on her hooves again, but feel back down only after a second. “I…I think I sprained it on that rock!” Fluttershy cried. She looked at the stallion with tear stained eyes. “Sora…I-”

The stallion looked towards Sombra, the monster’s horn glowing with dark energy. He raised himself up, summoning his keyblade. “I’ll protect you Shy,” he said softly. Pinkie and Applejack stood on either side of him, the former growling softly and the latter fixing a glare towards Sombra.

“Let’s take him down!”

“Ah reckon it’s time to put you out of our misery.”

Sora, Applejack and Pinkie Pie all stood their ground as Sombra shot an oversized beam towards the group, each one preparing for the attack head on.

~

Princess Celestia’s eyes shot open before looking off towards the vault. Without a word, the princess shot from her throne room and made her way across the courtyard, reaching the sacred place that held the Elements of Harmony. Releasing the lock on the spell, the princess opened the vault wide and pulled out the box. Quick as she could, she opened it only to find nothing.

“The elements! They’re gone!”

Applejack…Awake…

Applejack gasped as she opened her eyes, the sound of her name luring her from her dream like state. She gave her surroundings a once over, finding all around her to be nothing but darkness and void, yet noticing that she could see her hooves clearly in front of her face despite the inky blackness.

“Where in tarnation am I?” she asked, more to herself then to anypony in particular.

It was hard to tell if she was pleasantly surprised or horribly scared by somepony answering her question.

Applejack

She gasped as she did a full 180, looking for the source of the voice. “What the..?! Where are y’all! Show yourself!”

She wasn’t greeted by another answer, at least not one that she would have expected. An illuminated stairway slowly began to appear before her, each step a different color then the next. She looked at the pathway hesitantly before stepping upon it, finding the surface to be quite sturdy. With renewed determination, the mare ascended the platforms, a sense of dread and fascination overcoming her entire being. Was she dead? Is this heaven…Or…

She shuddered at that thought. It couldn’t be that. It just couldn’t be. She looked up towards the path. “That place wouldn’t be going up anyhow,” she said to herself before continuing her ascent. It wasn’t long before the mare could see something in the distance. She squinted her eyes before widening them again. It looked like a pillar of some kind, and the stairs seemed to stop at the edge of it. Determined to be away from her discomforting position of having planks of light being her only stepping ground, she ran forward with all her might, quickly making her way to the edge of the pillar.

The sight and feel of her ramming into something bright pink and bubbly made the poor farm pony’s head spin faster than she had wished. They tumbled and rolled upon the ground, Applejack somehow landing on her back with Pinkie Pie standing over her body, a wide grin plastered across her face.

“Hi, AJ! How’s it going? I’m doing well myself. Well, Except waking up in a pitch black of nothingness with nothing but a disjointed voice to guide me to a stairway on which we are on now. It’s good to see that I’m not the only pony it happened to!”

Applejack just laughed lightly. “It’s good ta see you too Pinkie.”

“Yeah,” the pink one continued. “And look! We both have our Elements on too! Which is weird because I was sure we left them in Canterlot!”

Applejack looked down to find that she did indeed have her Element on. “Well I’ll be… You’re right Sugarcube.” The farm mare tried to gently push the mare off of her, but was stopped by Pinkie’s hoof.

“Oh yeah,” she said with a sheepish smile. “There’s something I forgot to mention. There’s somepony else here and…well…Don’t freak out, okay?”

“Pinkie, I’m standing in a black, never-ending void not knowing how ah got here. Ah doubt anything else can surprised me at this point. Ah don’t know if I’m even still alive, so take comfort in the fact that ah will not freak out.”

She looked at the mare with concern for a second more before pulling away to let her up. When the farm mare did get up, the sight at what was in front of her caused the mare’s eyes to widen by degrees.

A being, like she had never seen before, stood a ways away from them. It was tall and lanky, standing on two legs as if it had been doing it all its life. It wore black clothing, which were somehow familiar to the farm pony. She was drawn to the face of the creature. It was flat, yet not ugly. A spiky brown mane barely covered deep blue eyes she could have sworn she had seen on somepony she knew before. Her curiosity of the being stopped as it gently stepped towards her. The sight of her ears flattening and her stepping back once made the being stop what it was doing and lower its weird Spike-like foreleg to it’s side. Pinkie stood in between them, but addressed Applejack before the farm mare could say anything.

“Applejack…Don’t you know who that is?” She asked in a concerned voice.

“No. No, ah don’t. I’ve never seen that…whatever it is before in my life,” she said, looking back towards it.

Pinkie shook her head. “It’s a he, and you do know him. You really do.” She stepped away so that the mare could look at the being again, when she caught his eyes and he gave a slightly goofy smile; a smile she knew she had seen before.

“S-Sora?” she spoke, just barely enough to allow them to hear.

“Hey AJ,” Sora said with a sheepish grin. “It’s…ah…nice to see you too.”

“But…but…how?”

Applejack looked Sora up and down, her eyes scanning the boy thoroughly. Sora looked away at her question, not wanting to answer her. The sound of Pinkie bouncing up and down beside him caused the boy to look in her direction. This was the outcome he had feared the most. They’ll know he’s been lying to them. They’ll know that he was never a pony to begin with. Maybe he should have told them from the beginning. Buck the rules of a Keyblader.

“OH! I want to know too! I bet it’s supercoolawasommazing!” she said with glee. Sora stared at her as she spoke, a gentle smile appearing on his face despite his worry. Somehow she seemed to bring a smile to his face, despite everything.

“Its… this is how I’ve always been, guys. This is the me before…Twilight found me,” he said softly.

“Wait, you mean…This is you, and the pony you is not you?” Applejack said in a low tone. “Did Ah get that right?” At Sora’s nod, her eyes formed into a scowl. “Y’all mean to tell me y’all been lying to my friends this entire time?” Sora cringed, but then nodded once more, confirming the fears that began to play in her head. “If that true, then what else have you been lying to us about?” she accused. “Are you even a hero of light? Did ya steal that there key weapon from somepony? Where the hay did you even come from? More importantly, why the hay did ya lie to us?”

Sora looked down, pressing his two index fingers together, the boy refusing to look the element of honesty in the eyes. “I…Ah…Its…It’s a long story, AJ.”

“Well ah ain’t budging, so get to talking,” she said with a huff.

Perhaps another time…Fair Applejack…

Sora and the girls all gasped and looked about after the voice spoke, its echo seemingly coming from every direction at once.

“What the hay!” Applejack turned to Sora with a glower. “Was that your doing!?”

“I don’t know AJ. While Sora does sound kinda like it; that was most definitely a female’s voice, not his!” Pinkie exclaimed, defending the boy. She gave him a big wink and a giggle, much to his chagrin.

Applejack had wanted to retort to her answer, but it did have some truth to it. Besides, despite being lied to, it wasn’t like her to jump to conclusions so easily. So why was she doing so to him? “Okay, so who did it then? Who spoke to us?” she asked, looked towards Sora. “Do you know?” she asked once more, her scowl deepening slightly. Whether it was for accusing Sora again or not, she wasn’t sure.

You would know better than he, my fair Applejack…

A bright light began to shine from above, causing the trio of beings to all look up in response. There, descending from on high, was a pure white earth pony, a deep blue mane draping down either side of her neck. Her equally blue eyes glanced towards them with amused interest. She smiled as she landed with a gentle step on the glass-like pillar, not making a sound in the process. Though to be fair, Sora didn’t really think she could make a hoof step even if she wanted to, her being ethereal and all.

She spoke again, her voice soothing to all that could hear her. Hmm… it’s good to feel such eyes on me again, not that I don’t like sleeping mind you. The rest I have acquired has made me far more beautiful than ever before. Don’t you think?

“Okay,” Applejack said in a deadpan voice. “Now I know you got the wrong pony. Fashion and looks are more Rarity’s department. And besides, you’re see through. I don’t think fur matters for you right now.”

Hey, beauty is a wonderful thing to have, she retorted back. Besides, you knowing me has nothing to do with my love of fashion, Applejack. And that, my little pony, is my honest opinion. The mare winked at Applejack before looking to her side. Please do come out dear. You need to meet your successor as well. From behind her, a cream furred female pegasus, with a long flowing brown mane tied into a ponytail, appeared before them, sporting a flowing green and orange cloak. The mare had a smile plastered on her face as she ran up to Pinkie Pie, her ethereal form buzzing with excitement.

Oh! Oh! She’s the Element of Laughter, right?! I’m so jealous. Your fur is so pink and so bubbly and so cute!

Unlike Applejack, Pinkie Pie didn’t miss a beat. “Oh! But your fur is just a pretty as well, like a nice, calm autumn day out in the middle of the forest. And you have such a neat Ponytail too!”

The cream mare smiled brightly. Aw, thanks! It was a pain to keep it in place most of the time but I really was happy every time it came out great!

Applejack stomped her hoof into the ground, gaining everyone’s attention. “Can somepony tell me what the hoo-haa is going on here!? Who are y’all, and how do y’all know our names?!”

Everyone looked towards the farm mare, all with sheepish smiles on their face. The white mare coughed into her hoof gently, putting the focus on her. I am sorry. I was so excited to meet you finally that…well…I got a little carried away, I suppose. She stood up straight and held her head up high, puffing out her chest in the process. Allow me to introduce myself and my colleague. I, mares and gentlecolt, am Shardina, and she is Archery.

Applejack glowered at them. “Ok. So how do you know our names, Shardina and Archery?”

Good question, Shardina said calmly. I believe your answer lies within a story I know. Would you care to hear it?

Pinkie bounced high in the sky as she spoke. “OH! I WOULD!” She pulled a chair and a bag of popcorn from out of nowhere and proceeded to chow down as she sat on the edge of her seat.

Archery giggled happily upon seeing such a sight. Dude, how did you do that?

“Fine. If it gets me more answers then I’ll listen,” Applejack said as she sat on her haunches. Sora remained silent, his arms crossing over his chest as he listened in as well.

Shardina smiled warmly as she began.

Our world wasn’t always the peaceful as I have seen though your memories. The ones you know of as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were nowhere to be seen dureing my time. It was in this time that the Shadow ran rampant throughout our world, covering our world in never ending darkness.

Light was a sacred thing to all that lived within such a dark world. It was the light of our magic that kept the monsters you known as Heartless at bay. But even that could not protect us from all threats. When all was hopeless and we believed that our end would come, a being unlike anything we had seen came to our aid. In a way, he looked just like the boy you have fought with before Applejack, the same boy you have your doubts about even as I speak. Shardina paused to look towards Applejack and Sora. The farm mare looked towards the keyblader who, in turn, kept his gaze away from her. She felt a tinge of pain as he refused to meet his gaze. She knew she had been harsher than she knew was necessary, especially to him.

This being that had come to our aid, Shardina continued, used a blade unlike any other, and fought against the never-ending Darkness. And he was able to do the impossible. He was able to push them back. He fought, and he fought, and he never stopped fighting. He fought against monsters bigger then castles and beast that were unimaginable. He did so without wanting anything in return. And when he did so, he gave us something we had lost long ago.

Hope.

But as with all living beings, he too grew tired due to the constant fighting. We had tried to emulate his weapon, to help him in any way we could, imbuing light within our own arms, but that was met with limited success.

It was then that an Idea was formed.

With the help of the Key Warrior, we were able to create a rather amazing solution to our problem. It was with his weapon of light and our natural magic that we were able to create a weapon to defend ourselves against the darkness. The power of light the weapon emanated was measurable to that of the Key Warriors own blade, if only by a little. But with the power being too much to handle, we split it into six sections. We were happy that the weapon was made, and though we had a way to beat the darkness back, there was no pony throughout our lands that could use them.

That is…until six ponies, all from different parts of the world came together. They had heard of our plans and believed in their hearts that they could use the weapons. They said that the weapons were calling to them. Ponies had called them crazy, but they persisted, saying ‘what have we got to lose?’

“The weapon,” Sora interrupted . “You’re talking about the Elements of Harmony right? And the six ponies... I think that you and Archery are two of them!”

“What?!” Applejack gaped. “But… that can’t be true.”

Ah, but it is turn fair Applejack, Shardina mused happily. Yes. Archery, myself, and the rest were the original six Elements of Harmony. I was the element you bear, Applejack, due to me always wanting the truth and nothing else. Archery was the Element of Laughter, her being able to bring a smile to one’s face, even in the darkest of times. It was through our friendship to each other and the rest of the elements that we were able to use the power given to us by the Key Warrior, and with this power, we were able to subdue the darkness. Though still remnants remained, we were able to pick up the pieces and start anew with our lives, with the Elements protecting us.

Applejack lowered her head in thought before addressing the original element of honesty. “But…If all that is true, how did the princesses get the elements afterward? Why were they in the castle to begin with when me and my friends found them?”

We do not know what transpired between our passing and now, Shardina said softly. But as it were, since the elements are active yet again, then darkness is soon to come. And I fear he is stronger than before.

“Ah…Duh…” Pinkie Pie said. “We’re fighting him right now! His name is King Sombra… Or at least we were. Not really sure how you pulled us here, but we were fighting it before! We beat him but then he was like, ‘Use ultimate Cheatcode’ and turned into a big monster type thingy! I was like ‘Ohs Nos!’ and AJ was like ‘Darn-tooting’ and Sora was like ‘Don’t worry Fluttershy! I’m coming for ya!’”

Shardina raised an eyebrow towards the pink pony before turning to Archery. I do believe she would have given you a run for your bits for the Elememt of Laughter if she were alive in your time my dear.

“The point is,” Sora interrupted, folding his arms across his chest, “We were fighting Sombra when…well…” He looked away and scratched the back of his head. “We kinda met with an unfortunate fate.” For some reason he flet compailed to look towards Pinkie who was giveing him a wide grin.

Applejack gulped, not in the least amused. “We…ah…didn’t die, did we?”

Shardina giggled gently. Do not worry, you are not dead. They all sighed with relief. That is to say that you won’t be in about twelve seconds.

“What!?” Sora and the girl’s gasped.

In this dream state, while time is slowed to a crawl, everything that is happening is happening as we speak. You three and the element of Kindness will be blown away by the dark one’s attack.

The three living beings sucked the information in and processed it thoroughly. Applejack was the first to speak for the group. “Then we’re as good as dead… aren’t we?”

That is for you to decide Applejack, and you Pinkie Pie, Shardina responded to them both.

“What do ya mean?” the farm mare questioned.

The former element of honesty turned to face Sora. You have the power to save them Sora.

“What? How?” Sora asked.

Remember? A keyblade is the one that forged the Elements of Harmony. It stands to reason that they should react to one, even if it wasn’t the original. But like the elements, it will not react to those who do not hold harmony with the Key Warrior.

Applejack looked over to Sora, as Sora did to Applejack. The farm mare glared at him before slowly opening her mouth. “Did you know any of this, like, at all?”

Sora shook his head. “No. This is all news to me too. Applejack.”

“Then tell me. if the one in the story didn’t lie about who they were, why did you?”

Sora ran his hand through his spiky hair once again. “Well…the princess did turn me into a pony before I came here.”

“Doesn’t excuse the fact that you lied to us all this time,” Applejack said. “Did she say you couldn’t tell us?”

“Well…no…”

“They why didn’t ya?”

Sora looked away. “I was…afraid.”

She pasued before softeing her tone. “That we wouldn't accept ya? Of being alone?”

Sora was caught off guard with Applejack’s question. “I…ah…how...?”

“You and Twi were pretty loud back at Ponyville Train station,” Applejack stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh…” Sora scratched his cheek and looked away.

“So…Did you think we wouldn’t understand?” Applejack inquired.

“Well, yeah. That was part it,” he said, looking at her.

“And the other part?”

“It’s a keyblader’s duty to protect. We’re not really allowed to reveal who we really are, unless forced to do so. Heh, not like I really followed that rule before now. though.”

“So you were lying about who ya were?” Applejack said with a frown.

“Yes… well, no. The only thing I really lied about was being a pony.”

“But ya still lied.”

“I…I know.”

Applejack sighed and looked away from him. “Ah don’t know what to think right now Sora. You had my trust, and now…”

“You know what?” Pinkie Pie yelled out. “We’re wasting time!” She turned to AJ. “Don’t worry Applejack. I got this.” Pinkie Pie bounced towards the boy, pulling him by the ear down to her level when she was near him. “I’ve only got what thing to ask bucko!”

Sora looked into Pinkie’s deep blues and sputtered. “W-What?”

“Did you enjoy my party or not?” she asked, squinting her eyes.

Sora stared at the mare for a good long while before smiling brightly. “Yeah, I really did Pinkie. The best I’ve ever been to in my life.”

Pinkie held her gaze in a neutral expression before smiling brightly. “Whelp! He’s alright in my book!”

“What?!” Applejack exclaimed, furrowing her eyebrows. “What kind of question is that?!”

“Well it’s the ultimate question, really. Duh! Nopony evil would ever admit to liking a party thrown by me. Therefore he’s a good guy in my book.” Applejack slapped a hoof to her face at the comment Pinkie had made, to which she giggled. “Besides, Sure he lied about what he was, but he never lied about who he was.” She zipped back towards him, nuzzling Sora’s cheek gently. “And that’s somepony who does all he can to protect what he holds dear, even if it was just friends he met a few days ago. So please don’t let one little lie stop you from being friends with him. And he seems really, really sorry he lied too! See?” Pinkie went behind his back and placed both hooves to the side of his face, pulling his cheeks down into a ‘sad’ expression.

“I never said I would stop being friends with him Pinkie,” Applejack said as she looked down, her anger dissipating slightly. When she looked back up, she gave the pair a light smile. “But from now on, I expect the truth out of you when we get back, and you’re gonna tell the girls as well. No use hiding it from them.” She leaned into him, patting his shoulder. “Beside, you’ve done too much for us to lose ya as a friend anyhow. You did risk your life to save Twilight and Fluttershy. Heck, you even saved my life as well. You may not be a pony, Sora but… well… you’re still our friend,” she finished, pulling the boy in for a gentle hug. When she pulled away, she frowned at him. “I’m still pissed at you, but friends forgive each other. Right?”

Sora smiled as he returned her hug, pulling the farm mare into him, which in turn made Pinkie Pie crush them both in a back breaking hug. “Yay! Were friends again!”

Good, Shardnia said softly before slowly disappearing with Archery in tow. Hold on to the friendship. In the dark, it will always be your light. Light began to fill the world they were in at her words, but they paid no mind to it as Pinkie let her friends go. Instead, Sora summoned his keyblade and pointed towards the ground where the two mares stood.

“Do ya know what you’re doing there Sora?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sora shook his head. “Heh… Kinda just winging it really.” A beam of light blasted towards the ground and an overwhelming sense of power began to flow through each of their bodies. “Right! No time ta think! We got a monster to beat and a kingdom to save! Then the reign of darkness will be done for good!” The light intensified, showering them with its radiance until they were completely engulfed by it.

Before they left, Shardina’s voice could be heard in the distance. I never said Sombra was the one you needed to defeat, Key Warrior.

~

Fluttershy opened her eyes as the apparent pain of dying did not reach her as of yet. She half wondered if the pain was nonexistent if you die fast. It wasn’t until she looked forward that she saw, in all his glory, the one who had saved her.

The familiar caramel fur and the deep chocolate mane was there, signaling that it was the same stallion she had grown to admire, but that was where the similarities ended and the differences began. He wore, Instead of his black attire, a jacket as red as the purest of roses, a fleur-de-lis on each sleeve. The clothes seemed to glow with a light that was both mystical and magical at the same time before the light slowly traveled down to his hoof, releaseing slight sparks as it dimly glowled.

Desite his new apparence, that wasn’t the most shocking thing about him though. The most shocking thing was that he was now standing on his hind hooves, as pinkie pie would do sometimes during her many party episodes.

“S-Sora,” she said in a quiet voice, raising a hoof to touch his arm. The stallion looked back at her, his face shifting from concern gaze to a kind smile.

“Sorry Shy, gonna be busy for a while,” he spoke softly. “And I have a lot to tell you and the rest of the girls when I’m finished here. But for now, just trust me when I say, I’ll protect you… all of you.” He turned back to face the monster that had nearly destroyed them. With a smirk, the stallion spread both his forelegs out, and to her shock, a weapon similar to the one he wielded in his mouth appeared in both of them. One was golden and brown, an apple slice replacing the teeth of a regular key. On the chain hung Applejack’s Element of Honesty. Within the other hoof was a wild looking pink keyblade, a curved edge with spikes surrounding Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark. At the end of the chain of the keyblade rested Pinkie’s Element of Laughter, just like Applejack’s.

Sora gripped both keyblades tightly with this forehooves and began to expertly spin them within his grip. When he was done, he positioned himself in a fighting like stance before addressing the mare behind him.

“Can you get away?” he asked.

She proceeded to nod, but then remembered that he was not looking her way. “Um… I-I can fly alright… I think.”

“Good. Then get the fillies to safety.” With his command ringing in her ears, she flapped her wings and flew as quickly as she could towards the little mares. When he did not sense her behind himself anymore, the stallion addressed the monster formerly known as Sombra.

“Okay Sombra, I hope you’re prepared.” He smiled brightly. “Cause I can honestly say... I’M READY TO PARTY!!”

Sora gasped as the light subsided, the feeling of heated air around him bringing him to his senses. He shifted his gaze downwards, instantly seeing that he was once again in his equine body, albeit with a few noticeable differences.

First and foremost, his clothing. He was surprised to find that, rather than his usual black attire, he wore a jacket that was as red as red could be. The clothes seemed to glow from within with a mystical light that he was all too familiar with. The energy surging within him seemed to emanate from his very being, flowing through his boddy like a current until it reached the tip of his hooves, both glowing with red light and electricity. One word came to the forefront of his mind as he felt his strength growing from just standing there.

“Valor…”

The second thing he noticed, and he believed should have taken precedence above all else, was that he was standing on both of his hind hooves, a feat he thought impossible for him to do completely in his pony form, as his continuous attempts exceeding a single time had proven..

What the hay! Where in tarnation am Ah?!

Sora raised an eyebrow as he heard the familiar voice of Applejack sounding from everywhere around him. He looked to his left, and then to his right, before looking back straight ahead. “What?”

Wait! Who’s that!? Sora?! Where are you!?

Sora’s eyes bulged. That was Apple jack…but where?

OH! Applejack! I thought that was you! Pretty neat huh?! Sora’s mind was assaulted by the voice of the pink party mare known as Pinkie Pie. He cringed in pain at the volume before he felt something akin to “Sorry” pour through his body. Oh my gosh! Sora! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know I was hurting you with my voice. Sora could hear the pink mare’s voice decrease in volume as she spoke again. Wait! Where were they?!

Pinkie! Is that you? said AJ’s voice.

Sure as sugar is! Is that you AJ? Pinkie responded in a giddy voice.

Yeah, I…I think so. Just what in the hay is going on? Where are we? Where are you?!

“Guys,” Sora said, feeling a little overwhelmed. “Where are you two?”

Silly Sora. Don’t you know? Pinkie asked in a happy tone

Sora was about to shake his head before sighing, remembering that he didn’t know if they could see him or not. “No, I don’t know Pinkie.”

Oh, well then I don’t know either, Pinkie said cheerily.

A roar sounded, pulling all three ponies, two of which were nowhere to be seen, from their conversation. The massive form of Shadow Sombra— that's what Sora had decided to name it —bellowed loud and clear, causing the very earth they were standing upon to quiver. Sora’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the monster. The monster, staring right back, growled a deep, low challenge towards the little pegasus.

“Sora?” The stallion’s eyes shot up at the voice before he looked back, seeing a frightened butter yellow mare raising a hoof towards him.

His mind began to whirl as he remembered what he had to do, what he had to tell not only her but the rest of the mares; that he wasn’t a pony. Would she, let alone any of the other ponies, want to continue being his friend, especially after he had lied to them? He had done it to protect them from all of this (for all the good that did) but still, as AJ put it: a lie is a lie. His gaze was about to shift downwards but was stopped from doing so by a mental slap by Applejack’s hoof.

Ah may not know where ah am or how ah got here, she stated in his mind. But ah can feel your thoughts right now, and, for some reason, ah know what y’all are thinking. Right now, worry about saving Fluttershy and the rest of us, and then we can talk about your continuing friendship with us. She paused before adding, If it’s any consolation however, as long as ya promise to tell us the whole truth, ya still have a friend in me Sora. You’re not a bad po…err…Whatever you are. You’ve proven yourself in that aspect at least.

Yeah! Pinkie said excitedly. You’re totally cool in my book too! I Pinkie Pie Promise to always be your friend no matter what!

Sora smiled before nodding towards the butter yellow mare, no indication of the conversation he had with the two mares in his mind present on his features. “Sorry Shy. Gonna be busy for a while,” he spoke softly. “And I have a lot to tell you and the rest of the girls when I’m finished here. But for now, just trust me when I say: I’ll protect you… all of you.”

Sora turned back to face the monster that had nearly destroyed everything he was starting to care about. With a smirk, the stallion spread both his forelegs out, two keyblades appearing in both of his out stretched hooves. One was golden and brown, an apple core replacing the teeth of a regular key. On the chain hung Applejack’s Element of Honesty. Within the other hoof was a wild looking pink keyblade, a curved edge with spikes surrounding Pinkie Pie’s cutie mark. At the end of the chain of the keyblade rested Pinkie’s Element of Laughter, just like Applejack’s.

OMGOMGOMGOMG! It’s my Element of Laughter! Pinkie said excitedly. And look! Your element of Honesty, AJ!

Well Ah’ll be, Applejack mused softly. Guess our elements are connected to the keyblades after all.

Sora gripped both keyblades tightly with this fore hooves and began to expertly spin them within his grip. When he was done, he positioned himself in a fighting like stance before addressing the mare behind him.

“Can you get away?” he asked.

She had proceeded to nod, but then remembered that he was not looking her way. “Um… I-I can fly alright… I think.”

Sora nodded. “Good, then get the Fillies to safety.” With his command ringing in her ears, she flapped her wings and flew as quickly as she could towards the little fillies. When he did not sense her behind himself anymore, the stallion addressed the monster formerly known as Sombra.

“Ok Sombra, I hope you’re prepared.” He smiled brightly as he looked between the Keyblade of Honesty and Laughter. “Cause I can honestly say... I’M READY TO PARTY!!”

Dangnabbit Sora…

Yay!

~

Fluttershy landed next to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all three fillies instantly running up to greet her upon seeing the yellow pegasus. The girls were about to jump on the mare but were stopped from doing so by the rising of her hoof, partly due to the urgency of the situation, and partly due to not wanting to further damage her sprained leg. She raised it in the air, holding it close to her body as she hobbled towards the little mares.

“I’m sorry girls, I know you’re worried about me, but we have to get out of here. It’s too dangerous to stay near here for too long,” Fluttershy told them, trying her best to sound brave for them. She opened her wings and began to usher them away from the battle that was about to unfold. She felt all three resist as the little fillies tried to peer over her wings.

“Wait!” Applebloom cried out first. “What about mah sister? Where’s Applejack!?”

“And Pinkie!” Sweetie Belle added. “Aren’t they with you?”

“Don’t forget Sora! Where are they, Fluttershy?!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

Fluttershy looked between them before looking back just as Sora launched himself towards the monstrous Sombra. She raised a hoof and gently brushed her mane from her eyes. “I… I don’t know where Applejack and Pinkie Pie are, but Sora is out there, and I’m sure your sister and my friends are too. I believe they are in good hooves.” She smiled down at the fillies. “He is our hero after all,” she said softly.

All three fillies looked between each other and then looked back towards her. They nodded, smiles of determination appearing on their faces.

“He won’t let us down!” Scootaloo said, pumping a fist in the air. “He’s too cool to lose!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie squeaked. “I’m sure he’ll save the day!”

“You’re right Fluttershy!” Applebloom said as she looked towards the caramel stallion, swooning a bit. “He’ll save us. I just know it.”

Fluttershy grasped a hoof to her chest, calming her beating heart. Please Sora, I… I know I just met you but… You… I want you to come back to me. The sound of a roar broke her from her thoughts, and her eyes widened upon seeing a bright purple light emanating from where the Crystal Castle stood.

~

Despite the stallion running solely on two hooves, he had little to no trouble neavigating the battlefield, quickly closing the distance between him and Shadow Sombra. He had seen the monster once again charging for the same attack he had tried before, and there was no way that he was allowing that to happen. He gritted his teeth as the monster reared its head up, once again gathering the energy into a compressed ball of inky blackness.

