Chapter 11: Dark Corners
Just a little bit out of the town, the five made their way towards the cave Sugar Belle and the other ponies told them about. They made sure no one was following them, of course, hopefully not getting attention from too many ponies. Pretty soon, the group was up at the cave, looking straight at it.
"Is this it?" Sora asked.
"Sure looks like it." Goofy said.
"It is a cave after all." Donald said.
"Well, let's go check this vault out and get the cutie marks." Sora said.
"Are you sure, Sora?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm sure they miss them a little, but the ponies here don't seem unhappy."
"Fluttershy, this town isn't right." Spike said. "Plus, there's no sign of the other girls. Something must've happened to them."
"He's got a point, Fluttershy." Sora said. The butter colored Pegasus only lowered her head, but gave a nod, knowing that Spike and Sora were correct. The town seemed too perfect, even for their standards. With that said, the group made their way inside, to find this vault. As the group entered inside, they all froze, showing a face of shock. Right before them was a huge wall.
And on that wall was a huge vault, lined up with magical turquoise colored bars, and behind them in each square was a cutie mark. And there were dozens of them, ranging from a microphone with a music note next to it, a dress with sticking supplies around it, even one with a blue shield with a lightning bolt on it.
"Whoa..." Sora said.
"That's the vault?" Donald asked.
"I've never seen anything like it." Goofy said.
"Oh my gosh." Fluttershy said.
"Holy guacamole!" Spike said. Sora looked up at the vault, seeing the cutie marks inside. But soon his attention was drawn towards the strange wooden staff in the middle of the room.
"What's that?' Sora asked as he moved toward the staff.
"It looks like some sort of staff." Goofy said.
"Wonder what it does." Donald said. The boy slowly approached the staff, looking at the carvings on it. Could this be some magical staff that's used to remove cutie marks? Could it also be a key to unlocking the vault. He reached out to grab it.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" A voice asked, making the four turn around to see who it was. Coming into the cave with a weird smile was Starlight Glimmer. Uh oh... This isn't good.
"Starlight!" Sora shouted as Donald and Goofy were ready to fight.
"I'm delighted to see that you found our cutie mark vault." Starlight said. "We hoped someday every pony in Equestria will make a pilgrimage here to our village to have theirs removed too, and our message of perfectly equal friendship can finally spread across all the land." The trio, Fluttershy and baby dragon however felt tense, knowing that something is up.
"What did you do?" Sora asked.
"Just doing everypony a favor." Starlight said as she moved towards the staff, picking it up with her magic. "I removed the cutie marks of my fellow villagers so they can know what true friendship is like."
"With that staff?" Fluttershy asked.
"Of course." Starlight said, holding the staff up. "This is the Staff of Sameness. It was one of the great Mage Meadowbrook's enchanted items. We're very fortunate to have it here. This is the treasure that allows us to free ourselves from our cutie marks!" Sora looked at the staff, and remembered. Terra and Aqua told him about Mage Meadowbrook. She was one of the Pillars of Equestria! And that staff! Could it be one of the talismans used to seal away the Pony of Shadows?
"Mage Meadowbrook?" Goofy asked Donald. "Could that be one of the talismans?"
"I think so." Donald said.
"I'm curious..." Starlight continued. "Why did you all come here to the vault?"
"Uhhh..." Sora said, looking back at Donald, Goofy, Spike, and Fluttershy all gave nervous looks. "We... uh.... just saw this cave and decided to take a look inside." He gave a smile, though Starlight seemed unconvinced.
"Really?" Starlight asked, slowly dropping her smile. "Because it looked like you were trying to free all these cutie marks!"
"Because those marks represent the part of what makes a pony themselves!" Sora said. "You can't live without your special talents!"
"Of course you can." Starlight said. "Just ask them." She pointed the staff forward, making the group turn around. Coming out of the shadows were four ponies, and the group gasped in shock and horror, with Fluttershy's eyes shrinking down with terror. The ponies were some ponies that she knew well.
"R...Rainbow Dash?" She asked. Standing there out of the dark and before them were Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash, all of them lined up and showing huge smiles... And their cutie marks were gone! Replaced by equal signs!
"Hi Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash said, her smile being big and creepy.
"Rainbow Dash... what happened to you?" Fluttershy asked. "What happened to all of you?!"
"We found true happiness Fluttershy." Applejack said, her tone out of tune.
"We finally have big smiles!" Pinkie Pie said, her smile getting larger and larger.
"Because we're all equal." Rarity said.
"You should join us too, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash said. "The process is a wonderful experience."
"Oh No!" Goofy shouted as Spike hid behind Goofy.