Sora, upon reaching halfway to the monster, jumped into the air at an angle, the stallion crossing his hooves as he neared the beast. Just when he was about to ram head first into it, he lashed out with his newly acquired keyblades, the impact clearly felt by the monster as it doubled over in pain, the black ball of energy lost in a vapor.

Sora wasn’t done however.

He pushed off the monster, completing the double arc that he had been making with his keyblades, instantly causing the clearly bigger being to slide a ways away from him, its hind hooves digging into the ground as it did. An ink like vapor escaped the wound that Sora inflicted upon Sombra. Sombra howled in pain before glaring at Sora, the Keyblade Wielder landing on his hind hooves a ways away from him. He twirled his weapons around until one was in its original position and the other was in a reverse grip.

Whoa nelly! That’s some fancy hoofwork ya can do there Sora, but how the hay do you plan on taking that beast down?! he heard Applejack say within his mind. Wherever they were, they could communicate with him easily enough. He has ta be twice the size of a king timber wolf! Before he could respond to Applejack’s inquiry or ask what kind of wolf can grow to that size, he heard Pinkie Pie’s giggle snort loudly within him.

Silly Applejack, we aim for any clearly visible weak spots of course, duh. She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Sora chuckled as Applejack groaned.

Darn it Pinkie! Be serious! We’re-Oh Horseapples! Look out Sugarcube!

Sora had little time to prepare himself as Sombra quickly closed the distance between the two of them with surprising speed. Sora quickly jumped away from him just as his arm came crashing down where he was previously. Once again, Sora underestimated his speed and was rewarded with Sombra’s other taloned hand swatting him away like a bug, causing the stallion to fly high into the air.

NO! Sora Look out! Pinkie’s distanced voice called out to him. Just as it did, the pink keyblade he held seemed to move on its own accord, making him turn and slash horizontally behind him. As he did, something light pink came from the blade, forming into a bubble like balloon soon after. Sora instantly fell onto it, the bubble only buckling slightly as he did. He looked down at the bubble before looking at the pink keyblade he held.

“That was…”

He heard a sigh of relief escape from Pinkie inside his mind before she said, That was super-duper close! Are you super-duper alright Sora?

“Pinkie? How did you-”

Do that? she finished for him. Hmm... let me think. There was a long pause before she finally said, Nope! Don’t have a clue. Oh, but hey! Why question when you can just go with the flow right? Or should I say balloon? She giggled at her joke, causing the stallion to do the same.

“You got me there Pinkie,” he said before getting to his hooves. “Alright! Lets take him down!” He jumped off the balloon, the silly structure disappearing soon afterwards. Sombra, upon seeing this, lashed out at the Keyblade Wielder, but Sora was ready this time. He lashed out with the pink keyblade, saying the only word that could come to mind as he did.

“Balloon!”

He and Pinkie Pie were more than happy that they were greeted with the desired effect, a large balloon appearing as the blade slashed. It landed in Sombra’s hands just as Sora landed on the balloon itself. The monster gave the object a hard squeeze, popping it in one go. This however caused Sora to use the sensation of the pop to jet himself upwards. He created another balloon above, using its bounce properties to ricochet at a fast downwards angle.

Sombra barely had time to register what had happened before Sora came crashing down on his head, the stallion making three deep gashes upon Sombra’s forehead. He ended his attack with a double downwards strike from both keyblades, forcing the monster down to his knees.

Sora followed up by using the momentum to flip himself behind Sombra and, careful of the flames seeping off from the monster’s head, ran down Sombra’s back before once again bringing both keyblades down upon the monster; the blow actually laying the creature flat on it’s belly. Using his new power, Sora bounced his way away from Sombra, landing in the dirt path below.

Land sakes! he heard Applejack praise. I said it before and I’ll say it again! That’s some fancy hoofwork Sora. Didn’t think we would have been able to, but he looks down for the count!

Don’t count your apples before they become trees AJ! Pinkie exclaimed. One thing that’s universal is that villains never play fair! It’s like villain rule number one hundred and fifty seven.

Before either Sora or Applejack could say a word to Pinkie's logic, a powerful gust blew against the stallion, causing him to shield his eyes. When it subsided, he could see a plume of smoke jetting towards the sky. Following it, the stallion’s eyes dilated as he saw Sombra climbing higher and higher into the air, his yellow eyes burning bright yellow with fury.

“NO!” Sombra bellowed in a two toned voice, one similar to his and the other having an otherworldly edge to it. “I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY A FOAL! I REFUSE TO BE BEATEN BY A FOAL! IF I CAN’T WIN, THEN I’LL DESTROY IT ALL!!” Sombra’s mouth opened again, the same inky black ball forming in his opened maw. The energy he gathered seemed to enlarge at an alarmingly faster rate than before, causing the stallion to panic.

“NO!” Sora cried out.

Aw ponyfeathers, AJ lamented.

Told ya! Pinkie exclaimed.

There was little time to lose. Sora jumped high into the air, a streak of red sparks following after him. At the peak of his jump, he slashed downwards with the pink keyblade, a bubble once again appearing below him. The bubble buckled as he landed upon it and after only a few seconds he was shot into the air, flying faster than he could have on his own. Sora could easily see that the ball had tripled in size, and he was getting no closer to it due to Sombra flying higher into the air, just out of reach.

Sora threw down another balloon and bounced himself further into the air. As he did, he could see Sombra flare his wings back before releasing the the ball of energy. The ball itself looked as if it was piercing the light of the world, distorting the coloring around it as he shot the beam straight towards Sora. The Keyblade Wielder, seeing this, turned his back to the beam and began to release a barrage of balloons below him. When the seven bubbles had been made, expanding the length of the beam, Sora turned just in time to see the beam only a few feet away from him. Putting his blades out in front of him, the stallion had the keyblades take the majority of the hit, keeping him from damaging himself. The blast, however, pushed him forcefully back, causing him to ram into the pile of balloons below him.

Sombra held the beam for a few more seconds before allowing it to die down, an evil smirk appearing on his lips as he did. Unfortunately for him though, he saw to his dismay that the balloon’s seemed to hold in tact, despite the overwhelming power. He scoffed as he watched the balloons slowly pop one by one.

“So you bought this land a couple of seconds. A pity that was all you were good for, foal,” he began to say just as there was one balloon left. However, the lone balloon didn’t go away like its predecessors did. Sombra squinted his eyes to see that there was a odd indent within the balloon. “What trickery is this?”

~

Fluttershy had closed her eyes as she watched the battle from a safe distance, the beam of darkness forcing her to. Tears began to flow freely down her face as she could have only imagined what it had done to Sora. Even as the light subsided, she could not bear to look at what had happened to Sora; wanting the best but believing the worst.

“No. Way.”

The sound of Scootaloo’s voice caused the mare to slowly open her tear stained eyes. Those same eyes widened by degrees as she beheld a sight that was most peculiar. Not only was one of the balloons in tact, but the same balloon seemed to have something buckling within it, causing it to stretch in an unseemly manner.

Fluttershy hobbled closer as she joined the three fillies out in the opened space. Scootaloo’s wings began to flutter faster and faster as she smiled more and more brightly.

“No way… No way. NO WAY!!” She was hovering an inch off of the ground by now as she spoke louder and louder, repeating the same two words. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were smiling just as brightly, figuring out what had happened not too soon after.

Fluttershy placed a hoof upon her mouth as she looked upwards, the mare’s eyes once again tearing up, but not at all for sadness this time. “Sora, you’re…”

~

Sora opened his eyes to see a little light out of the hole the balloon had bucked in to make, a small smile appearing upon his lips as he did. He didn’t have time to say another word as he felt himself launched forward, the bubble like material of the balloon wanting to retake its shape after drastically being reshaped. Sora could feel his body flying upwards out of the balloon hole and towards the object of his ire. The speed Sora was going had caused him to close three fourths of the distance between himself and Sombra in a short amount of time. Sora reared the orange Keyblade back as he reached Sombra, the weapon itself glowing a bright orange.

Sombra noticed too late however, and only had time to back peddle away slightly, yelling, “NO! NO! I AM KING! I AM DARKNESS!”

Sora slammed the orange key hard into Sombra’s chest. Sombra felt the pressure as the keyblade rammed into him. His eyes slowly glanced to Sora, the yellow hue slowly becoming that of his original green. “N-No…I…I…”

“You're gonna lose it all!” Sora yelled as he pushed with all his might into Sombra's body, the blade slashing across the monster's chest in a complete clean cut across his body. Darkness began to seep from the wound as he finished, dissipating into the air. As Sombra fell back, Sora reared up and stuck once more, the orange blade knocking the monster away into empty space.

Sombra glared at the stallion, a finger pointed straight at the boy, speaking only one word. "Key...blade."Sombra soon began dissipating, and Sora could see a white glass heart, not unlike the red ones he usually saw before. It hovered in the air for a moment before veering off towards the Crystal Castle. It was then that Sora noticed a complete lack of a giant heartless attacking the castle

“Heh... Guess that means I can rest, right?” At those words Sora felt his eyes lids grow heavy as they slowly began to droop, his power slowly draining from him from his being. The ground was coming hard and fast, and he could feel himself slip away into an unconscious state.

Sora? SORA!? WAKE UP!! Applejack called out within his mind, her tone frantic with worry.

Oh No! Sora! Wake up! Its not sleepy time! Pinkie added soon after.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened and a gasp in horror escaped her as she saw the hero of light fall. “NO! SORA!” With a flap of her wings she soared into the air, praying to Celestia that she could make it on time. Sora fell faster and faster, and Fluttershy beat her wings harder and harder as he did. It wasn’t long before she had caught up with him, but by then it was too late; the two were already too close to the ground for her to stop their free fall, and her wings were too tired for her to veer off. The least she could do, for him, was to cushion the fall. She held on to the stallion tight as she slowly made him lay on top of her with her back quickly falling to the ground.

“Sora…I…I…” She closed her eyes as she buried her face into his neck. “I…”

A sudden jolt followed before she could get her words out, cyan arms wrapping around both Sora and herself. She looked up to see Rainbow Dash looking down at the mare, a cocky smile hiding the amount of fear she had in her eyes. “Can’t leave you alone with him without you having to almost kill yourself, eh?” she said in a joking manner.

Fluttershy looked up in disbelief before tears began to roll down her face. "Rainbow."

Rainbow gave her a sly smirk. "Of course the true hero has to save the day, as always." Her gaze fell to Sora and her smile turned a bit softer. "Gotta say though, the hero seemed to have done some good after all."

She landed, placing the two ponies gently upon the ground, Fluttershy being careful to avoid her sprained leg. No sooner had Sora touched the ground, a light began to quickly envelope him. Both pegasi covered their eyes in response to the blinding light. When it left, they saw, to their surprise, both Pinkie Pie and Applejack laying awkwardly on top of the stallion.

"Pinkie Pie? Applejack?" Rainbow said, looking between both earth ponies respectively. "What the buck?"

"Long story," Applejack said wearily. "Barely know myself, but we'll tell ya what we can later."

Sora began to stir underneath both earth ponies, the stallion slowly coming back into the waking world. "Wha...huh?" All four mares looked his way, smiles becoming apparent on each of their faces.

"Well well well, looks like the hero awakes," Rainbow said, placing her hooves on her hips. "Sleeping on the job?"

Sora gave the mare a cheesy smile as he looked up towards her. "Heh, you know me."

Applejack smiled as she slowly began to lift off Sora, making Pinkie in turn roll off her. "Heheh...I don't really know what happened but… well ah guess that y'all saved the day again, Sora." She smiled as she helped the boy turned stallion to his feet.

"Hey!" Rainbow called out. "I helped kick monster butt back at the Castle!"

Sora looked towards the mare before scowling towards the castle. "Yeah, about that. Who was that pony? The one in the cloak."

Rainbow eyes widened. "Oh yeah! I forgot about him! Sora! That guy has a-"

“Sora!”

All eyes turned to see the rest of the girls galloping towards them, Twilight leading the way. She stopped when she had come close to the group and three fillies zipped from behind her, running full speed towards the caramel stallion. He barely had time to prepare for them as the three Cutie Mark Crusaders tackled him to the ground, causing the four ponies to tumble before coming to a rest with them on top of him; one hugging his neck, one hugging his torso, and the other latching on to his head.

“Dude!” Scootaloo cheered, her face upside down from his perspective of her. “That was wicked! You were all like BAM! Then you were like KABLAM! Then you shot off into the air like WOOSH! It was totally epic!”

Sweetie Belle released his leg and began bouncing around the stallion, her voice on maximum squeak level as she praised him as well. “Yeah! It was super scary, but you were really amazing! I really liked those giant balloons!”

The last filly lay on his belly, her face buried into his chest as she sobbed softly into his fur. “I *hic* Was so scared *hic* A-Ah thought ah would have never seen ya again Sora! Please! Don’t do that again! I...I…” She buried her head into his chest further, her crying staining his jacket with hot tears. Sora just looked down towards her before smiling softly.

“Hey… I had it covered. I am the hero of light after all,” he said as he patted the little mare’s head.

Rarity made her way to Sora’s side, smiling softly. “You must have put on one magnificent performance for Applebloom to have been so worried about you.” She frowned towards him. “Please try to keep the death-defying stunts to a minimum though. From what I saw, I thought you had… well… met with an-”

Pinkie stuffed a hoof into the white mare’s mouth. “Already used that line! No callbacks!” she said with a bright smile.

As Twilight made her way to the stallion, she gave him a soft smile that he returned. “Sora, I… I think we need to talk,” she said, her smile faltering a little.

Sora looked down before looking back to the mare. “Yeah, I need to talk to you girls anyway. What do you want to talk about anyway?”

“Its about the keyblades. I saw somepony wielding one just like you do,” she said.

Sora’s eyes bugged out. “What?! Theres a Keyblader here as well?!”

“Oh yeah! Thats what I was going to tell you before Twilight interrupted! He said his name was-!”

A scream of pure terror filled everypony’s ears. They all looked about, not knowing where it had come from. It didn’t take long for them to find Fluttershy being pulled into the ground by the inky blackness that had tried to ponynap Applejack back at the barn some nights ago.

“AH! Sora! GIrls!” she cried out, reaching her hooves out to them. “I-I can’t! Please help me!”

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow made to fly after her but her body soon hit the ground, her back legs slowly getting entangled by the same darkness as well. “What the hay! What is this crud?!” She looked toward the others, finding them all in the same predicament as she and Fluttershy were in; even the little fillies were not spared. Sora was captured as well, his hooves and mouth enwrapped within the darkness, preventing him from summoning his keyblade. “Sora! Twilight! Somepony!” she called out just as she was slowly pulled into the ground. The last that was seen of her was a cyan hoof reaching out into the sky, before there was no trace of the mare left

Sora sat up, flailing his limbs about wildly in protest to the darkness that had claimed him, however, he Calmed down when the feeling of no longer being bound by the inky blackness registered in his mind. He placed a hoof on his chest, allowing himself to calm down and regain control of his breathing. After a long minute, he took stock of where he was .

He wasn’t too thrilled about what he found.

The sky was aglow with a purple haze, black, whip-like clouds hovering below a lightless sun. The world he sat upon was barren of all life, dark sand the only thing as far as his eyes could see. Wicked looking mountain peaks could be seen in the far distance, each one curving at an unnatural angle. The whole world even gave him a creepy vibe. Cold and chilling, as if it were devoid of any light whatsoever, even though he was able to clearly see.

“Why does this… look so familiar?” he asked himself in a low tone. He gave another look around as he stood up before turning to look behind him, his body instantly locking up at what he saw. There, in front of him, surrounded by a familiar bubble of red energy, were six mares and three fillies he had come to know, all of whom were slowly coming to, just as he had. He watched as the mares slowly began to stir into full consciousness.

~

“Where are we?” Applejack asked before looking towards the other mares. She gently replaced her hat upon her head, it having fallen off at some point during their forced travel. “And how did we get here?”

Rarity was the first to respond as she cried out, “MY MANE! It’s going to take weeks to get it fixed!” She pulled a comb out of her saddle bag before running it through her mane over and over again, much to Rainbow’s slight annoyance.

“Ugh… glad your priorities are straight,” Rainbow grumbled sarcastically before looking around at the dome that covered them. “Does this place kinda give you a creepy vibe, or is it just me?” she asked as she tapped the dome, causing a gentle ripple to flow through it.

“Not just creepy,” Twilight added. “This magic… it’s almost like the magic I felt from the heartless.”

Applejack gave the bubble a wary look as she addressed the lavender mare. “Any ideas on what we’re dealing with, Twi?”

Twilight shook her head before turning to face the farm mare. “No… and that is what worries me the most. We need to figure out a way to get out of here and we need to do it fast.”

“Hey, wait a second everypony!” said a Pinkie-ish voice, the party mare looking around the bubble frantically. “Has anypony seen Sora?”

Twilight's eyebrows furrowed slightly before she made a head count of the ponies within the room. “I… I don’t know. Isn’t he here?” She looked over everypony, finding all but the wayward stallion.

“Hey! Out there! Ah think that somepony is outside the bubble!” Apple Bloom’s voice called, causing every mare to make their way to the edge of the glass, each pony trying to get a good look out the semi-clear, window-like structure.

“My goodness! She’s right!” Rarity said before moving a bit closer. “Wait a moment. Is that… Sora?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow called. “It is Sora! How did he get out there?”

Twilight shook her head. “I’m not sure, but this can’t be good. We need a way out of here and we need it fast,” she said before lighting her horn up, causing everypony to disappear in a flash of lavender light.

Or that would have happened if it had gone beyond just her horn lighting up.

“Ah, Twi…” Applejack said uneasily. “Nothing’s happening.”

“What!?” Twilight tried again, receiving the same results as before. “That’s… I don’t understand. My magic isn’t working! I think something’s blocking it.” She turned to Rarity. “What about you?”

Rarity took a break from her mane combing to look at her horn. “I’m not sure darling.” She activated her magic just as Twilight had done, and just like Twilight, all it did was make her horn glow with its blue aura. “Oh dear. I can’t feel it picking up anything.”

Rainbow reared back with a flap of her wings. “Since magic isn’t helping us, why don’t we move on to good old-fashioned force!” Before anypony could stop her, the mare went flying full tilt into the dome. As her shoulder came in contact with the barrier, a jolt of electricity coursed through her body, causing the mare to cry out in agony.

“Rainbow!” Applejack called before running towards the suffering mare.

“AJ, use me!” Pinkie yelled as she threw herself in front of the farm mare, her body low to the ground and her flank facing towards her. Applejack picked up her speed before leaping into the air and landing on the pink one’s back. With a hefty buck of her hindquarters, Pinkie sent the mare off into the air. Applejack latched onto Rainbow’s tail before giving it a hefty pull, breaking her away from the lighting-like prison.

Rainbow fell into Pinkie’s outstretched hooves, the party mare letting the unconscious mare rest heavily on her.

“Oh no! Rainbow!” Scootaloo called out, rushing to the mare’s side. She was followed by the rest, each one crowding around the two ponies just as Applejack landed. The farm mare gave a worried glance towards the group before looking out to where Sora was.

“Sora…”

~

Sora watched the scene unfold before him with fearful wonder. He shook his head and smacked his cheeks just as he saw Applejack land on her hooves. “Damn it Sora, focus!” He cursed himself before summoning his Keyblade into his maw. “Don’t worry! I’ll get you out of there!” he said determinedly, but before making a mad dash for the bubble, the sound of his name being called caused the boy turned stallion to stop and turn around. Behind him stood a very familiar black robed pony, though now he could see that the pony was a mare, her fur a deep yellow and her mane red with strips of the same color as her fur. She gave a wry smile as she tilted her head to the side.

“Well, well, well. Looks like we meet again, hero,” she said, making the word hero sound more like an insult than a compliment.

Sora was not deterred however. He growled at the mare, digging his hooves into the ground in a threatening manner. “You! You’re the one that attacked Ponyville!”

She rolled her eyes before saying, “Did you deduce that all by yourself, or did you have help from your so-called friends?”

Sora opened his eyes wide before moving closer to her. “And I bet you’re the one that trapped them in that bubble!” He lowered himself as he readied to act on a moment’s notice. “Let go of them now!”

She tilted her head, the red shimmering of her eyes and the wicked smile she gave unnerving him slightly. “Really? Giving demands already? I don’t think you’re in any position to do such a thing. Besides, don’t you think you should go and… I don’t know, see how your friends are faring? Because from what I can tell, they look like they could be having a better time.”

Sora raised his head, giving her a questioning look until he heard a shrill cry of distress coming from behind him. He whipped around, his eyes widening as he could see exactly what the yellow mare was talking about.

Before him, the bubble that held his friends captive was beginning to compress slowly, but surely, into itself, the mares fearfully backing away as their space became smaller and smaller. Worry grew to fear and then turned to rage as he turned to face the cloaked mare. “What are you doing?! Let them go!”

“Tsk, tsk. Now why would I do that? Not when I have a lovely little game for us to play. Now why don’t you go ahead and make your Keyblade disappear, unless you want them to turn into a rather messy puddle of goo.”

Sora’s eyes widened before he growled softly. With a flash of light, his weapon slipped back into his heart, leaving him with nothing but the clothes on his back. The mare smiled softly before making her way towards him, her hips dancing back and forth under the cloak she wore.

“Isn’t that better? Now, how about we start this game, hmm?” she mused, her sickles appearing with a flash of red light. Her smile became more prominent. “The longer you survive, the longer the bubble keeps in place. If you’re on anything but your hooves when you touch the ground, the bubble shrinks.” She took a swipe at him with one of the blades, the stallion easily dodging it with a quick jump backwards. “If you summon your weapon, the bubble shrinks.” She took another swipe, making him move to step to the side. “If the blade touches you… it shrinks,” she mused before pulling one of the blades back to her. “Keep that blade out of the battle and I might just let your little friends go.”

Sora raised an eyebrow before widening his eyes as something came rushing towards him. He jumped to the side just as the weapon came crashing down to where his body would have been. The mare chuckled before full-out laughing. “Oh, you’re going to be so much fun! I can feel it!” She smiled at the boy. “Do make this last! I want you to suffer oh-so-much before bringing you to master!”

She launched herself towards Sora, the stallion having little to do but concentrate on the sick game she forced upon him.

Lives depended on it.

~

“Uhg… Dangit. Y’all alright, girls?” Applejack asked as she slowly got to her hooves, two fillies slowly shifting from under the farm mare.

“Ah… ah think so, sis,” Applebloom said as she fearfully looked towards the red walls.

“Uhg… yeah. No sweat, right?” Scootaloo answered in a shaky tone of voice.

Applejack nodded before turning to face the others. “Y’all holding up ok?”

“I… I think so, but what happened?” Rarity stuttered as she slowly rose to her hooves, having fainted when the bubble began to compress around them. She could feel the wind of her sister’s hoof as she gently fanned her.

“The red bubble thingy began to move and shrink the room!” Pinkie exclaimed as she held Rainbow’s head in her lap. “I don’t know why it stopped though. Maybe it got bored.”

“Ah doubt it would have got bored, Pinkie,” Applejack dismissed. “There has to be an explanation for this.”

"Sunset Shimmer..."

Everypony looked towards Twilight as she spoke the name, and then their gaze shifted to where hers was settled. Outside the bubble was a mare in a familiar black cloak conversing with Sora. Applejack was the first to speak up for them. “Y’all know her, Twi?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not personally, no. She revealed herself to me and Spike when we were in the castle. She… She said that she was the first.” Before anypony could ask her what she meant, she turned to face them, a scowl playing across her features. “We need to get out of here! She has to be responsible for us being in here, and for the bubble shrinking!”

“Huh…wazat about bubbles?” Rainbow said as she slowly began to stir. She was instantly wrapped in a body crushing hug by the pink party mare, much to her dismay.

“OH MY GOSH RAINBOW! YOU’RE OK!” she shouted as she lifted the mare off the ground. “I WAS SO WORRIED WHEN YOU GOT HURT AND I ALMOST CRIED AND I WAS SO SCARED AND –“

“GAK! Ok Pinkie! I get it!” she yelped as she struggled to be released from her friend’s grip.

Rarity shook her head gently before hearing the slightest whisper come from her left. She turned to find Fluttershy not too far away, looking out through the glass-like material that was their prison.

“Fluttershy?” Rarity said, making her way to the mare. “Are you okay, darling? Did you get hurt?”

“He’s not using his sword,” sas the only response to come from the yellow pegasus. “Why isn’t he using his sword?”

~

“What’s the matter, Sora!?” Sunset yelled as she began to fire a barrage of magic Sora’s way. “Not feeling so heroic now, are ya?!”

The stallion ran as fast as he could, narrowly missing each blow the mare tried to send his way. He didn’t even offer her a response as he made his way around her. His mind worked overtime in coming up with a solution to defeating her. His gaze shifted momentarily towards the bubble where the girls were trapped. It was during this lapse in concentration that Sunset made her move. With a blast of red magic she shifted the ground in front of Sora, making him stumble to the ground. Her magic charged once again, rocketing towards him with amazing speeds.

With little time to think, the stallion quickly shifted one of the loose bits of debris from under his body, knocking it up into a makeshift shield. The blast connected with the rock, taking the majority of the attack with it. Still, it was not enough as the blast sent Sora flying backwards. He bounced on his back once before shifting both forehooves under him and landing back on all fours. The stallion wasted no time in running towards the yellow mare, now scowling and firing off her magic as he did so. Sora easily dodged each attacked aimed his way, jumping at the last second just as he neared the mare. He lashed out with his back hooves, hoping to take the mare down hard and fast.

It was not to be, however, as just as he attacked, the mare gave him a wicked smile and a familiar red shield flared up around her, not only blocking his attack, but also shocking him, red lightning coursing through his body. She released the shield, allowing him to fall into a heap onto the ground before laughing wildly.

“AHAHAHAHAHA! Oh that’s just too perfect! You’re too rich!” She cackled as she looked down upon the fallen hero. “You’re just too predictable!” She looked up with satisfaction as the bubble that held Sora’s friends slowly began to shrink, much to their dismay. “Heh… What’s the matter, hero? Done already? Get up, or your friends will more than likely meet an untimely end!” She lashed out with her sickles, only hooking ground as Sora rolled to the side. He jumped to his hooves, glaring at the mare as Sunset smirked. “That’s the sprit. Now, shall we continue?”

~

Apple Bloom covered her eyes as another strike from Sunset’s weapon nearly impaled Sora, the stallion having moved just at the last second. When she opened them again, she sighed with relief before turning to her sister. “What’s Sora doing? Why doesn’t he use his giant key thing?”

Applejack looked down at the little filly before turning back to face the ongoing battle raging in front of them. “Ah don’t know little sis. He should have taken the mare down long ago.” The farm mare’s ears perked as she heard Twilight mumble under her breath. Applejack turned to face her friend with a raised eyebrow. “Twilight? Did ya say something?”

The lavender mare looked up as something dawned on her. “He can’t. He can’t fight back.”

“W-What do you mean Twilight?” Sweetie Belle asked. “He took down a whole monster with little more than his own power! He can handle her! I know he can!”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I mean he can’t fight because… because of us.”

“What do you mean, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked frantically. “What are you getting at?”

“This bubble,” Twilight began, “and our magic draining. Don’t you see? It was meant to keep us in here.” She pointed to Sora. “Not only that, but Sora doesn’t have his weapon out. That means that him keeping his weapon away is keeping the bubble from shrinking.”

“But when he was on the ground, he clearly did not have his weapon, Twilight,” Rarity said.

“Don’t you see,” Twilight said as she frowned. “It’s all a game to that damn mare, and we are the prize.” She lowered her head in defeat.

Everypony had a mix of shock, horror and disgust on their faces at Twilight’s revelation. It was a long while before Rarity spoke.

“That means that Sora is our only hope.”

“What’s that about only hope?” said the rainbow and cyan pegasus that Pinkie Pie was holding.

Pinkie Pie smiled as she pulled Rainbow Dash close to her. “Oh Dashie! You’re ok! I was so worried and scared and sad and-“

“Okay, okay,” the cyan mare said, stuffing a hoof into the other mare’s mouth. “I’m fine… just a little extra crispy.” She smiled. “It hurt, yeah, but nothing a pegasus like me can’t handle.”