"It's A Trap!" Donald shouted. Sora watched with horror, seeing the four ponies with equal signs instead of cutie marks. But then, he looked closely, and noticed something in their eyes. They were shrunk down to the size of pencil tips, and they were... lifeless. The boy gasped, realizing what's going on!
"They're being controlled!" Sora said. He then turned to Starlight. "What did you do to them?!"
"I just opened their eyes." Starlight said. "Showed them how wonderful life can be without a cutie mark, and I placed them in here." She held up a jar, containing the four cutie marks that belonged to the other girls. Sora only gave a growl.
"Give them back their marks!" Sora shouted.
"Sorry, but I can't do that." Starlight said. "You've seemed to have started a lot of free-thinking here, and we can't have that."
"Everyone has the right to free-think, even ponies!" Sora shouted. "You can't force them to follow or do things that goes against their beliefs! Everyone should be allowed to follow what they believe in, to follow their hearts and their own path! Our hearts are our guide key!" Starlight froze, her eyes widening and shrinking a bit as she heard those words.
"Wha… what did you just say?" She asked. The boy made a tall stand, and stared at the pony.
"May my heart be my guiding key." Sora said, remembering the words Master Yen Sid said to him. "It means that we follow our hearts and do what we believe is right." He then looked at the unicorn, and noticing that she reminded him of someone... someone he faced not too long ago. Her wanting to control everything, her wanting a world where there's no cutie mark. A world where she can dictate destiny.
"It's funny, really." Sora said.
"What?" Starlight asked, trying to keep her cool.
"You remind me of a man who wanted a world of equality." Sora said. "A man who used darkness to start a war in order to reset everything in his own image. And you know who I'm talking about... do you." Starlight's eyes widened. She knew who exactly she was talking about. A long time ago, Starlight met someone almost like the boy she met now, an old man with an incredible power, who helped her find this cave and begin her founding of this town.
"H... How do you know Master Xehanort?" Starlight asked. The boy gave a smile, his theory correct.
"Because... I met him." He said. "And I defeated him." Starlight's eyes widened with shock. She then gave a scowl.
"No! You can't be..." Starlight said, pointing her staff forward. As they were talking, Fluttershy looked at the four ponies, her friends, controlled by that crazy unicorn. Seeing Rainbow Dash under the control of some mind magic made the butter colored Pegasus twitch. She turned to Starlight, her eyes getting angry.
"How dare you..." She said. "HOW DARE YOU!!!" She then flew past Sora, much to his surprise, and charged towards Starlight, who was taken off guard.
"What the-!" Starlight shouted as Fluttershy collided with her, her hooves on the Staff of Sameness.
"You monster!" Fluttershy shouted. "Pinkie Pie was right about this place! This isn't free-choosing, this is suppression! Now let my friends go!"
"Oh, no you don't!" Starlight shouted as she pushed Fluttershy, throwing her to a wall. The group was quickly surprised, and they rushed over to help, but suddenly, the trio and Spike were picked up by a light turquoise blue aura from the ground. They looked to see Starlight, who was holding her staff up. She then tossed them aside, making them fall onto the floor. Sora lifted his head up, seeing the mare of equality approaching the rest of the mane five.
"Now, you're next." Starlight said. Then, she aimed the staff at Fluttershy, and it fired a beam of magic upon her. The magic gripped and held her up into the air. Suddenly, she began to groan as if she were in pain. She was, actually. Suddenly, Fluttershy's cutie mark was slowly being ripped off her flank! Sora watched in horror as he saw Fluttershy's cutie mark being ripped off her.
"Stop!" Sora shouted to Starlight. "What are you doing?!"
"Doing them a favor." Starlight said. "They believed that their marks were a good thing, but I'm going to show them how bad there." Fluttershy began to change color as her cutie mark was taken, her fur and mane showing a dull, pale, grey color. Sora gasped.
"You heartless pony!" Sora shouted. "Give the girls back their marks!!"
"Nope." Starlight said. "They're going to spend the rest of their lives with us! And we're going to show them how much better life will be without their cutie marks!" Seeing this psycho pony taking away the poor Pegasus cutie mark, and making her suffer in pain, was too much to bare. Sora then gave a glare, as rage began to build up inside him. He's had enough of this! His keyblade appeared in his hand.
"I said... Let... Them... GO!" Sora shouted as he pointed keyblade forward. Charging up with energy, the blade fired a ray of light at Starlight's staff, knocking it out of her hooves. The sudden action made her lose control of her magic, and the staff exploded, sending her flying to the ground, and making her drop the jar that contained the other girls' cutie marks. Speaking of which, Fluttershy's cutie mark returned back to her flank, allowing her color to return. The other cutie marks went back to the girls as well, and their colors returned to them as each mark was placed back where they belong. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash blinked her eyes, her irises returning to normal, and so were the other girls. It seems the return of their cutie marks broke Starlight's Mind Control spell on them. They all shook their heads in confusion.