“You should have known better, Rainbow,” Twilight scolded. “Next time think before you-“

A cry from Fluttershy caused Twilight to cut her sentence short and made everypony turn to the butter-yellow mare.

“SORA!”

~

The stallion stood as best he could, pulling his right foreleg close to his body, splats of red liquid coating the ground below the stallion where he held it. He watched as Sunset pulled the blade that she had struck him with close to her, smiling devilishly as the blood, his blood, trickled down the length of the blade.

“Ah… and there it is,” she said in an almost motherly tone. “I know it hurts, but the pain makes you feel alive, am I right?” She stepped closer as she began to ponder something. “And such a beautiful scream you have, little hero. Full of anger, pain, regret… helplessness.” She giggled softly. “Brings a smile to my face, ya know?”

Sora growled as he stood his ground. “You don’t have to do this. Stop while you still can!”

She whipped her blade out at him, cutting him deep in his left shoulder before he could react. He hissed with pain as he tried to back away. She had gotten faster, there was no doubt about it, and the injuries he had already sustained were already beginning to take their toll on the Keyblade Wielder. He looked up towards the mare just as she began to speak again. “Nope…this is way too fun.” She brandished her blades as she grinned with malicious intent. “Now be a good boy and make it last, hmm?”

Sora gritted his teeth as he made to dodge the attack, but he was so focused on her first blade that he had completely forgotten one simple fact; she had a second blade; a lesson he learned the hard way as he felt cold steel tear into his side, cutting him deep upon his back and forcing him to release a soundless cry in pain. He could have almost swore he heard Fluttershy cry out in anguish, but he was so wrapped up in his own pain that he didn’t have the care to register anything but his body hitting the dark road below him. He fell once again into a crumbled heap. He only laid there for a moment before he tried to push himself up once more, his right foreleg shaking uncontrollably. It was kicked out from under him, causing the stallion to fall back down on his side. He looked up with defiant eyes towards Sunset Shimmer, the mare glaring down at the stallion.

“Poor little hero. As my master suspected, you’re nothing without that Keyblade of yours.” She smiled. “Not even worth his time, honestly. Killing you and taking your Keyblade here and now seems the most plausible thing to do at this point little hero.” She smiled and looked up to see all the mares and fillies looking towards the downed hero. “Seems your friends want to say something to ya. Ya know… I’m feeling generous, so how about I let you say your last goodbyes, huh?” With a sweep of her hooves, the coloration of the bubble that held the girls changed into that of a glass one. She kicked Sora to his side so that he could fully see the girls, each one having both shock and worry clear upon their faces.

“You… you monster!” Rarity cried, tears streaming down her face. “Don’t you touch another hair on that poor boy’s mane or I swear I will-“ A kick from the mare caused Sora to cry out in pain, shutting the unicorn mare up, and causing Applejack and Rainbow Dash to strike at the glass-like encasing, intent on taking the evil mare down for good.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Sunset said with a dark glint in her eyes. “Can’t do a damn thing, can ya? Sad, really.” She kicked the stallion again. “Go on. Tell them how useless you are. How, despite being a supposed hero, the princesses chose wrong when they chose you.”

Sora only looked down in shame at the mares that stared at him, the stallion closing his eyes before resting his head upon the ground. Two words where the only things that the trapped mares could hear from him: “I’m… sorry. ”

“Don’t you dare!” Rainbow cried as she slammed into the glass again. “You’re supposed to be the hero! You’re supposed to be the strongest!” Rainbow looked on as the stallion began to shiver slightly. “Damn it! Don’t give up, Sora! We need you! I-I need you! Without, you we can’t do this! Now get your fat flank in gear and fight!”

Sunset Shimmer began to laugh loudly. “AHHAHAHAHA! Oh wow! You damn Elements are just too rich! What?! You think some words of encouragement are gonna help the hero gain some lost power and beat up the baddies?” She spat and smirked at them. “Like I said before, this is the real world. You survive, like me, or you die. And just to prove a point...” She gripped his hair with her magic, pulling him up so that they were eye level. “I’m feeling extra generous now, so how about this? Prove your will to live and say the word, and I’ll release the magic and kill your so-called friends.” She smiled and winked. “And hey, I’ll throw in a free body change so you can return home and all that jazz. So?”

Sora glared at the mare before growling softly. “I’d rather die before I allow you to hurt my friends.”

She raised an eyebrow before shrugging. Her magic whipped his head to the ground, much to his displeasure, and his friends’ dismay. “Well, far be it from me to stop you from wanting to join your friends in the afterlife. Still, for all the trouble you all caused me, how about if I take my sweet old time with this, hmm?” She smiled and forced his head to turn towards the glass bubble with her magic. “Care for the front row seats? I wonder how long it will be before their screams stop, hmm? Let’s find out!”

A flick of her magic was all she needed to make the bubble slowly contract within itself. Sora, in his hazy vision, could do nothing else but watch as his friends fought vainly against the dark unicorn mare. He fought with every instinct he had to make his body move despite the pain, but it was to no avail. The mares’ screams and cries for help reached his ears and all the young Keyblade wielder could do was lay there, hot tears pouring down his face.

“N-No! I… I’m sorry! I… I’m-”

A flash of green filled his vision before he heard a distinct cracking sound.

“What!? WHAT!?” were the only words that Sunset was able to get out before he heard a loud sound, as if someone was getting hit. Right before his vision faded from the loss of blood and fatigue, he saw a single hoof land in front of him. A light gray in color, its owner’s fur rippled in the winds of the realm.

“Kairi says, 'Thanks for making her worry, lazy bones.'”

Sora was only able to say one word as he slipped away from the waking world.

“Ri… ku.”

I sat at the top of a tall tower, looking down at the world below me. I could see the clouds whisping from underneath the floating land mass, giving me quick glimpses to the world below.The feeling of the sun’s gentle rays did little to pull me from the funk I seemed to be in. I tenderly touched my bandaged chest, the shot of pain that coursed through my body causing me to cringe slightly. When it passed I sighed deeply, my eyes gazing towards the ground below.

“Ha! Finally found you.”

I jumped at the sound of the voice calling to me from behind. As slowly as I could without hurting myself, I turned to find a tall, lanky male with long red spiky hair smirking at me from the ladder he had climbed. With a quick flip, the newcomer bounded the rest of the way up, landing expertly on his feet. Reaching into his coat’s pocket he produced two wrapped ice creams.

“Heh, knew I would find ya up here. Even put it all on the line by buying two of these.” He said showing me both sweets. “Thought you might need something better than hospital food.”

“Axel,” I blinked before asking. “H-How did you figure I would be up here?”

“Hey!" The red head male said with a frown. “I told you before, its Lea. Get. It. Memorized.” He emphasized the last three words by tapping my head with one of the ice creams a few times. “And to how I found you, well, that’s fairly obvious isn’t it? It’s because it’s something that ‘HE’ would do as well.”

I took the ice cream, not taking my eyes off the red head as I pondered his statement. “He?” I closed my eyes and folded my arms across my chest, falling deep in thought. It didn’t take me long before I figured out who he was talking about. “Oh! You mean Roxas!”

Lea pointed towards me before pointing to his nose. “Correctamundo, Hero.”

“But, I still don't understand?” I said.

Lea placed one of his hands behind his head before letting his back rest against the wall, the other holding on to the ice cream as he gave it a few test licks. “Whenever he was feeling all mopey and down, he would always find the place with the most amazing view. Heh, it would always brighten his spirits, seeing the world as it goes by.” He smiled as he looked out into the seamless sky. “...A bit more breath-taking than Twilight Town I'll have to admit"

I had decided to stay quiet, my focus only on the ice cream I held in my hands. After a long moment, I heard Lea speak once again.

“You...ah...Ok Sora?” I didn’t respond. “I’ll take that as a no then. Dude, I know you’re all upset and all that jazz but it’s not like it’s all your fault, you know. That was something that I should have told you right off the bat.”

“But I made it worse by getting angry...I...I don’t...I didn’t...” I countered before looking down again, sighing deeply. “I don’t know...”

“Well in any case you won’t be on any missions for a long while. Potions can heal injuries but not cracked ribs.” He bit into his melting ice cream. “I’m surprised that you made it up here actually, cracked ribs and all.” He said with a smile.

“Yeah...I was really out of it during that last fight...” I said, looking down.

“Out of it? It was like you were a punching bag! I mean, taking that hit head on. You had some serious balls to do that, kiddo.” Lea laughed.

“If I didn’t then it would have hit that lady’s house. I couldn’t allow that.” I tried to argue with a pout.

“I know, I know. Don’t get your underwear in a knot, Hero.” Lea said. “Maybe there was an easier way to have done it but I won’t argue with the results.” He smiled down at me. “Besides, I get to have my chance to shine now that you’re out of commission.”

I perked up at that information. “You have a mission?”

“Of course! Though I will be going with Kairi and Goofy, I’m sure to show them all up with my wicked skills.”

I visibly deflated at the mention of Kairi’s name, my head hanging “Ah...How is she doing anyway?”

I could see Lea open his eyes to look at me before closing them once again. “She’s worried about you, that has to tell you something, Sora.”

I could only nod before asking, “And...Riku?”

Lea was quiet as he took another bite of his ice cream. It was a long time before he said, “He’s still your friend you know?”

I shook my head, processing what Lea had said. “I...I hope so...”

Lea gave a cheeky smile before batting my arm gently with his fist, much to my discomfort mind you. “Hey! Buck up, Sora! You still got me! Remember that.” Lea bit into his ice cream once more. “Now, finish that ice cream up so we can get that. Yen Sid needs ya to see him.”

I graoned and nodded. "Not looking foward to that...Like...at all."

~

The shining gleam of the morning sun forcefully pulled Sora into full consciousness. His eyes blinked away the lingering sleepiness as his brain slowly began to function the memory of his dream was slowly slipping from his mind . It wasn't long before his eyes widened by degrees, his body going rigged as he became fully alert. Quickly sitting up, his eyes darted around the room he was within, finding himself in a very familiar setting.

"This is Twilight's house..." Sora looked over his body, patting himself down as if to find something out of place. "How did I get here?"

The keyblader gaze feel to a chair beside him. To his surprise (And utter embarrassment at not having relized it sooner) he found his clothes folded neatly in the seat of the wooden chair. He noticed, as well, a pair of red bags hanging off the back of said chair. He picked them up, shifting them around as he took stock of the design. "Where did these things come from?"

Sora shook his head before closing his eyes. "Ven?"

He waited, but there was no answer.

"Ventis? Are you there?"

Again...No answer.

Why isn't he answering? He folded his hooves about his chest and closed his eyes. Lets see. I remember someone standing over me, and then after that everything went black. What happend... He paused before widening his eyes. "Wait...THE GIRLS!!" As quick as he could muster, the keyblader leapt from the bed with grace and magnificence!

Only to get his hooves caught, his body soon tangling up in the sheets soon afterwards. With a loud thump he fell to the ground in a tangled mess of sheets, fur and flailing limbs. Sora wrestled and fought with the offending covers, grunting in frustration and reasonable fear as he tried to untangle himself from his self-made imprisonment. The sound of hoof steps was ignored, as well as the loud thump of the door opening as he rolled around on the ground, somehow making the situation worse then first was.

Sora stopped all movement at the call os his name. He felt as something tugged at the covers that enwrapped him, freeing his head in the process. He found himself looking into the conceded yet amused set of emerald eyes.

"AJ?" Sora squeaked as he began to shrink into the covers a bit.

The farm mare shook her head before offering Sora a smile and a hoof. "Need a bit of help there partner?"

Sora smiled sheepishly but nodded. It wasn't long before he was finally free of the offending cloak and standing on all four hooves. "Ah Heheh...thanks AJ. Hate to say thats the second time that happened to me." He tapped a hoof to his chin. "Well...Second time in Equestrian..."

Sora yelped as he felt two powerful legs pull him forwards in to a nearly bone crushing hug. Standing rigid and blushing brightly, he could do nothing as Applejack held on to him as though he would disappear if she should let go. The keyblader hesitantly raised a hoof before wrapping it around her as well, making the mare pull him closer as he did so.They stayed like that for a few moments before Applejack pulled away, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"We thought we had lost ya partner..."

Sora looked at the mare is quite disbelief before looking away, a hoof rubbing the back of his neck. "Guess I really blew it back there, huh?" Sora cut his eyes to the mare just as she began to frown. "I should have been stronger. If I had been then none of it would have-Muffmfmfmfhf." He looked at the apple farmer in confusion as she pressed a hoof to his muzzle. When she let her hoof fall, she gave him a look that could silence even the most strong hearted.

"Don't..." Applejack spoke in a harsh tone. "Don't y'all ever say that. Not after what ya did for all of us."

Sora cringed at her words and was about to turn away from the angry mare, but stopped as he felt Applejack nuzzle his neck gently.

Of coarse he blushed as she pulled away. "But I didn't do anything but get my butt whooped."

"Y'all did more for us then ya realize Sugarcube." Applejack mused as she chuckled. Realization seemed to have caught up with her as she began to look over every inch of his body "Dang...". She pulled away, giving Sora a bright smile. “Boy howdy Sora, that magic medicine really did do the trick, didn’t it? He was really telling the truth.”

Sora blinked. “He? He who?”

Applejack was about to answer when a crash sounded from downstairs. She gave a hearty chuckle before moving to the door, saying as she went, “Ah think its best that Twilight explain to ya what happened when ya passed out.” Applejack gave him a concerned look as he began to steadily began to take a few steps to test his balance. “Do y’all feel okay Sugarcube? Ya need help walking?”

"Just a bit woozy is all" Sora waved away. "I'm fine otherwise, so don't worry." He said before making his way to his folded clothes. As he began to equip them he looked towards the bags once again. "Hey, where did these things come from anyway?"

Applejack, who had been looking at him intently, followed his gaze to the red bags hanging on the chair. "That, Sora, is a get well gift from Rarity. She had been working on them all though out the train ride.” Applejack explained. "She's still working honestly, said she had a big project ta do. Both she and Twi on occasion would be at her store all secret like. Both seemed really set on whatever it is they are doing. Though I think its just them copping a bit" She looked away from the stallion. "All of us have been on edge lately as well. Pinkie Pie has been holding off on all parties until you awoke. Fluttershy has been taking care of ya ever since you passed out. Ah myself have more than a few words for you after y’all get all settled in and whatnot…”

"O-Okay..." Sora said with a sheepish smile, "Oh! And Rainbow?"

Applejack sighed before shaking her head slowly "Ah’m not too sure, to tell ya the truth. Ah haven't seen her around lately apart from her doing her weather duties. Though ah do hear her ranting every now and then when she's up in the clouds. Too high to really hear what she's on about but ah take it that she's just as mad at y'all...Maybe a little bit more?"

Sora sighed before rubbing the back of his head once again "I see..."

Applejack gave him a bright smile, patting him hard on the back. An action that nearly caused him to fall onto his face "I'm sure she's fine Sora. We just took you getting hurt pretty hard. She's dealing with it in the best way she can ah recon." She added before chuckling gently. "Despite what she says about ya she never wants leaves a pony hanging, specially one that risked his life to save her and her friends so many times."

Sora shook his head. "I was useless in the last battle Applejack. I let my guard down and we nearly paid of it."

"But y'all are still alive...and so are we because of ya." Applejack countered, "For that, ah know ah can say that ah thank ya from the bottom of my heart." Applejack's smile turned into a frown. "Now don't y'all ever do it again or I'll kill ya my self. Y'all nearly had me worried to death seeing you take such a beating like that."

Sora gave a sheepish smile once again before turning it into a wide grin, a grin that slowly began to form on the Apple farming pony's face. It wasn't long before both Sora and Applejack were laughing up a storm, seemingly unable to stop.

It immediately ended with Applejack giving Sora deadpanned stare. "Ah mean it...Don't do that ever again."

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

"There has to be something! There just has to be!" Twilight cried as she quickly flipped through one book after another, growling with frustration when she got the same results time after time. "Darn it! Nothing in this one either! Or this one! Or this one!"

Despite not being able to look at the unicorn in the eye, Sora could see that everything about her posture screamed "I'm stressed!". From the odd ends of her mane that were tweaked out of place to the ever so slightly twitch her tail would make as sporadic times.

If he was being honest with himself, he would actually say that he was a little afraid to approach her.

"Hey Twi, guess who's up and about?”

All at once, Sora's body went rigid at Twilight's reaction. All at one, the lavender mare had actually stopped in mid rant at the sound of Applejack’s country drawl. Twilight's head seemed to turn in a painfully slow way that made Sora actually take a slow step back out of fear for his well being.

"Your awake..."

Her voice! Her tone! It all sent warning bells within Sora to get the buck out of there as fast as possible. Possibly though a nearby window. Glass be damned!

That was not to be however.

There was a blinding flash of purple that disrupted his vision and the sound of something emploading in on itself. Before he could even contemplate what was going he, he felt himself tackled at hard into the ground, the felling of something pressing down on his chest to keep him in place right after. As his vision began to clear, a crazy looking Twilight stood above him.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting of you to wake up Sora! I almost thought about using my magic to look into your memories, but Celestia foreboded it! But your awake now so I don't have to go against the Princess's wishes anymore! Applejack told me about how you all met the original Elements of Honesty and Laughter, and how something called a human had helped form them in the past! Not just any human though, a human with the same power you have! And the same weapon! How do you have the same power as a creature thats not even from this planet?! Who is Riku!? Why aren't you telling me what I need to know!?!?” She said, becoming more frantic towards the end of her rant.

“Woah, easy there Twi.” Applejack said with a chuckle, placeing a hoof on the mare's back. “Give ‘im time to answer one of ya questions before ya bombard him with another one, okay?”

Twilight blinked at AJ before looking back down at the stallion she had pinned under her, the stallion in question just giving the mare a nervous fearful smile. With a heavy blush she quickly jumped off of him allowing Sora to get back up on his hunches. She shuffled as she gave him an apolagetic smile. “I-I'm sorry Sora! There are so many questions I need answered and from what I’m told AJ, Pinkie and Princess Celestia, you’re the one who can answer a lot of them.”

Sora placed both hooves on the back of his head as he smiled at the mare. "No worries Twi. I had promised AJ and Pinkie I would tell you everything I know anyway."

"I know...and...I'm sorry again. Everything is happening so fast. The world I know just got a whole lot bigger." She paused before smiling at Sora “And…ah…sorry for not saying this earlier but, well…” She closed the distance between themselves before wrapping her hooves around his neck, pulling him into a gentle embrace. “I’m glad you’re okay…I was really, really worried about you." She pulled away to look at him. "Riku said-“

Sora’s eyes widened at his friend's name. "So that was Riku before...Did he say why he was here?"

Twilight shook her head. “No. He did however confirm a bit of what you said before. He also gave us a few potions that he said to use on you, even gave me a few extra for you to have just in case." She frowned. "When he found out your magic wasn’t working, which I am still having a hard time coming to terms with, he told us to use these on you before leaving with Chrysalis.”

"He did?" Sora said before raising an eyebrow. “Back up a sec. Who’s Chrysalis? How did he even get here? How did he know where to find me?”

"He did say..." Twilight answered before she frowned at him. “But right now thats not important. I want to focus on you for the time being. Just who are you? Really?"

Sora fidgeted before looking over to AJ, the farm pony nodding in response to his gaze. Turning back to the lavender mare, he sighed gently. “It's going to be a rather long story. And I ha promised to tell the others as well.”

Twilight nodded and smiled warmly at the stallion before levitating her saddlebags onto her back. “Then let’s go get them Sora. I'm sure they will be happy to know you'er finally awake."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "How long was I out anyway? AJ didn't tell me."

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Ah-hahah...Ah...Five days..."

"FIVE DAYS!!"

“OH MY GOSH SORA! YOU’RE OK! I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU AND YOU WERE NOT MOVING AND WHEN YOU WERE MOVING YOU WERE IN PAIN AND I WAS SO SCARED, AND YOU LOOKED SO SAD, I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I DID ALL I COULD TO HELP YOU LIKE THE REST OF THE GIRLS, BUT I KNEW YOU WOULD BE OKAY BECAUSE YOU PINKIE PROMISED YOU WOULD TELL US THINGS AND YOU CAN’T BREAK A PINKIE PROMISE BUT I ALMOST THOUGHT YOU DID OR WAS GOING TO BUT YOU DIDN’T BECAUSE YOU’RE HERE AND I’M SO HAPPY!!”

The stallion couldn’t even begin to comprehend what the pink party mare had just said, let alone the amount of oxygen it would take to say it. She had proceed to, upon locking on to the Sora, tackle him hard into the ground, much like how Twilight had done to him, and crushed his lungs and ribs as she gave him a much too affectionate hug. He struggled as he began to lose the oxygen he believed he needed to say alive. He really couldn't think straight at the time so he really didn't know if he needed it or not.

The group had made it to their first destination, Sugar Cube Corner, where Pinkie Pie resided. Upon first seeing her, Sora could have sworn that the pink party mare's mane had been uncharasticly straight just before she had gasped and tacked him. But thats just silly.

Right?

“Pinkie!” Twilight said in an irritated tone, the lavender mare, prying the pink party mare (With a great amount of difficulty) off of Sora. Her death glare to her friend was only matched by Pinkie’s innocent smile. After a few long seconds, and the allowance of Sora get on his hooves and regain his much needed oxygen supply, the lavender mare rolled her eyes before setting the pink one back down on her hooves , the latter instantly wrapping her hooves around Sora once again, though with less pressure then before.

Sora returned the hug before with one of his own, making the pink mare giggle happily. After a few seconds the pink mare pulled away, smiling brightly at the Keyblader. “So are you gonna tell them!? Huh? HUH? HUH!?!”

Sora nodded before pounding his chest. “I did Pinkie Pie Promise, didn’t I?” He asked, to which she beamed even brighter.

“Yep! Yep you did!! And you never brake a Pinkie Promise cause braking a Pinkie Promise is the best way to lose a friend," She paused before rearing up on her hind legs and spreading her forelegs above her, "FOREVER!" She set back down on all fours. "And you don’t want to do that now, do you?” She said before bouncing around the stallion and making her way to Twilight's side. “Well then come on! We need to get the other girls and then we get to hear the fantastical tale of Sora, the Warrior of Light and wielder of the Keyblade!!”

Twilight giggled before nudging the stallion. “Hear that, Warrior of Light?” She said in a joking manner, the stallion instantly blushing and looking away. "Looks like that title is sticking with ya."

“H-Hey...Are you picking on-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Applejack pushed her head into his flank, pushing him out the door.

“No time, Sugercube. Now let’s git!”

“Ack! Okay, okay! Don’t push!” Sora yelped as he was forced out of the store, Twilight and Pinkie giggling as they followed after once the pink party mare bid farewell to Mrs. Cake, the pastry mare nodding to the little group as they left Sugar Cube Corner.

"Sora..."

Rarity's normally upbeat voice held a miserable tone as Sora stood before her. She gave him a rather long, hard stare, furrowing her brow more and more the longer she did so, and all he could do was stand there as she stared daggers at him, the mare circling him slowly. After stopping in front of him and clearing her throat, she came within inches from his own face before saying. "You do know I am very angry with you right now, correct?"

Sora could only nod in response.

"Good..." The marshmallow mare continued as he pressed herself against the nervous stallion. "Now that that is out of the way." She wrapped her hooves around his neck, just as the others had down, drawing him into a gentle embrace. "I'm oh, so glad you are okay Sora...I was so, so worried and when you didn't..." Her frown returned as she looked at the bags strapped across his back as if seeing them for the first time. "Darling...Why are you wearing the bags I made you that way?"

Sora blinked before looking towards his back. "Oh! Ah...I thought they were the kind of bags that you guys usually wear. They did seem kind of odd when I tried to put them on though."

Rarity tisked before levitating the bags in a gentle glow of blue magic. "That is because they are meant for your hind legs, darling, like a strap on." The white unicorn held her head up as as she began to explain. "Your unusual dress style had got me thinking of different ways for us to wear fashionable yet comfortable styles. One of which is what I gave you here." Rarity smiled a smile that was a bit too predatory. "Now then," she moved to his side. "Allow me to...hmm...Show you the right way of putting this on." She mused, reaching for the side of his flank. Her actions did not go unnoticed however as Applejack snatched the back out of mid air before shoving them into Sora's hooves.

"He can do it himself later, Rarity." Applejack deadpanned.

Rarity glared at the farm mare before looking away, holding her muzzle in the air. "Fine...But I do have many other fashions for him to try on later." She said with a gentle smile before looking away and adding under her breath. "Without a pesky chaperone of coarse."

"Um...Ah...Sorry if I'm bothering you. I can come back later if that’s okay."

Everypony turned to see a familiar, butter yellow mare peeping from around a door frame, a timid blush forming on her cheeks as she saw that she was now the focus of attention.

"Fluttershy! You’re here, darling!" Rarity said with a bright smile. "I am sorry but we will have to postpone that fitting for now."

The shy mare shook her head. "I...It’s okay, Rarity." She said before her eyes gazed towards the caramel stallion. As his own met hers she began to shiver slightly, a guilty feeling emanating from the Sora’s eyes all too clear in her own. Slowly she made her way to the stallion standing in front of him. She gave herself a determined nod before she leaned into him and nuzzled his neck gently, pulling away a second later, a heavy blush forming on her cheeks . "Um...Ah...I'm glad you’re okay, Sora...I was...I was really worried about you and...well..." She trailed off before squeaking adorably.

Sora smiled as he placed a hoof on her shoulder, an act that caused the mare to shift her hooves in a circle in a nervous fit of embarrassment. "Applejack said you took care of me while I was out...If thats so, then thanks. Guess I caused all of you a lot of trouble huh?”

“Oh! No...I...Um...I’m ok...really…”

“Fluttershy.” Applejack said with a raised eyebrow.

The sound of her friend’s berating tone caused the mare to cringe. She looked up towards the sadly smiling stallion before saying.”O-Okay. I was...well...devastated. I thought that we had lost you. I...I mean....”

Sora sighed as he looked away from her. "I'm sorry I put all of you though that. And I'm sorry I've been keeping things from from. About me...About where I come from...What I actually do...And about what might be happening now." He folded his hooves across his chest before saying, "I think that whats happening here and what I have been though might be connected."

Twilight lowered her head. "Princess Celestia said pretty much the same when she talked about Sunset Shimmer." She sighed before looking towards her friends. "The princesses have a lot of things to tell me too, and I plan on getting all the information I can out of them tonight. We are meeting at Applejack's barn so that we can have a bit of privacy. Spike is asleep at the library, so as soon as I get him we can start."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "What about Dash? Don't we need to find her?"

His gaze feel to Pinke Pie, who had been looking out a window. She had noticed and gave the Keyblader a big smile . "That’s not gonna be a problem, silly billy. Now, let’s get going!" She bounced out of the room, heading towards the barn.

Sora looked to where Pinkie had left before looking back at Applejack. The farm mare only chuckled. "If she says it won't be a problem then I'm inclined to trust her." She gave a wink. "Now come on Sugar Cube, y'all got a story to tell us."

"Sora!? Your're awake!? And you’re okay!"

"Dude! That was a wicked battle before! Your like! Awsome!"

"I was so worried! Please don't do that ever again!"

Sora was barely prepared as three familiar fillies outside of Sweet Apple Acres's barn house pounced upon the stallion, each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders cheering him for his bravery and berating him for worrying them, Applebloom almost crying as she held his left forleg in a vice like grip, not waiting to let go of him for fear of him disappearing.

With the ammout of ponies that had come to the barn, including the Three princesses and a recovered Shining Armor (Much to Sora's relief and surprise) , it was starting to become quite the little party. So much so, in fact, that Pinkie Pie had set up balloons and streamers a quite a few party food prior to them arriving at their destination.

Which was unnerving to the others since there was no sign of Pinkie preparing for this shindig at any point in the day, nor did she know that Sora was awake until a few hours ago.

Nopony dwelled on it though, saying it was just Pinkie Pie, once again, being Pinkie Pie.

The gathering was completed as Twilight and Spike entered the barn, the lavender mare greeting both her Brother and Sister-in-law before bowing to the other princessess

Making her way to the young Key Blade Wielder, Cadence bowed her head gently to him. "Sora...It is good to see you again." The princess of love said with a gentle smile.

Sora, despite himself, gave the mare a wide grin, placing both hooves behind his head as he rocked back and forth. "It's good to see you too Princess. Your looking a lot more colorful."

Cadence giggled, covering a hoof to her mouth as she did so. "Yes well...Sleep does wonders for the soul. And please, I would like it if you just called me Cadence."

"We play catch up later Sora," Twilight interrupted as she stood in front of the boy "Not to rush your are anything but I think it’s high time you tell us about who you really are." She said sitting on her haunches in front of him, a quill and parchment appearing beside her.

Sora looked about at everyone that was staring back at him expectedly, even the Princesses, or more so Luna, giving him their full attention. After a deep sigh he closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts, his hooves folding about his chest.

"Well, how should I begin this?" He asked himself before opening his eyes. "It all started when I began to have these weird dreams lately..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZPsjy76TBo

As Sora began his tale, a pair of magenta eyes watched him from above, making nary a sound as she listened in on the young keyblader’s tale.

It went without saying that there was nothing left to say when Sora had finally finished his tale. From where it had all began when his home, Destiny Island, was destroyed by the darkness; all the way to his failure at the Keyblade Master Exam in the World of Dreams, all his days of adventures was laid out for the ponies to hear.

He had told them of the worlds he had seen, the people he visited, and the monsters he fought, all of which was both unreal, and fanatical in their telling.

Sighing as his tell came to an end, the caramel boy turned stallion sat on his haunches, and scratched the back of his head as a prolonged silence filled the whole of the room. “So...ah...Well...Thats it I guess."

Twilight, Applejack and (amazingly) Pinkie Pie had remained quiet throughout all of the explanation. The former more out of contemplation of what he had just told them and the latter having stuffed her muzzle full of buttery popcorn every few seconds, rendering her ability to speak, except the occasional “WHOOHOO!!” where appropriate.

Sora still wondered when she had even popped the popcorn, not seeing her leave at any point during his story.

Then he remembered who he was asking about and moved on to the rest of the ponies.

The farm mare held an air of knowing, as if every word he spoke, no matter how outlandish or crazy, was nothing but the truth. Sora had figured that it had to do with element somehow. She was the embodiment of honesty after all. He thought back to the times when she had trusted in him, no matter what danger they were in.

His gaze shifted towards Fluttershy, and even he could see the telltale signs of crying staining her cheeks. He had remembered her choked gasp when his story had shifted to him losing both of his friends near the beginning. When he had gotten to the final confrontation at Hollow Bastion, and evidently, Riku’s betrayal, he could clearly see that she was on the verge of crying.

Cadence, Rarity, and even Pinkie along with the three fillies had shed more than a few tears when he had told them about his sacrifice to save Kairi’s heart by unlocking his own knowing full well that he would lose his heart in the process (Though Scootaloo would swear to this day that she had something stuck in both of her eyes).

There was a collective sigh of relief as well as one very loud happy cheer as he had told them that it was friendship with Kairi that saved him from losing himself completely to the darkness, having remembered her and his friends, even after turning into a heartless.

Celestia watched the stallion at the time, a far away look slipping on to her normally calm features, “The power of Friendship…truly an amazing thing…” He had heard her say just before looking to her left.

The princess of the sun soon had given her sister a look, one that was almost regretful if Sora was reading her correctly. Luna only kept her eyes on Sora though, her face betraying the emotions of both envy and sadness. The carmel stallion could only blink at her at the time, not really knowing why he was getting such a vibe from the princess of the moon.

The keyblader shook is head of the memories before turning his gaze to that of the three little fillies, one of which, he noticed, was shaking speratickly.

“Scootaloo?” Sora asked up, inching closer to her. “Are you…Are you ok?” The stallion gently placed a hoof upon her shoulder, the second mistake he would make that day.

He was given his answer when she screamed the loudest, most heartfelt cheer of happiness he had ever heard any person or pony say, followed by a hard tackle to the hey filled ground, rendering the normally stable hero laying pinned on with a rather giddy filly stareing stright at him. When he gained some form of coherence, he was met with the biggest smile he had ever seen the orange filly bare in his short time of knowing her.

“That.” She began, her eyes staying glued to the caramel stallion. “Was! SO! WICKED!!” She ended, her excitement making her jump into the air and hover, her wings buzzing loudly before she floated back to the ground, as she said the last pary. “You really are an alien right?! And you really did do everything you told us, right!?”

Sora blinked at the girl’s questions, unable to process them fast enough to answer correctly. However before he could gather the sense enough to answer, some small and surprisingly strong latched onto his foreleg..

“Not an alien.” Applebloom reprimanded Scoots. “ He doesn’t have weird tentacles or two mouths like in that one book Big Mac Keeps on the top shelf.” She pulled at the downed stallion’s foreleg, gently nuzzling the caramel fur after she did so. “Plus you've seen him in action yourself Scoots. Ah mean he took on an eighteen story high monster back at the crystal empire as if it was a light workout. Not to mention he saved us loads of times!” She looked up towards the stallion with bright sparkling eyes and blushing cheeks. "Right Sora?"

Sora looked away from the filly, scratching the back of his head. "Well...wouldn’t say it was a light workout…” He smiled brightly. “ But there was no way I was going to lose to a jerk like that!" He declared.

Scootaloo squeaked as she smiled down at the stallion “Spoken like a true hero!” Scootaloo jumped up and down on the stallion (An action his lungs weren't too fond of) as she began to say. “HeroheroheroHEROHERO! HE’S A HERO FOR CELESTIA’S SAKE!” Scootaloo gushed. “So! Tell me how many monsters have you defeated? Do you still have any of that fairy dust? Can I see your hero badge? NO! WAIT! TELL ME HOW I CAN I GET A KEYBLADE!”

“Now Scootaloo,” Applejack reprimanded with a chuckle. “He can’t go and tell ya anything if’n y’all don’t let him breath.”

Scootaloo gasped as she looked where she was standing, quickly jumping off of him and giving Sora a sheepish smile. “Ah…Heheh…Sorry Sora…”

Sora, for his part, just gave a winded laugh as he sat fully up, rubbing his chest. “No worries Scoots. Like ya said, I’m a hero!” He said, pounding his chest. Of course said action caused the keyblader to go into a fit of coughs.

Applejack chuckled before helping the caramel stallion to get back up onto his hoove. “Ah have ta say Sora that is, without a shadow of a doubt, ah mighty tall tale y’all just told us,” She paused before putting on the warmest smile he had ever seen you use. “But, as it were I was party to your most recent adventure and ah can honestly say you were telling the honest truth.”

Sora smiled before locking his forehooves behind his head. “Yeah. It kinda felt like a dream to me to. One part really was a dream.” He lowereed his hooves back to the ground at the memory of the keyblade exam before shaking himself from his funk. “So...We’re still friends...Right?”

Rarity coughed into her hoof politely, gaining everyponies attention. “That, my dear Sora, goes without saying. You have more than earned the right for us to call you a friend.”

Sora smiled a little at her words before asking. “And you’re not mad at me?”

“Mad?” Twilight said with, her eyes wide with both awe and wonder as her mind seemed to get back on page with the rest. “Are you kidding me?! I learned that there are worlds out there! Worlds full of things and places I’ve never seen or heard of before! More importantly, there are worlds full of things that I have heard of! Hydras! Dragons! Golems! You’ve seen it all and more!” Twilight had gotten uncomfortably close to Sora as she talked, her forehead pressing right into his own by the end of her rant.

Rarity saved the poor stallion by placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, pulling the mare back to give Sora a bit of between her two friends. “Twilight Dear please calm down.” She turned to Sora. “And what my dear friend is trying to say darling, is that no, she is not mad at you for not telling, or rather she is but not for the reasons you think she is mad, if I am correct.” She gave him a warm smile. “Nor am I or any of the others for that matter. You have been through quite a bit before coming here. Knowing that, I can understand the reasons why you tried to not get us involved. Why you try so hard to protect us. You, my dear, are truly are a good pony-Err-Person who was trying to look out for our best interest.” She said, correcting herself with the title at the end.

Pinkie Pie smiled brightly as she hopped around the stallion. “Yeah! You’re super special awesome for taking on so many baddies and fighting for justice everywhere!”

Fluttershy blushed as she gently brushed her leg against his own, gaining his attention. “Um, if you don’t mind me saying, oh do I hope its ok and I’m not out of line, but you really are brave to have faced so many dangerous things.” She looked up towards the stallion, a huge blush forming on her cheeks as she did so. “Scootaloo is right Sora. You really are a hero.”

“Well…Um...” Sora stammered, his wings twitching slightly at the touch of her hoof, before giving her a big smile. “All in a days work Shy. Heh, though most of the time I did have to depend on my friends for help whenever things got tough. I doubt I would have been able to get very far without them.” He looked at his hooves as he spoke, a far off look in his eyes. “The same could be said for now as it was back then. Without AJ’s or Pinkie Pie’s I might have lost back there.”

A hoof gently lifted Sora chin, and to his surprise, he found himself staring in the eyes of Twilight’s sister-in-law, Cadance. “Sora, the fact you rely on your friends to help you when you need it means you know your limits.” She pulled her hoof away and smiled at him. “I would think, in the end, that is why the keyblade choose you in the end. Not because of your power, but because of the kindness in your heart and your natural power to be connected to so many hearts.”

Shining Armor nodded in agreement at his wife’s statement. “She’s right, relying on your friends to help you pick up the slack is always a good thing.” The stallion gently wrapped a hoof around the princess of love, kissing her cheek, much to everyone’s (but Scootaloo’s) enjoyment.

Luna nodded, her eyes still having a far away look to them. “Tis true. Its a good thing that you have friends to pull you from the Darkness. A darkness that this Xehanort cretin seems to use without mercy.” She frowned as she pounded the floor below her. “Power like his is a terrible terrible thing…”

Sora could see, just like before, a pained expression of helplessness on the princess of the moon’s features. Before he could comment on it however, he was pulled into a bone crushing hug by the Pink Party Pony herself. “Hey Yeah! Big McMeanine Xenanana is the bad one for sure!”

Sora forgot his momentary pain for the second to laugh at Pinkie Pie’s silly pronunciation at his most dangerous foe’s name. “HAHAHA! Ok! Now that was funny Pinkie!”

Once Sora had settled down, the key bearer eyes widened momentarily, a memory from his last battle playing out in his mind. He remembered a being standing over him, and a voice that was all too familiar.

“Thanks for making her worry...Lazy Bones.”

Sora lowered his head. “I have to get stronger though…” He whispered softly. “Or...It’ll happen again…”

He felt a hoof gently brush against his leg, breaking him out of his deep stupor. Looking over, he found himself staring into the big blue orbs of Fluttershy’s eyes. “Sora…Are you ok?” She asked with a bit of worry.

Sora blinked before smacking his face with both hooves. He gave the mare a big bright smile and a nod. “Yeah! Just, more tired than I thought I guess.” He lied.

The caramel stallion looked over towards Celestia just as she raised an eyebrow in his direction. He caught a sad knowing look before she turned it into a contemplative one. “In any case, I must admit what you said disturbs me quite a bit. He had controlled you and your friends actions from the start all the way through your exams. While I am glad you were able to escape unharmed from his grasp, I am more worried than ever about the enemy we now face. We have yet to see these…Nobodies as you call them, but if they are born from Heartless then it is only a matter of time before we we do.”

Twilight looked towards the solar princess as realization finally kicked in. “Your right princess! And we still have Sunset to deal with, along with her “Master”. Not to mention Chrysalis is running around again?” She threw her gaze towards sora. “Why is your friend working with her anyway? Do you think she’s controlling him with her magic?”

"I don’t know much about Chrysalis, but Riku..." Sora looked away, an indifferent tone being held in check as he said his friend’s name. When he looked up and noticed everyponies eyes on him, he shook his head and released a sigh before looking away. “Riku isn’t weak. Whatever he’s doing he’s doing it on his own, and I’m more then sure he’s still one of the good guys. He did save us after all.”

Celestia nodded as she gave a reassuring smile, "Then I shall trust your judgment on this Sora.” She turned to face the others. “For the most part, he seemed concerned about everyponies welfare and I felt no evil magic at work when he was in front of me, though I did feel something familiar.” She looked towards her sister for a second before turning back to the others. “Chrysalis, despite our differences, seems to be bent on helping Riku, and she did save Shining Armor, am I wrong?”

The stallion in question grew a scowl as he looked away. “She…Did…”

Celestia nodded. “What Chrysalis wants out of all of this still worries me, but I believe that Riku has a good head on his shoulders." She shook her head before saying. “For now. until we know more, our enemy is the one who had given King Sombra his powers in the first place.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Wait...What do you mean princess?”

Celestia sighed before looking upwards. “Oh long ago I felt something during Sombra’s first uprising. Something that was so covered in darkness it even made me shiver. I had forgotten about it at the same time that the Crystal Empire disappeared sadly and I have not felt anything like it until Nightmare Moon’s returned.” She sighed and looked towards the others. “If Nightmare Moon and Sombra are connected.

Twilight tilted her head. “Wait…Princess, it was prophesied that Nightmare would return. How is she and Sombra related?”

“Twilight,” Celestia said softly before looking away. “That is a story for another time.”

Twilight wanted to say more, to ask more, but the look her teacher gave her said to let it drop for now. Twilight bit her bottom lip and then nodded. She was sure this information was going to plague her for the next few nights.

Celestia sighed before continuing. “I know not who it is, but I know that they are responsible for everything that happened in the Crystal Empire, both the first time and the more recent time. Whatever they are trying to accomplish I know not. What I do know is it put my ponies at risk. If things didn’t play out right, then would have lost more just the kingdom.”

“Be that as it may, dear sister, we did not. We not only gained back our memories but the lost empire, as well as all of the ponies who were lost to it as well.” Luna said with a reassuring smile.

Celestia smiled. “Yes, that much is true. They must not have expected our wild card, Sora, to be so resourceful, as well as Riku and the Queen’s timely intervention, so they were unprepared for such a devastating lost.” Celestia gently bowed her head towards the hero, causing him to blush a bit. “On behalf of the citizens of the Crystal Empire and Equestira itself, you have my utmost thanks Sora.

Sora blinked before placing both hooves behind his head, grinning widely. “It’s no biggie, Tia.” He was oblivious to the looks that Shining Armor and Twilight kept throwing his way each time he said the princess’s name. The Princess in question only giggled before nodding towards the keyblader.

Pinkie laughed before smiling brightly. “Have agree with him there Princess.” Pinkie Pie snickered before making her way to the barn door. “Alright! Now if serious time is out of the way,” She quickly opened the door, revealing more than a few ponies outside, making their way towards the barn much to everyone’s surprise. “Let’s get this party started right!!”

Twilight’s eyes twitched. “Wait! When did you…?”

Applejack quickly covered the mares mouth. “Twi…Don’t…Just don’t. She’s Pinkie Pie…That’s all we need ta know.”

~

Sora had found himself escaping the party, having danced and surprisingly sung so hard that he believed a quick breather would do him some good. With a sigh, he set himself under an apple tree, which he believed was the same apple tree he had met the CMC under. He closed his eyes as he listened to the party raging within the barn. He couldn’t count the times Applejack had to pull Pinkie Pie by her tail off the firewood table, if only so that she didn’t follow through with her plan to pull off a dog pile on it. Or was it pony pile?

She shook his head. “Oh well…Heh…” He said, letting the matter drop. Instead his mind went to what was important. He placed a hoof over his chest and sighed. ‘So what do I do now? Celestia said that for now I can’t follow after Riku.’ He sighed and leaned forward a bit, pulling his forelegs close to himself. “Not that he needs my help anyway. Doubt he would accept it…”

“Hey Idiot!”

Sora yelped and flew his head back, only to abruptly thump it into the tree. Adding insult to injury, three apples fell from the branches, all aimed directly on top of the stallions head by pure luck. He groaned as he rubbed the sore spot on top of his crown. “Ow…”

“Geeze…” Said the voice after releasing snort of amusement. Sora could tell it was definitely closer than before. “Never seen applebucking like that. Maybe I should tell AJ to try your technique.”

Sora opened his eyes to find a certain cyan mare making her way towards him. His eyes widened before he quickly sat up. “Rainbow! You’re here! Listen, I have to tell you a lot of things and-“

The rainbow maned mare gently tapped his forehead with a hoof. “Don’t worry. I already know.”

Sora raised an eyebrow as he rubbed the place she had tapped. “You do?”

Rainbow frowned as she shifted her head towards the barn. “I heard it all. I was up in the rafters.” She stood in front of him, her tail wrapping around her legs as she did so. “So no need to say you’re sorry and all that sappy stuff. I had many non-pony friends so I don’t care if you’re not really a pony.” She waited until he released a sigh of relief before continued. “What I am mad about is that fact that you would allow yourself to get hurt! Even die for ponies you barely know!!” She said poking him in the chest as she spoke.

“But…” Sora stammered. He heard the roar of thunder rebounding across the cloudy sky and felt the telltale signs of rain upon the exposed bits of his furry body.

“Yeah, yeah! She cut him off. “You were ‘only doing what’s right’ and ‘I would do anything for my friends’! Is that what you were going to say?! Well don’t because I already know your reasons!”

Sora raised a hoof to say something but was cut off again.

“And you know what! I’m mad because of that! You didn’t give a flying flip about how we would have felt if you was taking by that witch or worse! All you cared about was what you wanted! You wanted to protect us! You wanted to keep us out of danger! Don’t you think that if we didn’t want anything to do with you we would have come!?” Rainbow lowered her head as she glared at him. “We came because we called you a friend and wanted to help you. Not just because we had to. We wanted to help you even when you told us not to. If you had been thinking, maybe that silly key of yours could have opened that bubble that trapped us. Then we could have helped you and you would have not been hurt!”

Sora, had not thought about that actually. “Yeah…but…”

“But nothing!” HGe could see her visibly shake as the rain began to pour harder and harder around them. Her matted mane covered the mares face as she spoke again, roaring above the rain. “All I could do was sit there! I was helpless. I couldn’t stop you from getting hurt…I…” She shook her head. “You idiot!” he barely registered the mare coming at him. He also barely registered her as he nearly knocking the wind out of him.

What he did notice however, what the hiccups as she shook against him.

“Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. You. Bucking. Idiot.” With each word she hit his chest; that is if Sora could count gentle tapings as hits. “If you do that again; if you even think about sacrificing yourself to save us; then I’ll save you and beat the livin hell out of you myself until you get it through that thick skull that we still want you around.”

Sora softened his gaze as he raised a hoof to gently pat Rainbow’s back. “Sorry Dash.” He said before pulling her away.

Rainbow only nodded at his response before pushing herself off of him. She gave him a dirty glare, despite how much the rain was making her look like a wet dog. “And if you tell anypony about this, I’ll Sonic Rainboom you into space, ya gat that!!” She said. “Now come on! There’s cake with my name on it!” She said, whipping herself around.

Sora chuckled before getting up on his hooves. He looked up towards the sky, a frown crossing his features. He could feel something watching him in the darkness. “Whoever you are...You better watch out.” He said just before following after the cyan mare.

Applebloom peered out the window as she watched Sora, her sister, and two of her sister’s friends make their way down the dirt path away from Sweet Apple Acres. She couldn’t help but release an exasperated sigh as she leapt from her bed and began to stroll around the room in an impatient manor.

It stands to reason that, as soon as she had gotten home from the Crystal Empire, she and her fellow crusaders had been punished quite thoroughly. Even Big Mac had given her a stern talking to, which was something no filly ever wanted if one knew just how seldom the normally silent earth pony was. She had been forced, as well as Sweetie and Scootaloo, to help around the farm doing a lot of the dirty work. A tedious and back breaking task that was made less tedious when she was offered help by her crush.

“I kinda felt that that they got in trouble because of me. Besides, I’m still helping around the farm right?”

Those were his words to her sister, Applejack, when she had asked why he was helping them with their punishment. The yellow filly was in giddy excitement the rest of the day as she worked side by side with the caramel stallion. Sure, at first she had liked him due to looks alone, but the more she had spent with him the past three days, the more she had got to know him. His happy-go-lucky personality. His reassuring smile as he placed a Band-Aid upon her skinned forehoof. The way he would always try to find an excuse for he and her friends to take a break. He was kind beyond measure in her eyes, always looking out for others.

She had watched Sora as CMC and he had dozed under the tree today, their morning work getting done a bit faster because of him. He had rested with his forehooves under the back of his head, his body laid out upon the grass as the shade of the tree cooled the upper half his body. She could still remember the warmth as her head pressed gently into his side, the little filly fending off the cool of the shade as she huddled close to his side.

She had cherished every moment that she had spent with him that day.

“Applebloom?”

The little filly epped at the sound of Granny Smith’s voice behind her, the old mare tilting her head as she looked to the little filly. “Applebloom, you were awful quiet up here. Came to check up on ya.”

“Oh…AH…Sorry Granny…” The yellow filly said looking towards the old mare. “I’m not causing no trouble…Honest.”

“I can see that…What with you wearing a rut in the carpet with all that pacing you’re doing.” Granny Smith made her way to Applebloom’s bed, sitting upon as she did so. “Ya look like ya got something on your mind.”

Applebloom bit her lower lip as she looked away. She knew that when Granny Smith could see one of her kin out of sorts then she would not let it go for all the apples orchards in the world. With a heavy sigh, the little filly climbed her way sit beside the old mare, her hooves fiddling with the fur in her own lap.

“Ah guess ya can say that granny…”

The old mare placed a hoof over her shoulder. “Wanna talk about it Young’un?’

“Well…” The little filly began. “There’s this…uh…Filly, who has a crush on a colt…but doesn’t know how to go about it and tell em…” She paused before shaking her head. “No…Its more like i-I mean she’s too scared to tell em.”

Granny raised an eyebrow. “Well…What’s this colt like?”

“He’s nice…and Kind…Goofy and a bit lazy, but will always help out even if he has trouble doing some things.” A blush started to form on her cheeks. “He would even put himself into harm’s way for his friends.” A twinge of pain formed in her chest as memories of seeing Sora beaten made their way to her mind.

“Sounds like quite the keeper, this stallion of hers.” Granny Smith told her. “And, ya say you’re friend is too scared ta say anything to him? Why do ya think that is young’un?”

“I…I mean she doesn’t really know, I guess.”

“You guess?”

Applebloom tugged at the sheets under her hoof. “Well…I reckon she’s scared that he might…reject her…For being a silly filly. All she did was cause trouble for him…”

“Well young’un…If this pony is as nice as you say he is, then maybe your “friend” should know better than that.”

“Ah know granny…but…Still…”

“Has your friend ever been scared before?”

“Well…Ah…Ah guess not…” Applebloom said hesitantly.

“Then why don’t your friend ask him, and if he’s as nice as you say, then Ah doubt he would be outright cold to her.”

“Yeah...I guess you're right Granny.” She smiled as she nuzzled the old mare’s neck gently. “I’ll go tell my friend tomorrow about what you said she should do. Thanks Granny!”

The old mare chortled softly before gently patting her granddaughter softly upon her head. “Anything for one of my kin.” She mused softly.

Applebloom watched as Granny Smith made her way out the room and closed the door. As soon as she had, the little filly got to work planning. “Right! Tomorrow! I’ll definitely tell him tomorrow!” She blushed deeply as she giggled.

There was a flash as three ponies landed in a heap on the ground within the empty clearing. Sora had landed belly down with his legs sprawled in four different directions, a dizzy look replacing is bright blue eyes. Applejack was sprawled across him, her hat floating gently until it came to rest askew on top of her head. Last was Pinkie Pie, the pink party pony lying on her back on the farm mare, completing the odd star shaped pony pile they had made. Pinkie’s usually curly mane even sagging bit; somehow mirroring its owner’s exhausted expression.

“Wow…” The Pinkie mused as she held a hoof in the air. “That was super-der-ificly tiring. I don’t even think I can bounce to the moon with how exhausted I am.”

Applejack groaned, not even bothering to try to comprehend what the Pink mare had said. Instead, she slowly turned to face Fluttershy, the yellow mare making her way to the pony pile. “Ugh…How long were we at it this time Fluttershy?”

The yellow mare held up the stop watch so that she could see. “A little less than five minutes…That’s better than last time at least…” She said giving the mare a hopeful smile.

“Only by four seconds!” Rainbow said as she landed beside Fluttershy.

Having had nothing to do for after completing her weather duties for the day three two days ago, the cyan mare had decided to come to Applejack’s farm for a quick visit and to “Not visit the Hero!” She had, as calmly as she could, put it. It is here that she saw Sora within his valor form, the keyblades of Honesty and Laughter within his hooves. She had learned from Fluttershy that the trio had been practicing like this every day after the party via Sora’s request.

“I’m gonna start taking my own advice.” Were Sora’s words prior to training, “And start relying on my friends more. Starting with getting used to my new abilities.”

It was their third day of this special training and so far only little progress was made.

“Yeah…but that’s for seconds of time we could use wisely.” Applejack said as she tried to lift herself up, effectively making Pinkie fall onto the ground in a giggling mess of flailing limbs. “But wowwie…hate the fact that it leaves ya so darned drained after we do that fuse thingy. Makes me feel all weird too…” She added the last part under her breath.

Sora groaned as he rolled onto his back stretching the ache out of his limbs. “Five times in so short a time is a bit much, even for me.” He slowly turned until he got back on his hooves. “Maybe we should call it a day for now.”

Fluttershy nodded as slowly moved her way to the stallion. “Yes…I…Um…Don’t think it’s good to over exert yourself either Sora…I mean…No offence…but you are still pretty much recovering.”

Sora shook his head before pounding his chest. “No worries Shy! Those Potions I got helped me out a lot. I hope your zebra friend is right about being able to make a few more for us.”

“Don’t y’all worry none about that Sora.” Applejack assured. “If there is anypony that knows how to whip up a good tonic it would be our pal Zecora. She is one of the best potion brewers in Ponyville.”

“Though…and I hope you don’t mind me saying so…She technically lives in the Everfree forest…” Fluttershy squeaked before hiding behind Sora.

Applejack chuckled before shaking her head. “Heh…Ya got me there Shy.” The farm mare turned to Sora as she gave him a wink. “What say we call it a day then partner? I’m plum tuckered out and Ah think a bit of rest would do us all some good, You’ve been on edge ever since you woke up.”

Sora’s eyes widened before looking away from her. “Yeah…Sorry about that. I just…I just don’t want to get caught off guard again like last time. If Sunset Shimmer attacks again-“

“Then you can bet she’s gonna get a buck to the face!” Rainbow growled, startling Fluttershy as she let a timid squeak.

“Darn tooting.” AJ mused as she tipped her hat. “No way is she gonna pull the same trick twice on us and get away with it.”

“Um…” Fluttershy squeaked. “If you don’t mind me say, and I hope you don’t, could we possibly talk about something else. If that’s ok with you that is.”

Rainbow was about to protest but stopped when she glanced over towards Sora, the keyblade wielder looking away from the group, a frown upon his usually kind features. The cyan mare rubbed the back of her head before saying. “Yeah...Uh…So any news about where your friend went Sora?”

Perking up, the caramel stallion’s ears stood up, though his face told the others all of what he had to say before he said it. “No…Sorry Rainbow.”

“Well in any case, I think we should head on back home. I’m sure Granny Smith has a heaping helping of dinner hot and ready for us soon Sora.”

Sora smiled brightly at the farm mare’s words. “Sweet! Granny Smith’s food is the best!” Before The Keyblader could get too far, he was stopped by Fluttershy, the yellow mare gently grasping his coat tightly and looking at him pleadingly. The stallion raised an eyebrow to the mare before realization caught up to him. “Oh! Heh…Sorry about that Shy. I’ll walk you home like yesterday.”

Fluttershy smiled with relief at his words, pressing herself as close to Sora as she thought was right as Sora waved to her two other friends before trotting away with her. The yellow mare had been scared to death of traveling anywhere alone when it was close to being dark. She had, with much difficulty, had Sora if he would accompany her to her home if he could. Being the kindhearted person he was, there was no doubt that he had said yes, much to her excitement.

Rainbow, who had stopped to watch the pair walk off towards Fluttershy’s home, scoffed in silent annoyance.

“Well…That’s a surprising reaction ya got right there Rainbow.”

The Rainbow mare turned to glare at her Applejack, her apple farmer friend having a slightly smug look on her muzzle.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about AJ.” Rainbow scoffed as she turned to fly away.