"What just happened?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I dunno." Applejack said. "But I feel dizzier than a sheep doggie bull-riding a cattle." They then looked forward to see Fluttershy land safely on the her hooves, turning back to her friends.
"Girls!" She called out as she galloped towards them.
"Fluttershy!" The girls called as they embraced her with a hug.
"Wait, what happened, Flutters?" Applejack asked.
"And where are we?" Rarity asked.
"Oh, let's just said I heeded Pinkie Pie's warning just in time." Fluttershy said. Pinkie Pie gasped, and saw Starlight groaning on the ground.
"Aha!" The Party Pony said. "I knew it!" The unicorn with the equal sign slowly lifted her head. She then stared back at Sora, and surprisingly, she gasped in horror.
"What?!" She asked, seeing the boy holding the keyblade in his hand. The sight of the weapon made her tremble in fear, but show lots of anger. "I knew it! You're one of them!"
"That's right." Sora said, spinning his keyblade. "This is a keyblade, and I'm a keyblade master!"
"Still-in-training..." Donald spoke, only to receive a glare from the boy.
"But... that's impossible!" Starlight shouted. "He said that there were none of you left!"
"Nope." Sora said. "We're still here, and I'm not gonna let you take away everyone's special purpose!" The unicorn gave a growl.
"Oh no, you're not!" Starlight shouted as he horn began to charge up with the light turquoise aura, much to the surprise to Sora, and everyone in the cave.
"I'm not gonna let you destroy everything that I have built!" Starlight shouted as she fired a massive beam at the boy. Sora held his keyblade up in defense, attempting to stop the beam. But it kept pushing against him. Seeing him in danger, Donald and Goofy rushed up and helped him push forward. He looked back at them.
"We thought you might need some extra help." Goofy said.
"You betcha." Donald said. Seeing them both help him brought a smile to his face.
"Right!" Sora said, as the trio continued to push forward. Suddenly, the keyblade glowed brightly and suddenly, a mighty flash emerged as Sora pushed his hand forward, the beam was suddenly absorbed by the glowing keyblade, which then changed shape! Sora, who noticed this quickly, formed a smile, knowing what was happening. As the beam quickly disappeared, Sora pulled back and punched forward, revealing a mighty fist to pop out of nowhere and punch Starlight right in the face, sending her flying against the wall. As she dropped to the ground, everyone looked back at Sora in shock, and saw that his keyblade… was something else! It was now a shield! A Counter Shield!
"WHOA!" Donald called out, as the girls reacted with awe.
"Sora, the keyblade transformed!" Goofy said.
"I noticed that!" Sora said, as Rainbow Dash flew towards him and examined the shield.
"You're keyblade can transform?!" She asked. "Sooo Awesome!"
"How did you do that?" Applejack asked.
"It must be the bracelets Princess Celestia gave him." Rarity said. But the boy shook his head.
"Nope, the magic came not from the bracelets." Sora said as he looked at Donald and Goofy. "It came from my friends. My friends are my power." Donald and Goofy each gave a nod. Starlight slowly lifted herself up off the ground, but gasped as she saw the boy's keyblade turned into a shield.
"What?!" She asked. "It can change into a shield?!"
"Not just a shield." Sora said, his keyblade shield giving a glow and then transformed into what appears to be two yo-yos, the Twin Yo-Yos!
"They can become yo-yos!" Sora said, and he swung the yo-yos forward, each one hitting Starlight in the face. He then spun around and whacked both yo-yos together, and surprisingly they became large and trapped Starlight vertically. Looking back at the viewer, Sora gave a sly smile and then the yo-yos sprouded metal teeth, and began chomping down on Starlight, making her speak in sounds of pain and a chicken sound.
"Or some claws!" Sora said as the yo-yos then shifted into a pair of Agile Claws. He then rushed towards her and began swinging the claws back and forth, striking her with everything he's got.
"And last but not least!" Sora said as his raised his hands up, the claws merging into one, transforming into the Hyper Hammer! Starlight gave a worried meap seeing the hammer.
"It can become a hammer!" He said as he moved in and swung, whacking Starlight, and sending her flying out of the cave, before landing into the little puddle of water, right in front of the townsfolk, who were surprised to see Starlight flying out and landing into the water puddle.