“Sure ya don’t Rainbow.” The mare mused as she rolled her eyes. “I won’t press if y’all don’t want me too.”

“Good!” Rainbow said as she folded her hooves before glaring at AJ. “Because, of course, there’s nothing to talk about at all.”

“Right…” Applejack mused before she looked off towards the Keyblade Wielder and Yellow mare retreating in the distance. “Whatever helps ya sleep at night Dash. Oh and here.” The farm mare tossed a deeply sleeping Pinkie in her direction, the Pegasus bearing keeping herself aloft as she caught the party mare. “Get her home will ya? Since you’ve clearly got nowhere else to be at the moment.”

Rainbow, struggling to hold Pinkie, glared at Applejack as the farm mare trotted away, chuckling softly to herself.

Celestia’s sun slowly began to disappear behind the horizon as Sora and Fluttershy made their way down the dirt path leading to the mare’s cottage. The young Keyblade Wielder trotted at a slow and even pace, keeping with Fluttershy’s usual speed. Every now and then his gaze would fall to some distant movement, as if expecting something to appear all of a sudden, something that Fluttershy suspected would happen as well. Still, despite that, the two would walk in semi-comfortable silence.

One would say semi-comfortable due to the fact that Sora was completely oblivious to Fluttershy’s nervousness every time he would accidently bump into the yellow mare, eliciting a quiet “epp” and a twitch of the mare’s wings every time he did so. He also didn’t see the glances she would steal every time she felt she could get away with it.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel guilty a little at having have Sora lead her back home every chance she could get. She could have just as easily asked her friends and she knew they would be more than happy to accompany her to her cottage. She knew the real reason why she would always ask him, and it pained her to deceive him liked this. She kept trying to push the thought away, but the more she was around him, the more it grew evident within her, and she didn’t, in all honesty, want that feeling to go away. They shy mare looked to the one beside her, his pure blue eyes shimmering in the light of Luna’s moon, catching her breath away.

Fluttershy liked him.

She frowned.

No…She knew it was more than just that. She honestly believed that she really, really liked him. Maybe even…Love?

Fluttershy’s eyes drew to the ground as she tried to reason with the concept. The more she thought about it though, the more it became evident.

Besides a few, many of the stallions around Ponyville would be rough or impatient with her timid personality, which stands to reason; due to many of the mares she knew having more of a take charge attitude about them then she could ever hope to muster. She was, in fact, a rarity among her kind. And many of the stallions who would tolerate her were always after one thing. What that thing was, she dare not say, even in her mind, but she knew they were after it.

Sora wasn’t like that though. While many of the colts his age would usually be all about mares and how many they could get, Sora was more concerned about her and her friends wellbeing, even going so far as to put himself into harm’s way to save them.

To save her.

She blushed at her thoughts.

Sora was nice and sweet and good and kind. Something she had admired about ever since she got to know him.

“Hey Shy?”

The yellow mare epped in surprise, stumbling as she heard her name being called by the caramel pony.

“Woah!” Sora caught the mare before she could know what dirt tasted like, pulling her close to his frame as he did so. The caramel stallion looked down at the yellow mare, one his eyebrow raised. “Ah…You okay?”

Fluttershy’s face took on a new shade of red as she leaned against Sora. She could feel the gentle throb of his heartbeat within his chest, as well as the heat of his breath upon the top of her forehead. The butter yellow mare gulped as she tried to calm the rapid beat of her heart before reluctantly pulling away from him, the cool of the summer night air chilling her body as she left his embrace.

“Y-Yes…Ah…Sorry…” Keeping her eyes towards the ground below her.

Sora blinked before putting on that goofy smile she seemed to love so much. “Hey, it’s ok Shy. Can’t tell you how many times I space out and wasn’t watching where I was going either.” His hoof gently brushed off a bit of dirt that clung to the side of her foreleg that managed to connect with the dusty rode. “I tasted my share of dirt…more times than I would like to admit…” He trailed off before smiling again. “Anyway, no damage done and you’re ok.” He looked to his right, smiling brightly. “Anyway, I think we’re here.”

She blinked before following his gaze and looking over the bridge that led to her little cottage. The shy mare felt a little dejected about having to part with the Keyblade Weider but gave him a gentle smile none the less. “O-Oh…S-So we are…um…thank you for walking me home…again. I hope I’m not burdening you or anything, what with you being tired and all…”

Fluttershy tensed as Sora placed a hoof upon where he suspected her shoulder would be. She couldn’t help but shivered again as she felt the warmth of his hoof upon her fur. The shy mare looked deep into his blue eyes, cherishing the gaze he had given the mare. “You girls were there for me…Let me at least be there for you.” He looked away from her. “Even if in the long run I’m rather useless…”

“D-Don’t say that!” She refuted before pushing a hoof over her muzzle as soon as she did, cursing herself for the outburst. Sora, for his part, stared at the mare, unable to truly speak as the usually calm and collected mare before him near yelled at him. Fluttershy, after a few moments, gathered every ounce of willpower she could and let her forehooves fall to the ground. Shaking her head

“I-I’m sorry, and I really am, I don’t think your useless…and n-neither should you. You’ve done so many amazing things. You fought for others, no matter how hard it may have been on you. You saved my friends. You saved worlds. You saved me…” Her forehead gently pressed under his chin, triggering the stallion to stall in thought power. “You told us that your bond with your friends gave you strength, right” Then please…I want to be your strength as well…”

She gently pressed herself into the stallion, nuzzling his neck timidly with her soft muzzle, the scent of her shampoo wafting into his nostrils as the top of her mane flicked under his nose. He could feel the heat of her breath tickle the fur upon his neck causing him to blush a deep shade of crimson, both from the nuzzling and from who was doing the nuzzling. Unable to really know how to proceed with what was happening, he tentatively raised a hoof to rub the back of her neck, rubbing it softly.

The mare had squeaked from his touch before quickly pulling away, a hot blush forming on her cheeks, noticeable even in the dim light of Luna’s moon. He stepped slightly closer only to earn a widening of her eyes before she dashed away so fast, that even Rainbow would be jealous. The stallion filched as she heard her door slam shut, hiding the mare within the confines of her cottage.

Sora stood there for a long moment before slowly turning away, not knowing how to process what just happened. Still, a more than noticeable blush formed on his cheeks as well as he raised a hoof to gently touch it.

As he disappeared down the road, Fluttershy rammed the top of her head over and over again against the wall (Though it was more like a soft tap in her case) as she groaned at what she did. “Fluttershy you dummy…” She blinked back tears of shame, and a bit of pain, for what had happened before slowly sulking upstairs into her room, climbing into the warmth of her bed. She blushed as she felt where her cheek had touched his neck, a sudden realization forming within her mind.

“I…Love Sora…”

Twilight released a powerful yawn, her hoof making little to no effort to try to stifle the, in her words, annoyingly simultaneous inhalation and release of air. The lavender mare rubbed her eyes before looking back at the mess that was upon her table, pouring over the notes, scrolls, and books she had been writing, working and reading on. Despite each one being there for a different reason, each one revolved around one center core.

Sora.

It was through him that they had their first encounter with the heartless. Through him that their battle at the Crystal Kingdom was able to be won. Through him that she had learned Celestia’s failed pupil, Sunset Shimmer.

Everything was happening so fast, and it was all because of him.

She had been hard at work, focusing her studies on what she knows and what she did not. What she knew was that the heartless was a threat. Not only that, but from what Sora had told them, beings called Nobodies should be running around as well.

So why were there no Nobodies? Are they in hiding? Are they even being made? If not, why aren’t they?

She found from Sora that Nobodies, unlike heartless, have high intelligence and don’t act on instinct. Not only that but this so called Kingdom Hearts, a world filled with light, is what the Organization 13 is after.

But to want end?

Twilight yawned again before she began to re-read and take a few notes of interest of the story Sora had weaved for her and her friends, the soft sound of her assistant’s snoring and the scribble of her quill the only noise within the otherwise quite library.

“There are still pieces missing…” Twilight said softly under her breath. “Why was he asleep in those pods? Why does that Organization want Sora so much? Sure he is strong but there has to be another reason.”

Twilight sighed before she placed a hoof upon her notes, looking out the window to see the moon high within the sky. “Hmm...Guess I should tackle this tomorrow and get, at least, some rest…” She blew out the candle and slowly climbed into bed, drawing the covers over her frame as she did so. Her soft snores would accompany her dragon assistant as she fell into a deep slumber.

Sunset slowly made her way down the dark pathway of the underground cavern, a sneer ever constant upon her features at the recent events not too long ago.

She was not a pleased mare at all. Not pleased in the least.

She had failed in her duties in commandeering Sora, or more importantly, his heart. Not only that, now she had to worry about another Keyblade wielder.

Not just any Keyblade Wielder though.

That pony was a Keyblade Master.

To make matters worse for her, Queen Chrysalis was seen aiding said Keyblade Master in the last battle back at the Crystal Empire, even going so far as to save those insufferable so called “Elements of Harmony”. From what she had learned first hoof, both the Keyblade Master and the Queen of the Changelings are nothing to be tripled with, at least, not in the current state she was in.

“The crystal empire went south…”Sunset touched the amulet around her neck, her eyes glowing a deeper shade of red as she did so. “I won’t let them take all that I had worked for away…All that we had worked for…not when we are so close to the power I seek…”

The mare opened a nearby door, her eyes focusing on the nearby occupant, a dark purple earth pony stallion with a spiky white mane, their golden eyes unfocused and staring towards the ground at the broken keyblade resting within its forehooves. “Ah...I see that you're up and about.” She received a cold glare from the stallion, though he kept his head down as he did so. “Don’t be that way, my master saved you didn’t he? You were broken and he repaired you. With such powerful enemies, one would need an ally with just as much power…am I right, Keyblader?”

The purple stallion looked upwards to the mare from his prone position, a bored looking expression upon his face.

“Of course, you will be more than rewarded for your service,” She mused as she neared the odd pony. “We can give you what you must desire...or...maybe even help you find the one you are searching for.”

The dark purple stallion raised an eyebrow, his yellow eyes piercing into the mare before him. “And what do you know about the one I’m looking for.”

“My master knows a lot of things Keyblader. He can look into the depths of one’s heart and finds one true desire…even one as broken as yours.” She looked to the mangled mess that was once his weapon. “He can even repair that mess of a weapon, if only you pledge your loyalty to him.”

The pony’s ears perked before he began to stand on all four hooves, cracking his neck expectantly. Gripping the Keyblade tight within his hoof, he held it out to her.

Sunset smiled as she nodded. “Excellent choice...”

The stallion gave a sadistic smile before he began to laugh. At first it was a soft chortal but soon it began to increase in volume and depth, until he his hunting laughter filled the entirety of the cavern, echoing into the depths of the dark night.

“Luna’s sky is just as beautiful as ever,” Celestia said as she made her way to the balcony overlooking the Canterlot Gardens, her gaze rising to the night sky above her. The stars above her twinkling brightly, displaying her sister’s handiwork, made the mare smile gently. “It’s as if she had never left my side…and yet…” She lowered her head. “Will it become irrelevant soon?” She couldn’t help but chuckle dryly.

“Speaking of, just how is young Sora holding up?”

Celestia turned to face to a mirror not too far away from her, the glistening glowing image depicting a creature unlike any seen in Equestria. Their face, while old in looks, held a presence most akin to Celestia’s own, depicting an ageless wisdom within his wrinkled features, though with the rather large pointy hat upon his head, he did look rather silly.

He moved a hand to adjust a pair of spectacles with circular lenses that sat upon his rather large nose before slowly stroking his flowing white beard as he stared at the white alicorn princess from his side of the looking glass, an expression of both sympathy and worry upon his features. His pointed hat was slightly askew but Celestia expected nothing less from her silly, but wise, old friend.

“I still feel the darkness trying to sway him to their side, but he seems to be doing much better than before he came here. The girls really are having a positive effect on the light within Sora’s heart, as you had believed from the get-go.” She paused. “On that note, the one named Riku is here in Equestria as well. Is him being here your doing as well?”

The funny man gave her a look of fringed surprise, but soon smiled. “You give this old man too much credit, Celestia. All I did was point him in Sora’s direction and he took care of the rest.” He stroked his beard again. “How can one find their light without facing the darkness?” the man said, giving a soft chuckle.

Celestia shook her head. “Just as clever as ever, I see. Wiser words have never been spoken.”

The man narrowed his eyes at the mare, making her shift uncomfortably. “Yes…Good to see you’re listening to me for once.”

Her eyes widened before she coughed, losing her calm composure for a moment. “A-Anyway, was there something else you needed to know?”

“I’m just checking on the current state of affairs, as it were,” the being chuckled. “This old mind still worries about you, you know.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully “Tell me, do you still feel that other presence you told me about the last time we talked? Has it changed any?”

The Sun Goddess sighed before making her way to the mirror. “Yes and yes. Even now I can feel it growing stronger day by day. It’s a wonder that Equestria isn’t covered in darkness by now.” She sighed and looked away. “When the Elements of Harmony returned to their natural form and my sister was saved, I was sure that we would have the means for dealing with the darkness by ourselves, but as you told me, this goes much deeper than I have expected.”

The odd creature within the mirror adjusted his glasses once again. “Hence, why I shot Sora your way from the beginning,” he said with a chuckle. “As much for his sake as for your world’s. Despite his own troubles, he’s not one to allow others to suffer. That’s just the kind of boy he is, you know.”

“All too well, old friend,” Celestia said with a shake of her head, remembering the telling of his past battle with her old student. She was silent for a moment before shaking herself out of her stupor, remembering that that blue-hatted man was staring at her, his head tilted in a peculiar manner. “Listen, my friend, if you ever want to return to Equestria, the door is always open to you.”

The being shook his head. “Sorry, Celestia, but by their account, I am ancient history. Besides… If your newest student, Twilight, ever saw me, I think she might die due to Star-Struck, if your description of her is to be believed. Nice to be recognized in the young generation.” He laughed heartily before giving the white alicorn a wink. “With the way things are progressing, however, that very student of yours might just find out about me one day. If she’s anything like you described, she’s not going to be content with just knowing there are other worlds out there. She’s going to want proof.”

“And the quickest way for that is to see for herself,” Celestia said as she smiled sadly. “I hate to admit it, but what you say might just be inevitable at this point. She’s not one to sit still and let others do what needs to be done, and for that, I am proud of her, wholly and completely…”

“Buuuut?” the being asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She is meant for great things here in Equestria,” Celestia said softly. “What if she never returns? To her home. To her family. To her destiny…”

The blue-hatted man gave a gentle chuckle. “If she is anything like you told me, I’m sure she will come back home no matter what. Maybe even a bit wiser than before.” The man looked over to his side as a muffled voice hailed him from afar. “Whoops! Seems I am needed! A wizard’s work is never done, I’m afraid,” he mused before smiling at Celestia.

“It’s just as well. I will need to raise the sun again soon anyway,” the white mare said with a smile of her own.

The old wizard nodded before picking up a bag that was nearby. “It’s always a pleasure talking to you, Celly! Call more often, this old coot gets a bit lonely when his best friend doesn’t call him more!”

Celestia clicked her tongue before looking at him from the side. “You’re one to talk, Mr. Wizard,” she mused. “Don’t worry, though; I’ll contact you if something does come up.”

The man smiled before giving her a nod and a wave of his hand. “Looking forward to it.” With that, the magic upon the mirror died, returning to its original purpose of just a looking glass.

Celestia turned away from her image before looking off into the night sky. It was torn, however, as a white owl landed upon a perch near her, the mare’s eyes widening as she noticed it gripping something within its talons.

“You what, darling?!”

Rarity’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she stared at the timid yellow pegasus in front of her, said pegasus quickly hiding behind a part of her long pink mane that slipped from beneath the towel wrapped around her head, squeaking softly at the white unicorn’s raised voice.

“I… I think I… Um… Like Sora…” Fluttershy repeated in as diminutive a voice as she thought she could get away with and still be heard.

Fluttershy and Rarity, despite the serious situation Equestria was in, had decided to continue with their spa dates as per usual. The fashionista loved the idea of getting prepped and prettied, due to needing a break from her current project that had kept her busy throughout the entirety of Sora’s recovery. And the animal caretaker needed something to take her mind off of her newfound revelation with her feelings towards a certain Keyblade-wielding pony/person.

Fluttershy had wanted to try to forget about it for the time being, but it soon became apparent to Rarity that the shy mare was acting shyer than normal, the knowledge from all of her romance novels clueing her in to all the signs that she was hiding something big. It wasn’t until Rarity practically whined within the hot tub that Fluttershy finally revealed her feelings for Sora.

Rarity stared blankly at her shy yellow friend before rushing to her side. Fluttershy gave a small ‘eep’ as she sunk into the water further, but stayed where she was. She doubted she could have escaped Rarity anyway, what with the look of seriousness the fashion-conscious pony had about her.

Rarity sat back, a range of emotions flowing through her. On the one hoof, her normally shy and withdrawn friend had found a pony - a stallion, no less - that she had deep feelings for. On the other hoof, she had feelings for the very same stallion that she had been fantasizing about herself for the past week or so. This did not bode well for either of them, she suspected.

“Have you… told him yet?” Rarity asked in a calm, controlled voice, her smile seemingly as bright as ever. “Does he know?”

Fluttershy shook her head, muttering a soft ‘no’, though it was muffled by the heated water that had covered her lips.

Rarity had to force herself not to release the sigh of relief that had wanted to escape her, and, at the same time, mentally kick herself for her natural curiosity in all things that had to do with love. “And why ever not, dear?”

Fluttershy looked away before raising herself just enough above the water to be heard. “Well… I’m afraid to…”

“Fluttershy...” Rarity said softly with a tilt of her head. She knew that was more than likely the reason why Fluttershy had basically no real love life outside of her animal friends. Still, once again, her life of spending a bit of her free time within romantic fantasy novels pushed her to ask, “Why are you afraid, dear?”

The shy mare dipped her head. “What if…What if doesn’t like me in that way?”

Again Rarity’s curiosity got the better of her, something she needed to put a cork on one day. “Fluttershy dear, why would he not like a pony like you? Most stallions would find your shy and elusive personality charming, to say the least.”

“That’s just it, Rarity,” Fluttershy said as she looked away. “He’s not a pony.”

Rarity paused. Sora was indeed not a pony. Through the princess’s own magic, he was turned into one to better fit and hide in pony society, so as of right now, he truly was one, but for how long? She and her friends were assured by the Princess of the Sun herself that the spell on him was on its way to getting reversed once his work was done here, which also left another note she had failed to realize until just now.

“And even if he did like me, he’s not going to stay here,” Fluttershy added, her head hanging low.

It was at that moment that most of Rarity’s dreams came to a sudden halt. Yes, the stallion was amazing, even if he wasn’t technically a stallion in the pony sense. And yes, if someone was able to get him past the fact that they were not technically of the same species and get him to consider being with a pony, would he really be able to stay with said pony? He had responsibilities not only to their world, but to, what she was told, countless worlds to stop whatever it was that was threatening them. And true to form, he seemed dead set on doing just that, even if it cost him his life.

Rarity’s gaze fell to Fluttershy, the yellow mare shivering despite the warmth all around them. “I thought about this all night Rarity. I really did,” she squeaked. “I can’t tell him.”

Rarity slowly slipped a hoof around the shivering mare, comforting her as best she could. “Fluttershy dear, tell me, what is it that made you like Sora so?”

The butter yellow mare wiped a hoof over her eyes before speaking. “When I first met him, he saved my life. Those…Shadows…They were coming after me, and he came to my rescue without hesitation. He protected me. No stallion has ever tried to protect me before.”

“You like him because he saved you?” Rarity asked, shaking her head. “Because he is a knight in shining armor? As much as I like the classics, dear, I don’t think that’s enough for one to admit that she’s in love.” Rarity cringed inwardly, knowing that her words bit her in the flank.

“I did try to write it off. But the longer I knew him, the more I was around him, I could see there was more to it. He always tried to make others laugh and would try to lift our spirits. A little like Pinkie Pie in that aspect.”

“I have to say,” Rarity interrupted. “That Sora, while a bit immature at times, is nowhere near Pinkie’s level.” She then added, “Bless her heart.”

Fluttershy giggled softly. “True, but I don’t think anypony can measure up to Pinkie Pie.”
The two shared a soft laugh before Fluttershy stared off to the side, sighing softly. She squeaked as Rarity placed a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to turn around.

“Fluttershy… Dear…Maybe you should go talk to him. Letting your dream stallion get away is never a good thing,” Rarity told her, her eyes shimmering slightly.

“B-But I can’t!” Fluttershy stammered, “I told you I-“

“What I heard,” Rarity interrupted her. “Was an excuse made by a mare afraid of her own feelings.” She smiled softly. “I won’t tell you what to do, darling, but it would be in your best interest to get those feelings out in the open as soon as you can. Somepony may just beat you to the punch if you don’t.”

As Fluttershy contemplated what Rarity had told her, the latter looked away towards an open window. Somepony indeed…

Sora slowly strolled down the shelves of books, somewhat surprised that he was able to read a few of the words that were upon the covers. When he had first gotten to this world, each book held weird-looking symbols that he couldn’t quite understand. Now he was at least getting a jist of what each book may have been about as he read each title as best he could.

“Sora! Are you listening?”

He jumped at the sound of Twilight’s voice, smiling sheepishly at her as he turned to face her. “Heh… Sorry, Twilight. You were saying you found something odd?”

Twilight huffed as she gave him a deadpan look. “I was saying the Elements of Harmony had been acting strangely ever since your battle with King Sombra. More specifically, the Elements of Laughter and Honesty are acting the most odd.”

“Is that why y’all called us over here as well, Twi?” Applejack asked as she peeked out from behind a book she had been looking through. “Cause our Elements are acting all funky-like?”

“Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed as she bounced excitedly around the room, stopping in-between Twilight and Sora. “Are they gonna come alive and shake their groove thing!?” She added emphasis to her words by raising her hindquarters and wagging her flank in the air. Admittedly, in the direction Sora was facing, causing the boy to blush mightily and look away, scratching his cheek.

“No, Pinkie,” Twilight answered. “What I mean is, I’ve been monitoring the Elements ever since the battle with Sombra and I’ve picked up something new within the Elements of Laughter and Honesty.”

“Something new...” Sora repeated. “You think it has something to do with our fusion thing?”

“It would be speculation…” Twilight answered. “But it’s the most reasonable answer for now.”

“For those of us not as smart at figuring things out,” Applejack piped up. “What exactly is going on with the Elements?”

“Well,” Twilight began. “You know how magic is operated by a unicorn channeling their PKE energy into the focal point located upon their forehead, do you not?”

“Your horn lights up and you do magic?” Applejack summarized.

“Yeah, that,” Twilight said with a deadpan look. “Anyways, from what I can tell, the process we unicorns use when we channel our magic through our horns and the way the Elements’ inner magic is fluctuating are almost identical.”

“Twilight,” Applejack piped up, carefully choosing her next words. “If what y’all are telling me is what y’all are telling me, are you saying that if me and Pinkie put the Elements on right now, me and her can use magic?”

“That’s just it! I don’t know what would happen,” she said apprehensively as she looked back to Pinkie’s and Applejack’s elements that were upon the table. “There still so much I don’t know…So much I need to know. If I don’t know then…then…How can I…” She sighed and hung her head.

“Don’t worry about it so much, Twi,” Applejack tried to comfort her. “I doubt it will be anything bad if the Keyblade and Elements are connected like those two ponies told us.”

“But what did happen? What is the Keyblade doing to the elements?” Twilight asked.

She perked up, however, as a hoof gently patted her upon her back. Looking up, she saw the most comical and stupid sight she had ever seen.

Sora’s face was a few inches away from her face, the most hilarious expression she had ever seen plastered upon his features. He had effectively squashed his cheeks together with his hooves, causing his eyes to cross and his lips to pucker as he stuck his tongue out. A muffled, funny sound coming from his mouth.

Twilight, with all of her energy, tried her best to not laugh at the stallion in his face, quickly covering her mouth with both hooves as she held in her outburst, stifling it until undignified giggles slipped out. Pinkie, on the other hoof, was rolling on the floor laughing out loud at Sora, a snort here and there accompanying it every now and then. Applejack respectfully looked away as she withheld a chuckle of her own.

Pulling away, Sora smiled as he wiped a hoof across his muzzle, just under his nostrils. “In my experience, it’s best to roll with what you know.”

Twilight’s gave him a mock deadpan stare. “Are you telling me to just wing it?”

“Works out for me!” Sora said as he pounded his chest.

“Not always relatively well if your story is anything to go by,” Twilight said.

Sora blushed as he scratched his cheek. “Hehe…Yeah…” His ears drooped slightly. “Guess you’re right.”

Twilight sighed before opening her mouth to say something, but stopped when a burp and a gout of green flame sounded off in the other room. There was a pregnant pause as everyone turned to face the source of the noise before a kiddish voice yelling “Twilight!” sounded off.

“Guess we gotta figure out what’s happening to the Elements later,” Applejack said as she made her way to the lavender unicorn. “If Spike’s voice is any indication, that’s not free trips to the day spa.”

Spike came bounding from around the corner, carrying a half-rolled letter with the Canterlot seal broken. "Twilight! There’s trouble! Like… Major with a capital M!"

"What is it, Spike?" Twilight asked, keeping the worry from her voice. "Have Heartless been spotted in Canterlot?"

"No!" the drake answered as he held out the letter for her. "But just as bad. Here!"

Twilight took the message from Spike and gave it a good once-over before widening her eyes.

"Twilight?" Applejack spoke up. "What's it say?"

Dear Twilight,

I am sorry that you and your friends have to be put through this, but there is a grave matter that needs to be looked into. I received a message late last night that has caused me more than enough worry. My guards report that Trottingham, the Old Castle Town, is blocked off with no way to break past the magic barrier that has been erected around it. I would go see to the trouble myself, but there has been something stirring within one of our neighboring kingdoms that has got my attention.

I am asking you not just as your princess, but as a friend: I need to know what is happening to my ponies.

Be careful, though, because I do believe that our recent enemy is at the head of this. And please tell Sora that I am sorry, but we may need him once again.

Your teacher and friend,

Princess Celestia of Equestria

"We… We need to go. Now," Twilight said as she stood from her seat.

Sora frowned as he summoned his Keyblade. “Right… Ready or not, we have work to do.”

Twilight couldn't help but watch with a conflicted expression as the train pulling her friends away faded into the distance. Her waving hoof dropping back to the wooden floor of the train station as she released a heavy sigh.

Beside her, Applejack stood with a stoic expression that near rivaled that of the Royal Canterlot Guards. The apple farmer cast a gaze over to Twilight, before placing a hoof gently upon her shoulder.

“You sure you don’t want to teleport the rest of us onto that there train Twilight? Ah mean ah’m sure you could do it easily. Just don’t feel too right letting the four of them go off without the rest of the elements.”

“I…I know Applejack. I know.” Twilight said softly, shaking her head. “But I can’t allow both yours and Pinkie’s elements to run untested after what happened back in the Crystal Empire.”

“You were allowing me and Pinks to do that transforming thing before back on ma farm.” Applejack countered as she stopped her hoof on the wooden floor. “What’s the difference between then and now?”

“The difference, Applejack, is that when you three did transformations, it was done under a watchful eye and a controlled environment. And more to the point, you three were not under direct threat.” Twilight said. “Also, the act of the transforming leaves all of the subjects tired and weak for some reason. Something that Sora even says is new to him. So for now, no, I need you and Pinkie Pie here so I can study the Elements in length.”

The lavender mare looked away from her friend. “I will not put my friends in any type of situation like back at the Crystal Empire. Sora is strong enough as it is for now and Celestia herself said that she had sent two of her personal guards ahead of them to help out. I’m sure that they can deal with whatever is in Trottingham.”

Applejack snorted before lowering her head. “Still…ah feel kinda useless, now, just sitting on the sidelines as it were. What with Equestira in danger the way it is and what not.”

“I know…I know. But we are helping Equestria too, in our own way. With this new power of the Elements we will be able to fight back the Darkness like our predecessors in the past did.” Twilight beamed as she nudged her friend. “We may be split up for now but we are heading for the same goal. Right?”

Applejack snorted again, more out of humor then anything. “Heh. Ya know. That sounds like something Sora would say to us.”

Twilight giggled softly. “Oh? You know Sora that well huh?”

“Well yeah.” Applejack answered honestly. “Ah mean he does live with ma family and me and what not. Despite everything that’s happened to him up till this point, he’s still just a young’en, leaning all about the world and making mistakes.” She chuckled. “Still, if there’s one thing ah do know about him, ah know that despite him being such a strong pony…ah…Hooman.” Applejack corrected as she pronounced the odd term for his race. “Ah know that he’s rather just a normal little colt at heart. And if’n ah know ma colts, he's still learning something new about the world every day.”

Twilight could only nod in agreement at her friend’s words. “I think we all learn something new about our world every day…” The mare looked out into the sky, a look of determination forming on her brow. “And I think…I want to see it all.”

The apple farmer followed her friend’s gaze to the sky above. “Ya really thinking of going out there, past the sky and stars and whatnot?”

Twilight didn’t answer at first, lost in an aray of her own thoughts. After a few moments however, the mare would nod. “When this is all over here in Ponyville and Equestria. Yeah…I will ask Sora about taking me I think.”

“What do ya think the princess would say about that?” Applejack inquired as she led the way off the wooden platform.

“I…Don’t know exactly. I really don’t.” Twilight said as she shook her head. “But I do know that I need to go. Theres so much that even the princesses do not know. So much that nopony alive knows…”

Applejack gave a wry chuckle. “Twilight…Always wanting to learn new things.” She mused before nudging the mare. “If’n ya do decide ta leave, make sure ta send a letter ya hear? Let us know what it’s like out there and what not.”

Twilight giggled as well. “Will do Applejack.”

Fluttershy sighed wistfully as she sat back down within her chair, her gaze falling the fading sun that slipped beyond the horizon, making way for the moon’s light. I…I must be crazy…I have to be crazy…

She had actually agreed to go on this mission. Why had she agreed to go to a potentially dangerous place, knowing dangerous heartless that would want nothing better than to take her very heart out of her chest?

She could think of a dozen reasons for her not to go on such a crazy mission. Despite that, she could think of one important reason that seemed to outweigh every other sensible reason down the drain. One reason that pushed her to be a thunderhead and accept to go on a potentially dangerous mission.

The yellow mare’s gaze would fall on Sora as he sat opposite of Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare seemingly trying to get as much information out of him about his adventures traveling between worlds. Admittedly, the fact that he was able to see all kinds worlds and make many animal friends appealed to the yellow mare quite a bit. At least she knew that he was an animal lover.

“Are those hearts in your eyes or did you get contacts darling?” Said an eloquent voice to Fluttershy’s side, making the butter yellow mare squeak in surprise. She quickly turned around to find Rarity smiling coyly at her, which only made the poor shy mare blush even harder.

“I…I mean…Its…I…You know I…” Fluttershy stuttered as she cast a gaze down and away from her white unicorn friend.

“Darling, you are just too cute when you have a crush.” Rarity mused as he waved a hoof. “Why not go over and talk to him. I know you want to and I’m sure I can occupy Rainbow’s time with something else.”

“Oh but…This is the first time I’ve seen the two of them talk the way they are.” Fluttershy said as she looked to the pair of pegasi, both the mare, unknowingly, enraptured by the tale he was weaving. He seemed to be telling her about that master computer-thingy that he had went into back in another world. Whatever it was, it really sounded scary to Fluttershy.

“I…Really don’t want to interrupt them. This is really the first I’ve seen Rainbow have a normal conversation with him so…”

“Well…I’ll…agree that seeing those two talk is much preferable then seeing them argue.” Rarity agreed reluctantly. “Still, they won’t be talking forever and you need to spend more time with him.”

“B…But he…I mean…He will leave when…”

“Fluttershy.” Rairty said sternly, causing her shy friend to button her lips. “If it is meant to be, then love will find a way to make it work. Trust me.” She gave her friend a quivering pout. “You do trust me, don’t you darling?”

Fluttershy, despite herself, was quick to agree with her friend. “I…I do…I do trust you Rarity.”

“Good!” Rarity mused in a low voice. “Because I, my dear Fluttershy, have a plan…”

On the other side, the latter pair of the group of ponies would notice both Rarity and Fluttershy conversing a ways away from them.

“Wonder what they are talking about.” Sora committed with a raised eyebrow.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Rainbow said with a wave of her hoof. “Pretty sure it’s something I’m not interested in in any case. So, back on the topic at hoof.” She nudged the caramel stallion. “So you got to ride on these things called Light Bikes. I think I remember that from your story. How fast do you think they were going?”

“Not too sure but I think they were going pretty fast.” He answered, tapping a hoof to his chin.

“Come on dude.” Rainbow whined. “I need to know. If I’m ever going to be the fastest then I need to know my competition.

“Competition?” Sora asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well duh! I wanna see these Light Bikes in action myself.”

“You…Want to travel between worlds?” Sora asked with wide eyes.

“Hey! If you get to do it then so do I.” Rainbow glared at the stallion. “Or were you going to just keep the other worlds all to yourself.”

Sora shook his head as he backed into his seat. “I-It’s not that Dash. It’s just…Well…I never really had someone ask to go with me to see the other worlds before.” He scratched his cheek. “Not even sure it’s really allowed.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “See it like this Sora. They didn’t tell you it was not allowed right?”

The Keyblade Wieldier couldn’t help but smile. “Heh. Yeah. Your right. They didn’t.”

Rainbow smiled as she crossed her forehooves across her chest. “So…Gotta ask. What do you think we are going up against here this time?”

Sora sat up at her question, his gaze falling away from her as he thought. “I’m not too sure to be honest.” He smiled at the mare. “These Heartless are behaving differently than the ones I am use to.” His gaze would fall slightly. “Sunset could even be there…”

Rainbow sighed softly before gently flicking his head. “Hey. No getting whiney in my presence Hero.”

Sora rubbed the spot upon his head before, glaring at Rainbow, the Rainbow mare only giving him a smug smile in return. Sighing in defeat, Sora would raise himself back up, smacking both of his face’s cheeks with both hooves before growing a determined smile. A smile that Rainbow couldn’t help but return.

“You two seem to be getting along well enough,” Rarity mused as she slipped beside the pair. “But I think it’s about time for the four of us to get some rest soon.”

Rainbow snorted as she cast the white unicorn a gaze. “Who keeled over and made you leader?”

“My darling, I’m only offering a suggestion” Rarity said without missing a beat. “We have a big day tomorrow after all.” She gave Rainbow a smug smile. “Besides, my dear Rainbow, how are you going to be your best if you don’t get your proper rest? We may very well have to deal with heartless after all and you don’t want moi showing you up.”

Rainbow snorted again but mumbled under her breath something akin to ‘As if’ before taking off to a seat away from the other three.

Rarity couldn’t help but shake her head. “Honestly…” The mare would look towards Sora, giving him a smile and a wink. “You best get some rest too Sora. See you in the morning darling.” She mused before making her way away. She paused as she looked back. “Oh and…Be a dear and do me a favor.”

Sora tilted his head to the side, the words to ask what it was on the verge of spilling out of his lips, only to stop as he saw Fluttershy peeking around her unicorn friend.

“Oh…Um…H-Hello…Sora…”

Sora swung his blade in a wide arc, destroying any heartless unfortunate enough to be within meeting range an untimely demise. Twisting his blade within his hand, Sora stabbed behind himself, the tip of his blade slipping into the chest of a rather evil looking heartless. One that looked like a more twisted version of the little shadows he had always dealt with in the past.

The Keyblade Wielder flipped his weapon into the air before gathering a collection of energy within the palm of his hand, a burning heat building rapidly. Shouting out the command, the massive fireball blasted into a crowd of heartless, their bodies dissipating in a cloud of black smoke. Nodding to himself, the boy caught the blade as soon as it came within his reach, twirling within his hand before turning to face an oncoming crowd of heartless, intent on destroying the one that they feared.

Despite their determination however, Sora knew that he would prevail, his gleaming blade at the ready. Because he had to save…Her.

His gaze fell to the lone cage behind the heartless. She was in there, the one trapped behind the curtain, the one he felt that he cared for the most. He could hear Her frantic cries for help behind the cage She was trapped behind. Despite not knowing whose voice it was, he knew that it was someone that meant everything to him. It was because of Her that he was fighting so hard right now.

With a determined frown, Sora positioned himself to leap into action, ready to take on any foe that stood between him and his charge. He would defeat anyone who kept him from the one who needed to protect him most. He would fight till the brink of exhaustion and push himself to keep fighting afterwards. He would…Stop and stare with confusion that was worth 1000 “What the heck”s.

To his surprise and utter bewilderment, time seemed to stop all around him, the heartless that were nearly upon him frozen in place, almost as if they were statues.

Slowly, the boy would lower his guard and make his way to one of the nearest one heartless. Ever so carefully, he would raise his blade, allowing the tip of it to tap heartless’s body, a gentle clang resounding throughout the dark, empty space that he was within.

“Hang on…” Sora said softly to himself, his gaze shifting to his surroundings. “How did I get here? For that matter, where is here?” he would turn, only to find that the heartless that had him surrounded were gone, leaving only a grassy pasture illuminated by the light of…A heart shaped moon.

“So that is Kingdom Hearts.”

Sora would turn just in time to see a familiar figure making her way beside him. Her midnight blue fur shimmering just as much as her flowing starry. Luna’s gaze would keep to the moon within the sky, before slowly looking towards the boy beside her. “Tis a beautiful sight, one we…I mean I would wish to see one day.”

Sora blinked long and hard before tilting his head at the mare beside him. “Luna?”

The Princess of the Moon would nod curtly to the Hero of Light. “Tis so, fair Sora. Forgive my intrusion upon your dreams, but I would like to have words with you. If that is fine with you that is.”

Sora blinked once again before casting his gaze all about his surroundings, namely to the cage behind the heartless. “This is a dream?”

“Tis so.” Luna said with a nod of her head. “It is why you are in your other form.”

Sora, finally looked down upon himself, noting that he was indeed not in his pony form, his hand stretching out and his fingers flexing at his command. “Woah…”

Luna tilted her head. “Is something the matter?”

Sora shook his head slowly. “No…It’s just.” He bit his bottom lip before continuing. “Kinda feels weird to be back in my body again. Feels like it’s been forever since I’ve had fingers.”

“That would be the transformation spell I would suspect.” Luna mused with a tap of her hoof to her chin. “I was told that she had explained the spell in detail to you, am I correct?”

“Yeah, a little bit I think.” Sora told her. “She didn’t know about my clothes transformation ability so…”

Luna raised an eyebrow before nodding slowly. “Yes well, we can talk about that later. Sadly I have little time before you wake up on your own and I wish to…Ask you some questions.”

“I’m all ears Princess.”

Luna slowly nodded. “Thank you and please, call us Luna. We wish that you would treat us as you do our sister. As a…Friend?”

Sora smiled brightly as he placed his hands behind his back, standing in a relaxed position. “Sure. And just like with Celestia, you can just call me Sora. Was never really one for formalities anyway.”

Luna was slightly taken aback by how fast Sora agreed to her request. The mare would give him a gentle nod. “As you wish, Sora.” Luna slowly lower herself until she was laying upon the soft billowing grass that lay under the majesty of Kingdom Hearts, making a motion with her muzzle for Sora to join her.

The Keyblade Wielder would follow suit, allowing his rump the hit the grass and his legs to be sprayed out in front of him, his hands propping him up from behind.

It wasn’t too long before Luna spoke once again, her gaze falling to the heart shaped moon within the sky. “What do you think of Darkness Sora?”

Sora would shift his position as he allowed Luna’s question to wash over him, a slight frown forming over his features. “I’m…not too sure Luna.”

Luna nods. “I want your honest opinion Sora. When you first hear of Darkness, what do you think?”

Sora placed a hand over his heart. “I don’t think I’m the smartest person to ask something so deep…but…I think…” He paused before looking to Luna. “I think it can be scary at times. Maybe even frightening.” Before Luna could speak about his answer however, Sora placed a gentle finger upon her nose, smiling brightly to her. “But I also know that Darkness isn’t all bad.”

“How do you mean ‘Darkness isn’t all bad?’” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.

Sora folded his arms about his chest and thought for a moment. Nodding once to himself, he would smile brightly at the mare. “Well, we sleep in the dark right? That’s the time we are the most exposed and yet we feel comfortable enough to let our guards down.”

Luna couldn’t help but shake her head in amusement. “That…Is one way to see it. Admittedly, one way I never have.” Her ears would lower slightly. “And one that I wish I had thought of so long ago.” Her gaze fell back to the boy, sadness apparent upon her features. “I am sad to say that I, like your friend Riku, had fallen to the evil side of Darkness oh so long ago, Sora. I let it consume my heart so badly that Celestia had to banish me to the very moon within our Sky.” The mare placed a hoof upon her chest. “Sometimes, I can feel something creeping in my heart when I’m alone. I feel like it is still there…”

Sora nodded slowly before moving to sit in front of the mare. “I think I know what you mean.” Sora’s gaze fell to the ground. “If it wasn’t for my friends, I think I would have fallen to the darkness a long time ago. Riku, Lea, the King, Donald and Goofy. They saved me when I really needed them because I wasn’t strong enough to fight off the darkness on my own.” He looked back up to the dark Alicorn. “I’m not as strong as Riku in that regard I guess.”

“You and I have that in common.” Luna said with a resolute sigh.

“But… Ya know.” Sora continued, causing the mare to tilt her head curiously at him. “I’ve been neglecting my own advice for too long. When I last met Xehanort, I told him that my friends are my strength. Even after I said that I think I still had a little doubt in my heart. I still think that maybe, in his own twisted way, he was right about me not being able to fight on my own.” Sora lowered his head. “And you know what, he was right. It was proved back in my world and now in this one. I couldn’t save the girls and Spike cause I was thinking I could do it on my own.”

Luna was quiet at his words, which prompted Sora to speak again.

“Rainbow told me something the other day.” Sora said, cutting the mare off, much to her annoyance. “That she wanted to help me.” I think I’ll start relying on her…on every one of my friends from now on.” The boy looked up to the mare. “And ya know what? I think you should do the same.”

“I…Will keep that in mind Sora.” Luna said hesitantly, her gaze wavering away. Before Sora could comment, the mare would gasp and look off into the distance, a confused look growing on her features. “Your dream will be ending. You’re about to wake up soon Sora. If there is anything you need ask you best do it now.”

“Already?” Sora asked as he looked off towards the cage. “Well…If you’re the master of dreams, you think you can tell me who’s in the cage back there.”

“Beyond that cage?” Luna looked towards the covered bars before casting a sideways glance at Sora. “That is something that I cannot outright answer for you.”

“Aww!” Sora pouted. “Why not?”

“Because Sora…What is beyond that cloth is the one you want to see the most. Only you can answer that question and no pony else.”

“The one I want the most?” Sora looked back to the cage, the sound of the one calling for him ringing clear as day in his ears and yet he could not place a name for the voice. “Who…Do I care for the most?”

“I do not know Sora.” Luna told him. “But I do know that the answer is usually right in front of you.”

“What?” Sora asked. “What the heck is that suppose to-“

Sora jolted awake in a flailing of hooves as his head throbbed, the jacket that had been covering him falling to the floor beside him. He placed a hoof over his head, as if that will somehow placate the rapid beating it was releasing. Looking down, he would see the bag that had accosted him during his sleep, a confused look crossing his features. After a time, the caramel stallion sighed softly before gaining his bearings once again. The familiar train cabin that he had somehow grown accustomed to meeting his gaze. He was on a train. A train heading towards his next destination.

Trottingham.

As he slowly sat up, Sora would try to grasp for any part of the dream he had experience prior, yet the only thing he could even remotely remember from that dream was someone calling out to him. Someone reaching out to his heart in a way he had never felt before. Sora sighed softly as he closed his eyes, allowing his back rest, once again, upon the cot within his cabin. He could see, from his position, the break of sunlight over the horizon, day looming ever closer in the distance as the train traversed the landscape. Sora’s thoughts soon began to drift towards what he was going to do when he reached their destnation.

Someone…Or somepony had erected a barrier around an entire city, keeping everypony on the outside out and, more importantly, everypony within the inside of it in. Whatever it was that was going on, he had to find out what it was, and if the heartless or the Organization was involved…

His thoughts were interrupted however as he saw the sleeping form of his butter yellow Pegasus friend. The gentle rise and fall of her chest from her curled position causing him to smile slightly.

She’s pretty cute when she sleeps…

Sora paused as he looked down.

Did I really just…Well it’s not untrue…I guess…The ponies are rather cute looking. And Fluttershy is…really cute looking.

Sora shook his head before sighing softly. Sitting up, he could see the other mares nearby, each one sleeping peacefully upon a different chair. Slowly, he would slip from the one he occupied before making his way down the out of the cart. He doubted he could get any sleep right now, not with trying to keep his thoughts focused and all.

He had always found eating a good way to get one’s thoughts in order so a bit of a late night snack was in order. And he was just dying to try another one of Pinkie Pie’s delicious cupcakes.

Before he could he could take more than a couple of steps within the train’s other car however, the gentle closing of the door behind him would cause his gaze to fall upon Fluttershy of all ponies, a soft epp escaping her as he twisted to turn towards her completely.

“Fluttershy?” Sora said with a confused look as he gazed upon the mare. “I didn’t wake you did I?”

“Oh my…N-No Sora.” The mare squeaked, looking away from him after a moment of hesitation. “W-Well maybe a little…but I was always a light sleeper anyway…”

“Oh. Well, still. I’m sorry I woke you up.” Sora apologized to the shy mare. “I was just on my way to get a early breakfast.”

“Oh! No…I should be the one that was sorry.” Fluttershy tried to assure the caramel stallion. “You wanted to be alone didn’t you…I can just leave you to that…”

“No way!” Sora said as he placed a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “I would like nothing better than to be in your company Shy.”

Fluttershy’s face turned an extra shade of red as she blushed deeply at his words, the slight twitch of her wings noticeable even to Sora, though he didn’t think too much of it.

“W-Well…If you’re really okay with it…”

With Sora’s final nod, the pair of ponies made their way to the serving area.

It goes without saying that Sora was impressed with the way ponies were able to fit nearly a whole kitchen within in one whole train cart. If he didn’t quite know any better, he was sure that it looked a lot bigger on the inside than it did on the outside.

“Really nice of Celestia to pull out all the stops when it comes to our travels around Equestria.” Sora noted, as he began to rummage through one of the cabinets, silently praising himself on the fact that his hooves are working with him better than ever before.

“Oh…Well…Yes. She is very kind in that regard.” Fluttershy agreed, pulling out more than a few items out of the cabinets.

“It’s a shame that AJ and Pinkie couldn’t come with us this time.” Sora said. “They can really cook some mean pies.”

Fluttershy blushed slightly as she looked his way. “W-Well…Um…I can, if you want me to, make you something…if that’s okay with you that is.”

Sora blinked as he looked her way, a light blush of his own reaching his cheeks “W-Well. I mean you don’t have to go through all that trouble for me. I usually do fine when I need to.”

“Oh! B-But it will be no trouble at all.” Fluttershy told him. “I-I mean…You’re my friend too. And I know I can’t fight like the other girls can. S-So if I can do anything to help you, I want to do it.”

Sora looked away, scratching his cheek. The mare’s cute determination was more then he could handle for a reason he couldn’t not quite determine himself. “W-Well…Okay. If you want any help though, let me know okay?”

Fluttershy gave the stallion a shy smile as she nodded gently. “Oh…W-Well than…First I would need…

Rarity sighed softly as she closed the door the cart Fluttershy and Sora occupied. “The rest is up to you Fluttershy. Don’t you dare ruin this for yourself.”

Turning away from the door, she would make her way back to her seat. “Curse you for wanting to see love bloom…” The mare mumbled to herself. “Still, if it means making one of my friends happy, even if it’s for a little while, I’ll gladly resign myself to a fate of loneliness for a little longer.”

The white mare couldn’t help but smile, the memory of waking the butter-yellow Pegasus up just as Sora left the room. Sure she had told her to lie, which Applejack would never forgive her for, but this was in the name of love! And love overrules all! Or so she has been told in her Romance Novels.

Rarity sighed once again before slipping back into her chair, away from the still snoring Rainbow Dash as she slept wistfully unaware of everything around her. Looking out the window, Rarity gave the slightest of smiles. “Well…Maybe…Just maybe…Fluttershy is a sharing type?”

Running…

That was all that was keeping those monsters...Those Shadows...away from the both of them.

They didn’t quite know what would happen if they were caught by those things, but they knew enough that if they were indeed captured, they would be done for. They had to keep them away. They had just had to...

The older colt could feel the pair of tiny hooves around his neck tighten just a bit more, effectively securing their position upon him. Bright green eyes met determined blue ones, the little gray colt riding upon the older one’s green furred back.

The colt dashed into a nearby alleyway, dashing behind a nearby box. As soon as he did so, the smaller colt slipped from off of the larger one, allowing him to rest his back against the wall.

“Zidane…”

The older colt, Zidane, looked down at the smaller gray furred one, a hoof reaching up to pet the silvery mane. “Just…Need to rest for a little while Kuja...I’ll be right as rain after that. Then we can escape the city and find the resistance…” He spoke up in between pants of exhaustion.

Kuja gave a slow nod, his mouth open as if he was about to say something. Before he could do so however, his body went ridged. Kuja’s gaze fell to where the entrance of the alleyway lay before he moved to huddle closer to Zidane, a worried frown appearing on his face. “I can feel them...They are getting closer...”

Zidane’s eyes widened as he drew his bother closer still, a hoof reaching into his side pouch and pulling out a small dagger. Normally he would only use such an item in his acts, but now…He had to protect his brother.

Both colts froze as they heard shifting coming from the other side of their cover, the sound of something scratching clop against the rocky streets of the alleyway, ever so slowly getting closer and closer to them before stopping abruptly in front of them. Zidane pressed the smaller colts face into his chest as he opened his eyes to see some kind of pony like figure standing before the two. Gather up the rest of his courage, the older colt held out the dagger in a way that he hoped seemed threatening.

“S-Stay back…I’m warning you!” He said with as much vigor as he could muster.

Zidane waited for it to respond in some way...

And waited…

And waited some more…

Then he heard a soft smirk form into slow amused chuckles. “Back in my home town and this is how you treat your old performance partners?”

That voice…He knew that voice. The colt slowly let the dagger down as recognition soon came upon him.

“I…Wait…You…You’re…”

“Yes little Zidane. You are right.” The figure said, stepping out into proper light. Now that she was in plain view, his eyes widened by degrees. “It is I. The great…The powerful…” A smirked formed as the mare tipped her hat up, her lavender eyes shimmering even in the little light they had. “The one and only…Trixie Lulamoon.”

Apple Bloom sighed softly as she laid upon the billowing grass below her. “Ah can’t believe that we missed seeing Sora and the others off back at the train station.” She raised up a hoof as she looked at the star like object she held within. “Ah didn’t even get a chance to give him this here paopu charm thingy.”

Sweetie Belle frowned, her head turning to face her earth pony friend. “I don’t think that’s what it’s called Apple Bloom.”

“Living dictionary strikes again…” Scootaloo mumbled softly with a growl as she rolled her eyes.

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle sat up to look towards the orange Pegasus lying beside her. “Don’t take your anger out on me because Sora and Dash left ya.”

Scootaloo sat up as well, her scowl deepening. “But we could have got on the train again! We could have seen Dash and Sora in action like last time.”

“As ‘Fun’ as that part was during our trip, I think I can deal with not nearly dying at the hooves of a deadly dark king and completely crazy mare.” Sweetie said with a scowl of her own. “Besides, I don’t think I want to do anything back braking anytime soon. How do you even carry all of those baskets on your head any way Apple Bloom.”

“Years of practice ah guess.” Apple Bloom responded with another long sigh.

“Come one AB.” Scootloo said with a roll of her eyes. “It sucks that they left us behind, really, really mad about that actually, they will be back and you can give your coltfriend his toy. Besides, we may not get front row seats to the action, but I can’t wait till Rainbow Dash comes back and tells us how bad-flank she was at dealing with those nasty shadow creatures!”

“Yeah! And Rarity is going to!” Sweetie Belle quipped.

“Yeah…Not to burst your bubble Sweets, but Rarity doesn’t seem the most…ah…Physicaly abled ponies around.”

A livid and red cheeked Sweetie Belle turned to face her friend. “Hey! My sister is just a cool and strong as Rainbow Dash.” The white unicorn filly flipped her mane as she turned away from Scootaloo. “And she does it with style to match her ferocity.”

“Since when is fashion considered cool?” Scootaloo scoffed with a wave of her hoof.

“Since always!” Sweetie Belle said with narrowed eyes. “Just look at the Wonder Bolts! They have those cute outfits they wear to their shows. Especially Soarin’.” The mare said, just a little bit too dreamily.

“They are not cute!” the orange Pegasus said with a growl. “They are uniforms. They are cool!”

“Well I think they are cute.” Sweetie huffed.

“Cool!” Scootaloo countered as she pressed her face close to her friend’s own.

“Cute!” Sweetie yelled back, not at all backing down.

“COOL!

“CUTE!!”

“COOOOLLLL!!”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes as she turned away from her friends with a bit of annoyance. The yellow filly raised the good luck charm she had made for the stallion that had caught her eye, a sad smile forming on her muzzle. “Please be alright Sora…I’m missing you already…”

From the shadows, not too far away from the trio of fillies, a shadowy figure shifted back behind a tree, a smirk upon his muzzle.

“Interesting…Hehe…I actually might have fun on this dust ball of a world after all.”

The dark pony opened a corridor to darkness before making his way inside

“Well…Gotta say Rarity. You just made me twenty percent cooler.”

Rainbow smirked at herself as she looked into the mirror provided for her. The one standing within her reflection made the mare smile happily. The bluish gray hoodie she had been made was more than a little stylish, complementing her fur color quite well. The jacket itself was adorned with zippered sleeves, the little handle stopping part way to where her shoulder was. She gave a wide smirk as she stood on her hind hooves, allowing herself to see just where the jacket ended for her, the cloth stopping just above her midriff. The mare turned to show herself her wings, two holes having been made for the mare’s wings were. She gave them an exploratory flap, making sure that she would not be hindered in any way when she started to actually fly. She was not disappointed.

Rainbow turned, catching sight of her flank as she did so. A pair of shorts the same color as her hoodie covered her rump, hugging her flank in all the right places. She was more than sure that her movement wasn’t going to be restricted at al. Dangling off the cloud white belt she had around her waist was a keychain of her cutie mark. While usually she wouldn’t care for such coverings, she couldn’t help but admire how awesome she looked with it on. Adding the pair of blue goggles to the mix that sat upon the top of her head and even Rainbow Dash had to admit…Rarity really did outdo herself this time.

“Heh…” The cyan mare struck a regal pose as she faced herself once again, lifting one of her forehooves off the ground as she did so. “Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash, at your service.”

Rarity smiled as she used her magic to adjust a bit of fabric here and there upon her friend’s new clothes. “It does make you look quite ‘Dashing’ if you forgive the pun, Darling.” The white unicorn mare giggled. “Are you sure it fits perfectly? Not too tight is it?”

“You kidding?” Rainbow asked with a wide grin. “This is awesome!”

“Well, as with the Gala dresses, I did have all of us in mind after all.” Rarity quipped. “And I must say that I am more than a little pleased with the results. Not quite like Sora’s outfit, but I doubt you would be out of place when we all go adventuring together in the future. And on that note…” Rarity turned to look behind herself, looking towards a moderately sized folding screen. “And how are you faring Fluttershy? Are you able to…Oh…what’s the word that those guards ponies use when they put on armor…Um…Oh! Are you able to ‘Equip’ your own attire?”

The sight of a familiar pink maned mare would slowly pop her head from behind the folding object. “I…Um…I think I have it on right…It’s just…”

“Just what darling? Does it not fit right?”

“N-No! It’s not that.” Flutttershy squeaked. “I…I mean…It’s just…I don’t know if…”

“For the love of…” Rainbow Dash, with all of the wisdom of a speeding train, decided to take a more direct approach to the situation. The speedster mare flew to where her longtime friend hid, and proceeded to kick away the object that was obscuring their view of her. She gave a solemn nod to the offending folding piece of whatever it was that Rarity had called it before hearing a very Rarity sounding –Squee- of delight. The rainbow maned mare gaze fell to Rarity, who held a hoof to her mouth as her eyes shimmered with praise, before turning to face Fluttershy.

If it wasn’t for her long time practiced art in the ways of cool, she was sure that she would be joining Rarity whole heartedly within the –Squeeing- Department.

Fluttershy was dressed in a hoodie just as Rainbow was, but this one was of the purest whites Rainbow had ever seen. The sleeves of her outfit seemed to stop just before reaching her hooves. What really, really set her hoodie apart from Dash’s own was how long the back end of it seemed to go, making it seem like more of a cape like look. At the edges of the cloth was red like triangles, zippers adorning each one of them, unzipped of course.

The shy mare squeaked as she came out of the sudden stupor she had found herself in, quickly reach back and pulling up the hood of her clothes on instinct. An action that only allowed Dash to see the full cuteness of the Cat ears that were adorned upon it. Much smaller red triangles seemed to adorn the rim of her hood just like the end of the cape, minus the zippers this time.

Rainbow landed next to Rarity to get a better look at her friend, smile of her own adorning her lips. “Look at you Shy. Gotta say, you look pretty good.”

Fluttershy slightly lifted the hood that covered her face. “R-Really?”

“Oh I must concur darling.” Rarity agreed, as she moved closer to the mare. She lifted the bit of the cloth that covered Fluttershy’s flank, revealing a brown colored pouch that was around the mare’s waist. “And quite functional too, since this pouch is enhanced with space expanding magic, meaning that not only is it bigger on the inside, but you will be able to carry anything within the pouch within reason, mind you.” She released the cloth. “And…” She said in a whispered tone, one that only the butter yellow mare could hear. “I’m sure that Sora will love to see you in such a cute ensemble.”

The shy mare’s blushed heightened be degrees, though she had cast her gaze upon the white mare. “Y-You really think so?”

“The poor boy is a little dense Fluttershy, but he is not stupid. I’m sure that he will more than appreciate what you look like.”

Fluttershy looked down at her shifting forehooves, a muttered “I guess so…” escaping her as her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. Her embarrassment didn’t stop the smile from encroaching upon her lips though.

Then a thought crossed her mind.

“Rarity…Um…Not to be a bother but…What about your outfit?”

Rarity gave the shy mare a wave of her hoof. “I still have to make a few minor adjustments to it sadly, but I promise, that I will be sure to-!!”

The sound of screeching metal wheels as well the jostling motion of stopped caused near every mare within the train cart to nearly tip over. Rainbow, being the first to recover, flew towards a nearby window, looking out of it to the world on the other side. “Woah…I think…I think you two are gonna wanna see this.”

The cyan mare flew from the window, opening a nearby door to allow herself to outside of the train. Rarity and Fluttershy gave each other an apprehensive look before following after their Pegasus friend. It wasn’t long before the pair saw exactly what Rainbow had been talking about. Not too far away from the trio was something that had looked all too familiar with them. A large dome of dark red stood tall, the height of which could only be matched with how far it stretched.

“This…This looks like…” Rainbow began, both anger and fear slipping into her tone of voice.

“Yes…It does…It’s the same that Sunset had around us in that…”Rarity answered, though she knew that there was no question. “Exactly the same…”

“Girls!”

The three elements of harmony turned to see Sora making his way towards them, a look of worry upon his own features. He stood in front of the mares, looking between all three with more than a bit surprise, his eyes scanning over Rainbow’s and Fluttershy’s attire. Though he seemed to linger on the shy mare for a little longer then necessary, a bit of a blush forming on his face. He quickly shook his head however before turning to face the dome of darkness in front of them.

“I…Ah…Guess this is the place we need to be, huh?” Sora asked with a frown.

“Heh…And it seems our good old friend, Sunset Shimmer is out to play.” Rainbow mused with a dark smile as she hovered above the ground, cracking both her fetlocks. “Been wanting to meet that girl for a bit and…Repay her for our last encounter. And boy, do I plan to repay her in spades.” She struck home her point as she jabbed at the air a few times.

“Well, seems the guests of honors has arrived at last. And already ready to party. Nice.”

Sora and the girls all turned to find a very familiar amber eyed armored mare making her way towards them. “Fancy seeing you four here. Been awhile.” The mare giggled.

“You’re…Dream Drop.” Sora said as he finally recognized the silver armored mare. “It really has been a while hasn’t it?” He gave the mare a bright smile, much to her enjoyment.

“Awww!” The mare squeaked as she moved to wrap a hoof around the stallion’s shoulders, pulling him close for a very blush inducing nuzzle to his cheek. “You remember me! You know how to make a mare feel so special don’t ya?”

Rarity glowered at the unicorn guard mare as she began to ‘marehandle’ Sora just as she did last time. She was about to tell the mare a piece of her mind when something else caught her attention. Something that nearly made her heart skip a beat. Beside her a very familiar yellow and pink Pegasus mare was staring a hole straight though Dream Drop, her brow creased in a furrow and her…Her cheeks puffed out in the most cutest of pouts she had ever seen any pony make in all of her lived life

And then, somehow, a shiver of fear went up her spine.

H-How can something be so cute…and so terrifying…all at the same time?

Rarity’s inner thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another’s voice behind them, this one, however, was very unfamiliar to her.

“Is that any way to act in the line of duty Corporal Dream Drop?” Her voice, for it was in fact a female, caused Dream Drop to “epp” before quickly letting go of the stallion and standing at attention.
“No Ma’am Lightning Ma’am!” She said in a rather stoic tone, her hoof raising up to her forehead in a gesture Sora knew from his world as a salute.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened by degrees, silently mouthing the name Dream Drop had just given. Slowly the butter yellow mare turned around her eyes locking on to the figure before them.

The approaching pony was slightly taller than Fluttershy, her body, leaner and yet quite muscular, even more so than Rainbow Dash. Her fur seemed to be a dirty yellow, while her mane almost seemed the same color as Fluttershy's own. Her eyes also seemed to be quite a darker shade of blue from the shy mare's own.

Sora was sure something was…familiar about her. He just couldn’t catch it

While she did look like a pony of authority, what she wore told something different. Unlike the other guard ponies that had been waring traditional Equestrian Guard armor, she was in a more form fitting outfit, a tannish jacket with a dark brown turtleneck like shirt underneath it. One of her sides was a metal shoulder piece. With each step she took, the long flowing scarf would follow behind her. Dark blue bands covered her front hooves, while dark brown leg coverings took up the majority of her lower hind hooves. Just barely visible was a cutie mark dark clouds shooting off an array of lightning from them. Hanging just on the side of her was a small brown bag that held some sort of metal object within its casing.

Lightning, as she was called, opened her mouth to speak, only to find herself falling onto her rump as Fluttershy tackled her in a bone crushing hug, much to everypony’s surprise.

"Lightning!" The mare cheered. "It’s been so long!"

Lightning sat stunned for a few moments before a gentle smile crossed her lips, her own hoof move to pet the top of Fluttershy's head. "It’s good to see you too...Cuz."

Sora’s hoof hit his fetlock in recognition. “You two are related.”

Rainbow stared in awe as her long time best friend flew into the hooves of the guards pony. Not just any guards pony though. The guards pony who not only had a reputation in and around Equestria as being one of the most bad-flanked ponies to ever lived, but one who also turned down an in pony invitation to become leader of the current Wonderbolts, a position that was then given to the current leader, Spitfire. And Fluttershy, her best friend for, who knows how long, was hugging on the mare as if the two were-

“You two are related.”

Sora’s words resonated within the cyan Pegasus, her mind crashing hard to the point where she barely felt as if she was alive anymore. OMYGOSHOMYGOSHOMYGOSH! Fluttershy is related to ‘the’ Lightning Farron!

Lightning pulled away from the butter yellow mare, gently patting her pink head as she did so. “Seems some-mare grew up quite a bit since the last time I saw her. Gotta say, you really did fill out from that wiry frame you were before.”

Fluttershy blushed deeply at her words, her gaze flicking towards her three friends, most in particular, Sora, who had a cheesy grin on his face as he watched the pair. She couldn’t help but look down in embarrassment at his reaction. “L-Lightning! You’re embarrassing me.”

“Sorry, couldn’t help it.” Lightning apologized before looking between Fluttershy and her friends. “Just what are you doing here anyway? I was told that our key to this barrier was coming down here to help us, but I didn’t expect to find you here of all ponies.”

“Ahem,” Rarity interjected with a gentle smile. “I do believe that you will find no better help then us in the matters of what may be going on around here.” The white unicorn gave a small curtsy. “Allow me to first introduce myself proper however. I am Rarity Belle, or Lady Rarity if you prefer. It is a pleasure to meet you, miss…”

“Lightning.” The guards mare finished for her. “Lightning Farron, Captain of the Forth Division Unit within the Equestrian Guard.” Lightening answered. “It’s nice to actually meet two of the Elements of Harmony in the flesh.”

Rarity dipped her head in greeting. “Charmed I’m sure. The white unicorn mare motioned to the still gapping cyan pegasus beside her. “This charming mare our good and loyal friend, Rainbow Dash.”

“Rainbow Dash, the up and coming star of Ponyville?”

Lightning’s words seemed to revive the rainbow maned Pegasus, her hooves flying to her muzzle and a barely contained, cute squeals of joy escaping her. Only for her to cough and toss her head to the side, giving off a nonchalant air about her. “Yeah…No big deal really.” And then she added, “Anypony would have done the same in my position.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Lightning mused, her gaze soon falling on Sora.

Rarity moved beside the young stallion, wrapping a hoof around him as she did so, pulling him close to her. “And this gentlecolt is the one I do believe you were waiting for. The Hero of Light and wielder of the Keyblade, the Wonderful, the Strong, the Brave; Sora.”

For his part, Sora’s face looked like it was doing a really good job mimicking the color of a cherry tomato. He stuttered as he looked between the mare that was introducing him and the other that appraised him with a critical eye.

“I-I mean…I’m not all that…Sure I helped out here and there b-but…” Sora tried to explain as he gave Lightning an awkward smile. He stopped talking as the dark yellow mare raised a hoof, cutting off any form of conversation he was trying to build up.

“As far as first impressions go, you look like nothing I would have expected.” Lightning responded.

Sora frowned. “And what’s that supposed to mean, huh?”

The guard mare’s gazed feel back to the stallion. “If I was told that some kid, barely older then Fluttershy, defeated a resurrected unicorn with an army of shadow creatures at his back that numbered in the thousands and the power of dark magic at his beck and call…Well…Forgive me for saying so, but I would properly get that pony’s head checked for brain damage.”

“Hey!” Rainbow called out, landing next to Sora. “We helped too! No way he would have won without yours truly having his back.”

Lightning raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

Sora looked between Rainbow and Rarity before nodding. “Well…Yeah. My friends are my power after all. No way would I have won without them having my back.”

Lightning stared for a moment longer before the corners of her lips twitched for a moment in a kind of smile. “As I said, as far as first impressions go, you’re not somepony I would have expected at all. Or was it someone in your case?”

Sora froze up as he locked eyes with the guards’ mare. “You…Ah…Know?”

Lightning nodded. “Me and Dream Drop were briefed by the Princesses before coming here.” She started as she trotted back towards the makeshift camp nearby. The others followed close behind her, Fluttershy and Rarity opting to stay near Sora as Rainbow Flew above them all, just within earshot to listen. “From what I have heard, my cousin, her friends, and you have had quite a few adventures ever since you show up. Defeating shadow creatures and plant monsters to saving an entire Lost Kingdom.”

Lightning paused as she turned to face the group once again. “Fluttershy and her friends I can understand, this is their home and, even though I wouldn’t want them too if I could help it, I’m sure they would fight for it. But you…Someone that is not even part of this world; for you to help and expect nothing in return…I wanted to see for myself what the kind of being would look like.”

Sora raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“Well…” Lightning looked away from Sora. “You’re a lot plainer then I expected you too look.”

Sora blinked before scrunching up his muzzle in both confusion and slight indignation. “Is that a…bad thing.”

Lightning scoffed as she tried to hold back a bit of laughter. “I didn’t say that was a bad thing, no.” She reassured him. “But, getting a good look at you now, and hearing everything you did before, I think I can trust in you a little.”

“Just a little?” Sora asked as he cupped the back of his head with the fetlock of his fore hooves. “Well, that’s okay. I’ll be sure to show you what I got when things gets started.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” She parted the folds of a nearby tent. “Come inside, we have a lot to discuss, and little time to do it.”

Lightning slipped past the threshold of the tent, followed by Sora and Rartiy. Just as Fluttershy was about to follow, she felt somepony turn her around and, without warning, a hoof flick her nose. She shy mare epped at the contact before staring up at the magenta eyes.

“R-Rainbow?” Fluttershy spoke up in confusion.

“That,” Rainbow said as she landed next to her. “Was for not telling me that my best friend was related to one of the coolest pegasus in pegasi history.”

Fluttershy tilted her head as she rubbed her nose. “You mean…Lightning?”

“Well duh! How come you didn’t tell me that you were related to, like, one of the most coolest ponies in the world next to the Wonderbolts!”

Fluttershy looked away from Rainbow Dash and towards the tent the rest of the ponies had filed into. “W-Well…I never really knew that she was candidate for the Wonderbolts. She never talked about it with me before.”

Rainbow squinted her eyes before sighing. “Fine, I believe you, but you and I are gonna talk about you getting me an autograph from her later.” She said, giving the mare a playful shove.

Fluttershy giggled softly as she bumped her back. “You’re my friend, Dashie” She mused as she gave the Cyan mare a little bump of her own, “So if it’s for you I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I asked nicely. She was never really into seeking attention and all that.”

Rainbow smiled broadly before turning around to head into the tent. Before she did so however, the cyan mare turned to look back at her friend. “Oh! And before I forget, good luck with the Hero.”

Fluttershy’s eye widened as her gaze locked on to the cyan mare. “I-I…What?”

“Please, Shy. I know I’m not the brightest but I think I know when my best friend has gots the hots for a stallion.” Rainbow said with a smirk. “Could have did a lot worse is all I can say. I’ll be rooting for ya.”

Rainbow slipped smoothly into the tent, leaving a very much so stunned and blush blushing Fluttershy behind.

Spike was, to put it lightly, bored out of his bucking mind.

The young drake halfheartedly flipped though his comic book, a sigh escaping him as he did so. It was one of his newest issues he got on Twilight and his town outings. The heroes of the comic, the Power Ponies, where locked in a fierce battle with one of the fan favorite villains, Catrina the Witch.

Despite the well-drawn art and the action aplenty on every page, the young drake just couldn’t get into it like he used to. The reason for his funk had to do with one pony, and one pony in particular. The hero pony who came from the stars to help Twilight and the others fight off the darkness, Sora…Ah…Sora...

Wait…Does Sora have a last name?

Spike felt that was something he should look into later. He shook his head, trying to get back to the matter at claw.

It only stood to reason that the young drake thought about everything he had went through in the past few weeks, Fighting alongside his friends within the Library of the Crystal Empire and fighting with Twilight, Rainbow and that other stallion, Riku, against the Crystal Giant, he couldn’t help but feel incomplete as he laid within the basket of his and Twilight’s room. Like, he was missing out on something important now that they were back in Ponyville.

Twilight had dismissed him after he had got done cleaning to work on the Elements of Laughter and Honesty, trying to figure out how Applejack and Pinkie Pie fused(?) with Sora. When Spike first saw it when Twilight asked the three to demonstrate the technique to her, Spike couldn’t help but think that it was the coolest thing in the world.

The purple little dragon couldn’t help but move to place his hoof on one of the keyblades Sora held within his grasp, much to the dismay of Twilight of course, though when Sora assured her nothing bad would happen, Twilight begrudgingly forgave him.

Still, just thinking about it did little to lift Spike’s boredom. He needed something better to do. With Twilight held up within her basement and Rarity off with Sora, Shy and Dash to fight more heartless, Spike was left to his own devices, which meant he was left to be bored on his own.

Spike frowned as he sat up from his bed. Looking left and right, he gave a smirk before nodding to himself once. The little drake stood up from his bed-basket, jumping from it to the floor. He allowed his mind to race as he imagined seeing many of those Heartlesses surrounding him.

“So…You think you can take me on huh?” The little drake spoke out with a smirk. Spoke whipped out his claw to the side, imagining a keyblade of his very own appearing within said claw. He held it, in what he believed was the coolest way, the handle held in a reverse grip. With war cry, Spike dashed fast and hard into the make believe bad guys, the claw that held the blade whipping in a downwards ark, dispatching a heartless with ease. Twisting around, he let the blade whip in front of him, destroying three more heartless that had decided to pounce on him while he had his back turned.

“Too easy. You jerks are gonna have to do better than that!” Spike taunted as he twirled his blade behind him. And just like that, he imagined the heartless doing just that. Many of them coming straight for him in one go. The little drake was not deterred however, leaping into the fray of darkness with no fear what-so-ever.

Spike’s “keyblade” whipped back and forth, front and back, side to side; each slash, each stab, each counter, finding their mark as Spike effortlessly cleared the room of the dark entities that would try to harm his friends.

Soon it was down to just him and one other. The master mind behind it all. Xemnas himself. Spike pointed his “keyblade” towards cloaked figure, a look of determination fixed upon his brow. “Your evil terror ends now. Cause your opponent is none other then-“

Before Spike could finish his remark to the dastardly villain he was cut off by an explosion that shook the very foundations of the tree home. He was knocked to his rump as the library shook, sent Into a daze for a few seconds.

“Ugh…what the hey was…Wait…Twilight!”

Spike sprinted down the steps and towards the basement door, kicking it open and releasing a building smoke cloud from its trapped space. As fast as he could, the drake ventured down into the depths, his gaze washing over devastated appearance of the room. Books, papers, and the like were scattered about the area, and standing in the center of it all, was a black furred version of Twilight, eyes wide and fur singed. It would have been a hilarious sight if Spike wasn’t so worried.

“What the hey happened down here Twi?” Spike asked as he made his way to his magical friend, an eyebrow raised.

“What I thought would happen when one tries to use Dark magic with one of the Elements touched by the keyblade,” Twilight responded without missing a beat, a hoof raising to press against the side of her head.

Spike’s other eyebrow joined it’s partner. “Say what?!”

Twilight’s horn glowed, enveloping her with her own magic. Within seconds the mare was free of singed fur. “I was testing Dark Magic on the Elements touched by the keyblade.” Twilight answered.

“Okay, no…I heard that part.” Spike shot back. “I was implying why would you do something like that?”

“Because I was testing the effects the elements had on it.” Twilight answered. “And do you want to know what I found?”

“That your insane?”

“No, Spike.” Twilight moved towards the two glowing elements that Pinkie Pie and Applejack wore respectively. “I’ve found that we may just have a way to defend ourselves against the Heartless.”

“I thought they already did that.” The little drake told her as he followed after her.

“They never did it by themselves Spike.” Twilight said as she smiled down at him. “But ever since Sora’s, Applejack’s, and Pinkie’s little fuse ability, the elements of Laughter and Honesty have been emitting the same kind of magic signature that Sora’s keyblade produces. Its faint right now, but I can guarantee that they are doing so.”

Spike contemplated the mare’s words for a moment before realization hit him like Applejack bucks an apple tree. “Wait! Does that mean that…that…you guys are going to get your own keyblades?!?”

“I’m…not sure…There’s still a lot I don’t know about the Keyblades and what they do. And there’s still a lot more I need to test, but right now, I think I’m one step ahead in the right direction.”

Spike nodded as he looked towards the slowly dimming Elements of Honesty and Laughter. “It would be cool if we all could get a keyblade.”

Twilight giggled softly as she patted the little drake’s head. “How about we go get something to eat. I haven’t had a bite since this morning. We can clean this place up after.”

“Sure.” Spike said as he made his way towards the stares. “But let’s go to a place where gems are being sold. I could really use a sapphire right about now.”

It was hours later before Sora found himself on the outskirts of the little escapement, finding a spot to lay down on top of the tallest hill that he could find. He allowed himself to rest, mind overwhelmed slightly at the scope of everything that had happened. That’s still happening.

He was use to going on dangerous missions and terrifying areas. Heck, he was sure that thing that attacked him and his friends was more than just a giant heartless. Still, no matter what the situation, overtime he was about to get into the thick of it his heart would always thumped a little harder, his movements become a little stiffer. It was even more so now, after everything that happened within the Crystal Empire. Despite what the others might tell him, despite the happy outcome in the end, he had most failed in the most horrible of ways.

Maybe...If I had trusted in my friends a bit more back then too...

A sudden memory flashed before his eyes, thoughts of betrayal pressing hard within the deepest depths of his mind. He pushed it aside just as quickly as it had came into being.

I shouldn’t be mad right? It’s not fair to any of us…

Sora sighed softly as he raised a hoof towards the starlit sky, reaching out towards the moon that looked so close but was oh so far away. There was a tug at his heart, a familiar sensation sending a questioning wave throughout his body. Sora knew who it was before he even spoke.

Ventus? Is that you?! Where have you been?

Always been here. The voice spoke within his mind. Just been letting you fly solo for a bit. Needed time to recover too.

You got hurt too? Sora asked with a little dread in his voice. How did he get hurt? Why did he get hurt? Was it his fault?

It was something else. Ventus said with a quite tone. Something I should have expected but really didn’t think was possible.

Sora blinked in confusion. Something else? Something else like what?

Something with a bit too much power for me to outright stop like I did before. Ventus responded with a serious tone. Sora, for now I need you to keep yourself together. Don’t let your emotions control you to the point where you’re not yourself anymore.

Huh? What does that mean? Sora asked with a slightly concerned tone.

It’s hard to explain right now. Ventus responded after a moment of silence. But for now, just trust me. At Sora's unsure nod Ventus continued. Now, I’ll be taking my leave again.

Huh? Why is that? Didn't you just get here?

Cause you've got company. The voice spoke in a teasing like tone. Before Sora could even inquire further about what he meant, Ventus was gone again. The other’s presence becoming that of a small tickle in the back of his heart.

It wasn’t long before Sora heard an all too familiar voice squeak out to the left of him. Turning, the Keyblade wielder found himself looking towards Fluttershy, they shy butter yellow mare still adorned in the outfit that Rarity had put her tender loving care into. Sora couldn’t stop the blush that adored his face as he found himself thinking on how adorable she looked right now. Though for some reason, in the back of his mind, he felt that it was the mare that made the clothes work, not the other way around.

Sora’s thoughts about the mare were interrupted at the sight of the basket that Fluttershy carried within her mouth. The sight of all manner of breads and fruits and vegetables was enough to make the stallion remember just how hungry he really was.

Fluttershy only hesitated for a bit before making her way towards him, placing the basket down between the both of them. “I-I’m sorry if I disturbed you Sora, I just…Well…I noticed that you didn’t eat all that much when we got off the train and…Well…I…”

“Thanks Shy.” Sora said as he picked up an apple, biting down onto it as he did so. It had to have been one of Sweet Apple Acers brands because only they could produce an apple that was as juicy and tasty as the one he was eating right now.

Fluttershy giggled softly as she watched him chow down, her main doing its best to hide the blush that formed on her cheeks at Sora’s praise. “You’re welcome Sora. Just happy to help when I can.”

Sora smiled back as he looked towards the mare. “Wanna finish this off with me?”

Fluttershy squeaked softly as her blush took on a deeper shade of red before nodding. Carefully sitting down beside him, the butter yellow mare picked up loaf of bread before pulling it apart, giving half to Sora after she did so. The caramel stallion smiled as he took his half, tearing into it with a grateful hmm of pleasure as his gaze turned skywards. Fluttershy bit into her portion as well before looking up into the sky with Sora.

The pair of ponies were content to enjoy the cool breeze that the midnight produced, Luna’s moon filling the sky with its majesty as always.

“I…Um…Sora?”

Sora’s gaze fell upon Fluttershy. “Hmm? Something wrong Shy?”

“Oh no…It’s nonthing like that…Its just…All those Stars out there.” Fluttershy gestured towards the sky. “you said before that they are other worlds?”

Sora paused to think for a moment. If he had to guess, he was pretty sure that he had mentioned that at some point. More than likely when he was talking about his past before he came to this world. “I remember saying that before…Yeah.”Sora responded with a nod.

Fluttershy was quite for a moment as she looked up to the sky. “Sora…You will have to leave when you’re done here, right? To go to other worlds…”

“Y-Yeah…”

Fluttershy grew quite after that, her head hanging down slightly. “I see…I’ll…Miss you when you leave…”

Fluttershy squeaked as she felt a feathery limb pull on her. The mare’s head resting firmly against Sora’s shoulder caused Fluttershy’s heart to race wildly. The shy mare’s gaze slowly shifted up towards the stallion’s own, his gaze shift off to the side as he scratched his cheek with a hoof.

“If you want me to, I can come by and visit every chance I get.” He told her, the blush on his own cheeks decorating his face. Sora couldn’t stop himself as he spoke, the words sputtering out of his muzzle faster than he could think. “Besides I still owe you for taking care of me when I was hurt, right?”

“I…Ah…Y-Yes…” Fluttershy agreed, her boldness accompanying her stuttering staggering ease. “A-And a p-picnic would be l-lovely…I-If it’s okay w-with you…” She squeaked as she looked away. “T-To meet the rest of my animal friends of course…You really h-haven’t seen them and I r-really want you to.” Fluttershy’s own wing slowly slipped behind Sora’s back, pulling him just as close as he did to her.

Both stallion and mare pressed close to each other as they kept each other company under Luna’s moon.

"They are just so adorable, are they not?" Rarity cooed as she sighed longingly. "They really are made for each other. Just look at the chemistry!"

Rainbow Dash placed a hoof over Rarity's muzzle. "Keep it down or Shy and the Hero will hear ya." She hissed.

Rarity blushed slightly as she gave a nervous giggle. "Oh dear...hehe...I guess I really should put a lid on it as one might say."

The cyan mare rolled her eyes as she looked back towards the two pegasi on the hill. "Still...Can’t say they don't look comfortable with each other. And I never seen Shy so…Mushy when it comes to a stallion." Rainbow smiled for a breaf second before growing a confused expression. "Hey Rarity."

"Yes darling?" Rarity asked, turning to face her rainbow maned friend.

"You don't think we are...manipulating them together do you?"

Rarity gave a lady like scoff. "Oh pish-posh. Perish the thought darling.” Rarity gave Rainbow a smile, one that the cyan mare thought was both the happiest she had ever seen her white furred friend…And the most unsettling. “Why, it’s not manipulating if it’s for a good cause."

Lavender eyes peaked out from the slightly raised pony-hole cover. Their gaze shifting back and forth as they scanned the immediate area. Finding the way clear, the cover would lower itself back in place and Trixie would make her way down the ladder, joining her two young charges.

“Finaly. Those dark creatures patrolling the streets are just too much. Now as for- Unf!”

Trixie turned just in time to find herself tackled to the ground, the oldest of the brothers wrapping his hooves around her, a big grin upon his muzzle. “It really is you Trixie. You’re finally back after all this time…”

“H-Hey! Un-hoof Trixie. You are liable to-“ She paused as she felt a press gently against her side. Kuja staring at the mare with a smile of his own. Trixie looked between the two before sighing softly, her hooves scooping up both colts into a hug. “Who is Trixie kidding…She missed both of you too much to stay mad.”

It was a while before the trio of ponies let each other go. When they had gotten their fill, the older colt pulled himself away from Trixie. “You have no idea how glad we are to see you Trixie.” He soon gave her a deadpanned look. “But did you really have to scare us half to death back there. We thought you were one of those…Dark Ponies.”

The showmare scoffed. “Even in dire situations, a performer never drops the act. That is the Trixie way!” She smiled as she patted Kuja. “Isn’t that right?”

The little colt nodded without pause, causing Zidane to roll his eyes as he made his way back to the mare. “Forgot how unfair everything is when you two get together. Speaking of which.” He smiled as he let a hoof press softly against the underside of the mare’s chin. “Loving the cape and hat. A style like that really suits you. A dynamic and flare that only a mare as beautiful and exciting as you is able to pull off.”

Trixie blushed slightly at the praise before glaring at the older brother, her magic pinching at both of his cheeks, pulling at them hard. “And I see that shrewd mouth of yours has only gotten worse since I’ve been away.”

“Wen woo wame wee?” Zidane tried to say, his mouth smarting from the torture Trixie was putting it though. The showmare let go of him after a while nodding with satisfaction as he rubbed his stinging cheeks with his hooves.

“No…Trixie guesses she cannot. After all not only am I great and powerful, but also smart and charming and beautiful to boot. Trixie really is the complete package, isn’t she.”

“Well, as much as I love this little reunion of the Students of Hoofdini, we should get out of here before those Dark Ponies come back. The others might want to know how you got past the barrier.”

“Barrier? What barrier?” Trixie asked; Confusion etched across her face.

“Uhhh…Duh. The one that stretches the entity of the city and forest.” Zidane answered. “How do you not know about that?”

“I-I mean Trixie definitely knew. It’s not like Trixie was lost in the forest for three days before she came here. What you do take Trixie for? An idiot? ” She paused as she looked his way. “But just to be sure, just how long has that barrier been around? Just so you and Trixie can get our facts straight.”

Zidane raised a hoof, clever quip upon the tip of his tongue, but was stopped by Kuja’s own magic tightening his muzzle.

“Three days Miss Trixie.” The little colt told him, his way of speaking somehow refined and yet the childish tone making him sound more adorable than anything else.

“Anyway, we need to go. Like yesterday.”Zidane rolled his eyes as he began to make his way deeper into the underground. “She’s gonna have our flanks for sneaking out and nearly getting ourselves caught…Again.”

“She? She who?” Trixie asked. “I thought our old ringmaster was a stallion.”

“Rizal Dazzle…He…” Zidane started before sighing, a look that Trixie wasn’t use to from the colt crossing his face. “Look, I’ll tell you everything later, Okay? But we need to leave…I don’t feel safe here.”

“You still didn’t tell Trixie who it is you are talking about.”

“Well then you better keep up.” Zidane child her, already going into a steady sprint. Trixie’s gaze fell onto Kuja, the colt shrugging before following after his older brother, at a bit of a slower pace.

Trixie sighed softly before following after the pair. “Something tells Trixie that she should have stayed lost in the woods…or back at that rock farm…”

Twilight Sparkle yawned softly as she set the note book she had been reading down back on her nightstand, closing the cover of the book as she did so. No matter how many times she had read over Sora’s adventures, it just seemed so…Grandiose for lack of a better word to describe it.

To think that so much had happened, and in some cases is still happening, all without her noticing any of it until Sora came to their world. Not only that, to think that the princesses knew all about it too and, if not all of it, more than they were willing to share with her.

She knew that she shouldn’t hate the princess, her teacher nor the Luna, for not telling her anything about it. How could she in any case? She would have been quite happy not having war bright unto her own doorstep.

Still, some small part of her, in the deepest depths of her heart, hated the feeling of never having prior knowledge about the Heartless, the keyblades, and most important, the connection between the Keyblade Wielders themselves and Equestria from long ago. Even the identities of two of the original Elements of Harmony.

Now though, she is now privy to all of it in this world destroying glory, and is still leaning more and more nearly every day.

And yet…

“What do I do now?”

Even with everything she had learn recently, how can she really make a difference? It was one thing helping out a friend who fought those heartless. Now, with what she had learned, it wasn’t just a hero saves the day kind of deal. What Sora was fighting was a war. One that somepony seemed fit to bring to her own world.

Twilight sighed softly as she leaned her head against the bed frame, her gaze slowly shifting towards her number one assistant as he slept peacefully in his basket. She gave him a motherly smile before turning her gaze towards her window. The stars shimmering high in the sky, while normally easing her mind, only pulling her into a state of uneasy and yet, excitable acceptance.

The lavender mare smiled softly to herself before laying her head down to rest, her eyes closing softly as she allowed sleep to seep into her mind.

Only to snap her eyes open again and sit up straight in the bed at a sudden realization.

“Wait…If the stars are other worlds…Then…How the hey does Luna control them?!?”

"Hello and welcome to Sugar Cube-GASP-Ohmygosh! Twilight! And Spike too." Pinkie Pie bounced up and down behind confectionary counter as she spied two of her bestest, best friends in the world make their way into the establishment. "It's been sooooooooooooo long since I've seen the two of you."

Said dragon and unicorn both looking at each other with raised eyebrows before looking back at their rather eccentric, pink friend, Twilight putting their thoughts into words for both of them. "Pinkie. We saw each other yesterday. You gave us a cupcake each. Remember?"

"Twilight, Twilight, Twilight." Pinkie mused as she shook her head as if disappointed with the unicorn for some unseen failing on her part. "I always miss my friends when they are out of my sight. For an egghead, you sure are a silly pony." She giggled playfully.

Said egghead rolled her eyes playfully at the remark, repeating under her breath that Pinkie is Just being Pinkie a few times before giving her friend a smile. "Well, in any case, One; Its good to see you too. Two; we came to get some food-"

"And get out of that stuffy library." Spike added.

"...Indeed." the librarian agreed with a nod though she did make a mental note to the pay Spike back for that little remark about her Library. "But mostly the food part. The two of us hadn't had time to eat breakfast and we are famished."

"Well you came to the right place! And at the right time!" the puffy pink pony announced as she placed a tray of muffins onto the counter. "Blueberry bonanza muffins! A new recipe from yours truly. Fresh from the fire and ready to be devoured. On the house because you two are my bestest best friends."

Twilight giggled as she took two muffins from off the tray, biting into the bread without hesitation while passing the other one over to Spike. "Oh Pinkie. Theses are so good. I don't know how you do but your treats are always amazing."

"The secret ingredient is love...For baking!" Pinkie declared in a dramatic fashion. "I decided I wanted to try out some new stuff for when the others get back from dealing with those bad ol' heartless."

"I'm sure they will love it Pinkie." Twilight said with an amused smile.

"I know I sure do." Spike agreed as he stuffed the rest of his muffin in his maw, gulping it down without remorse. "Got any more?"

"Sure do! Help yourself Spiky." the pink party pony pulled a tray from behind the counter. "So how's it going with the whole thing with the elements anyway Twi?"

The lavender mare sighed softly at the question, her brow furrowing slightly. "Its... Going to say the least. I do, however, think that harmonic energies within the elements of laugher and honest were able to absorb the light within Sora's keyblade. I'm still doing more test on them to make sure that everything is benign. Don't want the magical frequency to backlash on you two if you ever used them."

Pinkie Gasped. "Wait! are you telling me that the same magic that powers Sora's keyblade are in my element?! Does that mean I get to get a cool Keyblade and go all, " She swiped her hoof to the left. 'Swish!'' And then to the right. "'Chop!'" The pink mare had pulled a silly looking hat from her mane, tipping it so that only one side of her face was shown. "And then ill go 'Nothing personnell kid.'"

"What! No...Maybe...Why did you say personal like that?" Twilight asked slightly thrown off skew.

Pinkie smiled as she shrugged. "Just felt right."

"I'm totally using that."

Twilight playfully smacked the back of the dragon's head with her tail. "No. Bad dragon." Spike stuck his tongue out at her as she turned back to address the pink one. "Sorry Pinkie. I don't have all the answers yet."

"That's not a nnnoooooooooo~." Pinkie teased.

"And its not a yes so don't get your hopes up." Twilight told the mare.

"Oh dear. Twilight and Spike. Its good to see you again."

Twilight's head turned towards the opening of the kitchen doorway, spotting a rather cute, plump, Pink and blue earth pony mare smiling warmly at her.

"Good morning Mrs. Cake/Hey Mrs. C." Spike and Twilight greeted in unison, the latter tossing another muffin into his mouth soon after.

Twilight raised and eyebrow as she spotted the rather large box sitting on top of her neither, doing her best to stop two small baby foals from playing with. Being the kind mare that she was, Twilight used her magic to levitate the box from its preciouses position.

Mrs. Cake gasped softly as she looked between the now floating box and to Twilight, a smile forming on her face. "Thank you kindly Twilight. With Mr. Cake away, all we had was Pinkie and myself to watch the shop, and these two cute little trouble makers." shaking her hips slightly as she motioned towards the two foals in her saddle bags.

"Its no trouble at all Mrs. Cake." Twilight waved with a hoof, happy to help. "Where do you want me to put it?"

"Actually, I was on my way to deliver it to Sweet Apple Acers. With Applejack away so many times the past few days I was asked to fill in as a backup baker if you will."

"Oh? Well if that's the case then why don't me and Spike deliver it for you," Twilight suggested. "We were on our way over there anyway so It wouldn't even be out of our way."

The mother baker gave the librarian a look of uncertainty before smiling. "That...That would just be wonderful dear. Thank you."

"Anytime Mrs. C." Spike exclaimed cheerfully.

The purple mare gave the dragon a dubious look. "Why are you answering? You won't even be carrying it."

"Hey!" Spike spoke in mock indignation. "I'm going out of my way to keep you company ya know. Its a long walk to Sweet Apple Acers."

"A long walk that will mostly be spent with you on my back."

"Tomato, Potato." Spike turned and leaned his back against Twilight's neck, getting into a comfortable position. "Better get going. Don't want to keep the Apples waiting after all."

With a roll of her eyes, and after bidding her friend goodbye, Twilight and Spike left with their package in tow.

Deep within the Sweet Apple Acers apple fields would sit a lone pink tree house, nesteled snuggly within the tree that held it. Within, Scootaloo would bang a makeshift gavel, clearing her throat importantly, tossing her gaze to the only other two occupants within. "Alright girls. I know that we have been here and there and pretty much everywhere the past few day. Celestia knows even I had my fill of fun for the year, but now its time to get back to business. right?"

"Yep!/Ah guess so..."

Scootaloo nodded "I know we have been putting it off for a while. But its time for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to get back into action."

"Sure is!/uh-hun..."

"Now." Scootaloo smacked the paper behind her that held a varying assortment of odds and ends drawn upon it. "Now! Since its my turn to choose this week I decided something that pops into the cool factor. Like Extreme Cloud Diving!"

A white hoof shot up into the air.

"Yes. Member Sweetie Belle has something to say?"

Said filly nodded. "Twilight won't let us use her could walking spell again after our lest cloud related adventure."

"Oh yeah..." Scootaloo tapped her chin. "Wonder if they got all that jam out of them by now..."

A deep sigh pulled the orange filly out of her thoughts, her eyebrow raising slightly at the culprit. "You have something to add Member Applebloom?"

Said filly's gaze shifted over to her pegasus friend. "Huh? Oh. No. Not really. Just thinking."

"About your coltfriend?" Sweetie Belle teased as she poked Applebloom's cheek.

"Of course its about Sora." Scootaloo added, her tone playful as well. "She's been distracted ever since he left."

The apple filly blushed deeply as she looked away, frowning, though, she did not deny the question. "I'm just worried about him ya know. After what happened last time ah don't see how he can just...just...Do it again like nothing is wrong."

The other fillies lowered their head, thoughts of their experiences back in the Crystal Empire on thier minds.

"Well...I mean..." Scootaloo began, trying her best to find the words she needed. What could a filly like her say though. She hated the fact that Sora got hurt so badly like that too. If it had been Rainbow Dash in his posistion, she didn't even know how she would handle it. She was amazed that Applebloom was holding herself up well up to know.

The pegasus sighed heavily. "It does kinda suck that we can't help Sora like the others can. If we had keyblades of our own, I'm pretty sure that no pony would be able to stand up team Scootaloo."

"Wait a moment." Sweetie Belle squeaked, "How come we have to be called that stupid name?"

"Well duh. Because I'm the leader of the group." Scoots smirked. "I mean I am the fastest of us. And Rainbow Dash always says the fastest always wins. And it not stupid! You....Stupid!"

"Not if it was a slowest race. The last one to cross the finish line would be the winner then. And Who would follow you!?"

"Everypony would follow me! And why the heck would anyone want to be in a slowest race?! That's like, the anteeth...anti...ta..."

"Antithesis?"

"You dictionary!"

"How can you call me a dictionary when you where trying to say it first!"

"Because you said it better!"

"What does that even mean!?"

Seeing that her two friends were quite busy with their latest arguments, Applebloom decided that now was a good time to make herself scarce. The filly absentmindedly made her way a bit of a ways into the apple grove, pulling her thoughts back in order as she. She really didn't want to leave her friends, but she needed time to actually think without anyone else clouding her mind.

Finding a nice, thick tree where the sun's rays barely touched the ground thanks the the tree's natural canopy, the filly would prop her back up against the bark as she sat down enjoying the peace and quite. It lasted only for a moment before the thoughts of her crush soon entered her mind once again. "Scootaloo is right. If we had keyblades too, then maybe we could help Sora and...I won't have to see her hurt no more..."

The filly yawned as her eyes would grow heavier and heavier, the need to sleep slowly overcoming all of her senses. She couldn't understand why she was super tired all of a sudden but she didn't mind. The need to take her mind off her troubles was just the thing she needed and a quick power nap would do just that. Unaware to the poor little one, however, a dark coated stallion that had been watching she and her friends from within his own shadows bit into an apple he had plucked. "Well brother...Seems I found exactly what I need

The feeling of morning dew would drip onto Sora’s muzzle, stirring the young stallion from his deep slumber. Yawning softly, he allowed his pony ears to pivot towards all nearby sounds before the boy’s gaze would fall towards the butter yellow pegasus sleeping soundly upon his shoulder. The soft breathing of the shy mare made his heart jump every so slightly, despite not really knowing fully why he felt that way.

Shaking the feeling away, Sora would regrettably nudge Fluttershy’s cheek with a hoof. The mare stirred slightly before joining him in the waking world, a smile playing on her face as she looked up towards the stallion with sleepy eyes.

“Morning, Shy. Sleep well?” The young stallion asked her.

“MmmMm...Good morning to you too, Sora,” the shy mare mused softly before stretching out her stiff limbs. Fluttershy had never really slept outdoors before. It wasn’t something she really did, even when she had to take care of hurt animals bigger than she was. If she was being honest, it was something she thought she would never do in her life. It always seemed like she thought something would attack her while her guard was at its lowest. It was a feeling that she deeply feared above all else.

That is, until Sora came.

Sleeping under the stars with the keyblade Wielder by her side, she couldn’t help but feel the safest she had ever been in her life, knowing that he was right beside her all this time. She could barely stop her wings from shivering at how much she enjoyed it.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but find herself doing a lot of firsts with Sora. Sure, she had always gone on adventures with her other friends, but with Sora, it was the first time she actually wanted to go to someplace she knew would be full of danger, even if it was just for moral support. She knew she could never be of any real help; she might even get in the way. Still, her heart told her to stay with him. That if it came down to it, he would save her no matter what. She never wanted to let go of that feeling.

And yet…

The mare’s gaze shifted towards Sora as the boy leaned his back against the tree once again, her gaze becoming softer. Fluttershy knew that she really liked Sora. ‘I love him,’ she corrected herself, her heart swelling with pride, even if her statement was within her own mind. She wanted to say it over and over again, both to herself and to him, but something was holding her back. Something at the back of her mind kept telling her that right now… right here, in a place like this, saying something so profound would never feel right to her. Right now, Sora had things he had to deal with, things so much more important than her feelings right now. She had come to be his support and if anything she said right now could distract him, cause him to get hurt like he did back at the Crystal Empire...

A hard slap to the side of her flank caused the mare to “Eep!” before she glared at the offending pony. A familiar prism manned mare snickered as she strolled past her, rubbing Sora’s spikey mane with a hoof. “Morning Shy! Hey Hero. Lightning is looking for ya. Nearly time to save a town from those dark jerks and become even awesomer.”

Sora smiled as he got to his hooves, stretching his limbs happily. “Got it. Better not keep them waiting then, huh?” The caramel stallion began to make his way down the small hill he and Fluttershy had occupied the night prior with said mare, almost too eager to stay close to his side, following right behind him. Or she would have if Rainbow had not put a wing in front of her butter yellow friend.

“Me and Shy will catch up to you in a bit,” Rainbow called out to Sora, the stallion tilting his head at the pair before nodding, leaving his two friends to their own devices. With the keyblade wielder out of the way now, Rainbow’s smile slowly turned from kind into a rather impressive shit-eating grin. One Fluttershy knew all too well from back when they were little fillies. It was the type of smile that screamed “You know what I’m here for!”

“I see you doing your thing, Shy. Sleeping next to your hero like you’re some kind of cute princess. Aren't you a sly little minx.”

If Fluttershy’s face was any redder, one would have mistaken her for a ripe tomato. “”I-I’m not doing anything like that, Rainbow Dash!” With a stomp of her hoof the young mare pouted in the most adorable way as she looked away from her friend. “I like Sora, I know that, but he has other things to worry about right now instead of my feelings for him.”

Rainbow frowned as she tilted her head. “Wait… you mean you didn’t tell him yet?”

Fluttershy’s ears splayed to the sides of her head as her gaze shifted towards the ground.

Rainbow growled as she stomped her hoof this time. “Gah! Wait here! I’m getting him and-”

“Stop!!”

The cyan mare reared her head back to look at her usually soft spoken friend. It wasn’t a yell. Far from it. Still, Rainbow couldn’t stop her wings from tightening to the sides of her body in submission to her friend’s tone. It was almost as bad as Fluttershy’s stare.

After a few moments of silence to calm herself, the yellow mare spoke again. “Please… don’t. I want it to be me.” Her tone was like that of a gentle breeze as she continued. “I want to tell him when I feel like it's time to tell him. I know it's selfish of me to say that, but…” She paused as she pawed at the ground with a hoof. “I want it to be special.”

Rainbow growled once again as she began to pace in front of the mare. After a small, internal debate with herself, the cyan mare would release a long sigh before turning to face her friend. “Fine. He’s your crush so I really got no say in how you do your thing.” Rainbow smiled at the shy mare. “Gotta say, been a while since I saw you assertive like that.”

Fluttershy blushed once again, hiding her face behind her mane. “I-I’m sorry…”

“Hey, don’t apologize. A mare always knows what she wants and how she wants it. If you feel you need to let Sora do his thing, then I can understand I guess. If it was me I would have just told him already, but you’re not me so it's cool.”

Fluttershy smiled softly at her friend before pulling her into a gentle hug. “Still… sorry. And thank you, Dash. I promise I will tell him and you will be the first to know.”

“Uhg! I don’t really care about all that love stuff!” Rainbow huffed, though she did not stop the hug from her friend. When they both pulled away, the cyan mare gave Fluttershy a cocky, smug smile. “But hey! When you do get married, I promise to tell all your most embarrassing stories at the reception.”

“Rainbow!”

“It's about time you two showed up.” Fluttershy and Rainbow both smiled sheepishly at Lightning addressed the two pegasi. “We were just about to start the operation and I would have more peace of mind with everyone under my command close by when it does.”

Fluttershy was the first to speak between the two, offering her apologies. “Honestly, it was my fault. Rainbow and I had some stuff to talk about and...I really am sorry, Lightning.”

The guardsmare huffed as she turned away, raising a hoof to scratch her cheek gently. “Fine. Let's get started. My boys are itching for action and there’s a city that was needed to be saved hours ago. Sora!”

Said stallion, along with the fashionista mare Rarity, made their way towards the small group, the Keyblade Weirder smiling softly as Fluttershy instantly made her way towards his side, though the shy mare’s gaze was more focused on the white unicorn. And for good reason as well.

Rarity held her head up high as she sashayed towards Sora’s other side. She was adorned in a rather fetching, ruby red, no-sleeve overcoat, the length of it being just long enough to cover her nethers, but quite short enough for her tail to have free range of motion, white trimming running along the edge of the opening. She had also donned a rather nice pair of black, tight shorts that covered her rump, a hole allowing said tail from before to slip though. A short black crop top was upon her chest as well, covering her fluffy chest and only enhancing her allure. Against the side of the hood of her coat, a beautiful phoenix feather could be seen dangling off to the side, flowing ever so gently within the wind.

The fashionista couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face as she spotted Fluttershy’s gaze. “Like it? I always had a special place in my heart for the color red, you see. I also based it off the magical knights within the Equestrian army. Might as well look the part while I play my part.”

“It looks lovely, Rarity. It really suits you,” Fluttershy complemented, a kind smile on her lips.

“Why thank you, darling.” Rarity laughed daintily.

“If the fashion show is over…” Lightning interjected. “Then all of you get ready. We are about to start our assault soon and I would rather not get caught with my tail in between my legs. Sora Get into position. We are counting on you opening the way.”

“No problem.” Sora raised his hoof, summoning his keyblade into it. “Just tell me when and I’ll get it done.”

As Sora was gearing up for what he was about to do, Lightning turned to organize her troops. Rarity couldn’t help but notice that Lightning was every inch the commander that she looked, every one of the guards that were with her listening to her commands without batting an eye.

“I know that I’ve seen her with her troops before, but Lightning really feels right at home in a place like this, does she not?” Rarity mused.

“Tell me about it. Really hard to believe that she is even related to Shy at all when you look at them,” Rainbow added.

Said mare blushed at the comment, looking away slightly. “Mom says that I’m more alike to her sister’s other child, Serah.”

Rainbow’s ears perked at the name. “Oh. Oh wait...I think I remember seeing her sometimes back at Flight School.”

Fluttershy smiled at the past good memories of said school as she nodded. “MmMmm. Some ponies thought that we were twins whenever we were together.”

“Haha… yeah.” The cyan mare smiled at the memories. “And Locke would always try and hit on the two of you. You don’t know how many times I had to kick his-” Rainbow squeaked as she covered her mouth quickly, a hard blushing forming on her face. It was something that Rarity couldn’t help but latch on to.

“Ohohooooooh~” The white unicorn couldn’t stop the sly smile that formed on her face. “I have never heard you talk about such a stallion before. Somepony I should know dear Rainbow?”

Rainbow had a noticeable look of panic on her face at her slip up, knowing that this conversation was going in a way that she never wanted it to. With quick thinking the cyan mare would point towards Sora while yelling out a “Gonna go and hang with the hero! See ya!” before leaving Fluttershy and Rarity alone.

“Oh my! Now this is something interesting,” Rarity mused. “Do you know who this Locke pony is, Fluttershy?”

Though Fluttershy lowered her head, the shy mare would nod softly at the question. “I do, but…”

“Ah I see.I take it that it’s a sore topic for the poor filly?” Rarity concluded.

“She… really hasn’t talked about him in quite some time,” Fluttershy told her friend. “Honestly, this is the first I’ve seen her talk about him at all in such a happy tone. I wouldn't mind telling you about him myself, but I don’t know if it's my place to even say anything. He was more Rainbow’s friend than mine, and…”

“Tut tut my dear Fluttershy,” Rarity reassured her. “I do understand. I shan't mention it again for now until she is ready to speak.” Rarity hummed softly as she watched from a distance as Rainbow fussed over Sora. “Still, to think that our little Rainbow had a crush when she was but a filly. I must admit that has me more intrigued than anything to find out more.”

“Ugh...Why are mares so strange?” Rainbow huffed as she slid a hoof down her face in exasperation.

Sora blinked. “Aren't you a mare?”

“You calling me strange, Hero?”

The keyblade wielder sighed as he grumbled under his breath. “Yeah... walked right into that one.”

Leaving well enough alone, the Sora turned back towards the wall of shadow not too far away from them, frowning. He couldn’t help the shiver that crept up his spine, his hoof clutching his chest as he remembered the feeling of darkness the last time he faced off against it. He knew that at the time he should have thought of something else to help, to not make his friends worry like that. Though...If it came down to himself and everyone else...

“Sora!”

The stallion snapped out of his inner thoughts to look at Rainbow, a concerned look in her eyes as she gently shook his shoulder. “Oh. Sorry. Was spaced out.”

Rainbow huffed softly. “Yeah. I could tell. Get your head in the game, hero.” She smiled. “Need you to kick serious butt after all.”

Sora smiled back, nodding in agreement. “I always kick serious butt.” His ears perked at the sound of Lightning and her troops making their way towards them, his smile becoming a determined frown. “And I won’t let any of you down’ I promise.” He gently placed a hoof on her shoulder before moving to meet Lightning halfway.

Rainbow kept the smile before frowning slightly. “Just don’t do anything stupid again,” she whispered before moving to catch up with the rest of the group.

Sora and Rainbow, along with Fluttershy and Rarity, stood behind Lightning, the mare nodding to four of them before turning to address her troops. Her voice loud and tone that of a practiced leader.

“All of you mares and stallions know why you are here so I won’t waste pretty words and platitudes. The dark barrier behind me, as I am sure you are aware, is an act of aggression against Equestria , the people, and her princesses. I don’t know about you but if something threatens my home then you can be sure as hell I won’t stand for it!” She paused, allowing her troops to yell in agreement to her words before continuing. “These four behind me, despite their ages, have faced off against the ones who would stand against the harmony of Equestria. Three of whom being the Elements of harmony themselves. The last one, the boy with the key, being the one who was granted power unlike any other.”

Lightning turned to face said boy, the young stallion nodding as pointed his key at the wall. To the surprise of the ponies there, sans Sora’s Friends, a key hole would appear against the darkness, and a beam of light from the key would shoot forth, a familiar sound of a lock’s tumbler turning resonating throughout the area. Just as the beam of light died down, a second of the wall would open, allowing unobstructed passing for any and all.

Many of the guards couldn’t help but be amazed at what had just happened. Many of the best mages in their unit couldn't even budge the dark power that had kept them out of the city, and this boy, a pegasus no less, just used magic like it was nothing at all. Despite the questioning stares he was getting, Sora wouldn’t let go of the smile that had formed on his face, not paying any of them any mind. He would only point his keyblade through the door, his eyes filled with determination.

“What are we waiting for!? We have a city to save!”

Celestia sighed as she let the magic die off of her quill, setting the tool to the side. Even if it was the most tedious part of her job as Princess, it had to be done, despite how much she protested to Luna about it. Rolling the scroll, she gently levitated it along with the many others, each one with a sigil of one of the many races that call Equis their home.

“Done. That should be it, then. I trust that you will be able to deliver them?”

Prince Bloodblood smiled as he stuck his nose into the air. “But of course, Auntie. I trust my ship to be fast enough for anything, snow or shine.”

Celestia couldn’t stop her own smile from gracing her lips. “Indeed. It is why I have chosen you and your crew for such an Important task, after all.” She paused as she turned her head away. “I would rather you not get yourself into any mishaps while you are gone. Your reputation is-”

“My reputation has little credence to the plain facts that many are getting attacked by these... monsters. Shadows as it were.” Blueblood huffed. “It is where it needs to be and that is that, auntie.” He pulled a pocket watch out of his collar. “I must be going, auntie. Time waits for no pony as it were.” And with that, Celestia’s only nephew left the room.

Celestia’s eyes turned to her departing nephew. “Blueblood…”

“We do not know why you would put up with his presence, dear sister.”

“You have not known him all his life, Luna,” Celestia countered, though such a comment caused the poor alicorn to turn towards her sister, her usual stoic yet welcoming face contorting into one of regret. “I-I’m sorry...I didn’t mean…”

Luna raised a hoof, giving Celestia a gentle yet sad smile. “It is fine, dear sister. You do not have to apologize each time you make such a remark. Thou would do so near every day if that was the case.”

“Yes... I suppose I would.”

“Well, enough of that. Back to business,” Luna requested, changing topics from their little pity party, though Celestia knew that it wasn’t going to be good news, if any. “My spies tell me that the Griffon and Diamond Dog empires started to have their own troubles.”

“Which is why I have little doubt they will answer my summons.” Celestia tapped a hoof on her lavish desk. “The Diamond Dogs more so than the Griffons, I suspect. Hopefully the abyssinians will listen as well. The Hippogryphs…”

Luna huffed as she frowned at the name. “Queen Novo can rot for all I care!”

“Luna!”

“What?! She is a coward! She did not come when we needed her most and she will not come this time, either!”

Celestia leaned back into her chair. “I understand your feelings dear sister but despite the queen’s faults I will not have innocents attacked if I can help it; even if they are not under my watch.”

The moon princess huffed before relenting on the matter. “They will want to see Sora for themselves, you do know. The Light that is the Key.”

“I do, but it is not my decision to make,” Celestia paused. “Sora is a free pony...Human, and as such will have all that comes with it. He is not mine to command after all. Despite our role in the circumstances of his arrival to this land, Sora was and always will be free to help all who wants it.”

“And yet, even after only meeting the boy a few times, I can already hear what his words will be.” Luna’s gaze shifted out the nearby window and towards the sky the was ever so deep and blue. “He will be tested, sister.”

“I know...and It will not be easy for him. But I think...No...I know he can pull though, despite the hardships. Because he has friends by his side. And his friends are his power.”