"Yes!" Sora called out with a cheer, as Donald and Goofy jumped up in down with joy. The five mares and baby dragon also cheered with victory and happiness. Starlight lifted her head from out of the water, and looked up to see the other citizens, watching her, staring at her, with surprise and confusion. Among the crowd were Sugar Belle, Night Glider, Double Diamond, and Party Favor. Before she could explain what was going on, she heard footsteps, and hoofsteps behind her. She turned around to see Sora, Donald, Goofy, Spike, and the Mane Five approaching her.
"Impossible...!" The unicorn spoke. "How did you do that?"
"Because, he's a keyblade wielder!" Rainbow Dash said.
"But he ain't any keyblade wielder." Applejack said. "He's our friend." Hearing that made the boy smile. He then turned back towards Starlight, who was giving a cold growl.
"Sorry, Starlight, but it's over-" Sora said, but then he stopped and noticed something on Starlight's thigh, the Equal sigil that was on there... it was... smudged, and there was a little light blue color underneath it. Wait, there was color underneath the equal sign?
"Wait a second..." Sora said as he began to brush the equal sign, much to Starlight's horror.
"NO!" She shouted. "Don't!" But it was too late. As the boy brushed and brushed with his hand, the water on the smudged mark began to make it disappear, revealing... a cutie mark! The mark was of a purple and white star, with two two-toned turquoise glimmering streams! The boy gasped, as did everyone and everypony else.
"She... She has a cutie mark!" Sora shouted.
"She does!" Donald shouted.
"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle." Applejack said. Starlight quickly got to her hooves and glanced at the group with anger, but then she turned around to see the citizens of the Town, watching with surprise and shock.
"You... you have a cutie mark?" Night Glider asked.
"How... How Could You?!" Party Favor shouted with anger as the other villagers began to protest too.
"I... Uh...." Starlight spoke.
"You said that cutie marks were evil!" Double Diamond shouted. "You said that special talents only led to pain and suffering!"
"They Do!" Starlight shouted.
"Then why?!" Sugar Belle asked. "Why did you take ours and not give up your's!"
"Because she's a liar!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Yeah, a big fat party pooping liar!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"She lied to all of you so she could take your cutie marks!" Applejack said. The villagers gasped with even more shock, and this time they're reaction turned to anger.
"Well... I had to, you fools!" Starlight shouted. "How could I collect your cutie marks without my magic?!"
"But the staff has all the magic we need!" Night Glider said.
"Oh please!" Starlight shouted as she held up the broken staff with her magic. "This is just a piece of wood I found in the desert! It's my magic that makes everything possible! You'd all still be living your stupid lives thinking you're better than everypony else if it weren't for my magical abilities. I brought you friendship! I brought you equality! I created harmony!"
"You didn't create harmony, Starlight." Sora said. "You forced harmony upon others. Everypony, and everyone has unique talents and gifts, and when we share them with each other, that's how we-"
"QUIET!!!" Starlight shouted, making the boy stop in his words and step back a bit, as the others behind him stood there a bit shocked.
"Somebody's sensitive..." Sora said.
"You lied to us, Starlight!" Double Diamond shouted.
"So what?" Starlight asked. "Everything else I said is true! The only way to be happy is if we're all equal!"
"Not if you force it upon others!" Party Favor shouted.
"You all willingly accepted it!" Starlight shouted.
"But you haven't!" Sugar Belle shouted. "And you know what, I miss having my cutie mark, and my special talent!"
"Yeah!" Night Glider shouted. "Give Them Back!" Starlight only gave a cold glare.
"Never!" Starlight shouted.
"Then I will." Sora said, summoning his keyblade. He then turned around and pointed his keyblade at the cave. With a ray of light, the keyblade shattered the lock upon the Cutie Mark Vault, releasing the cutie marks inside. The marks began to sparkle as they flew out of the cave and returned to their rightful owners. As each mark returned to each pony, their dull color became much brighter, and all of them began to be more full of life! The crowd of ponies began to cheer.
"I feel like my old self again!" Sugar Belle cheered, her cutie mark being a cherry-topped cupcake with four jellybeans.
"I feel like me!" Double Diamond said, his cutie mark being three snowflakes in blue formation.
"I'm rad again!" Night Glider called out, her cutie mark being a crescent moon with two curved feathers surrounding it.
"Me too!" Party Favor said, his cutie mark being a balloon animal with streamers, as he blew up a balloon, and made a perfect balloon giraffe with it. All the ponies cheered as Sora, Donald, and Goofy watched with joy.
"Now that's a happy town." Goofy said. Sora turned his head to the broken staff on the ground. Starlight said that it was just a piece of wood, and it never belonged to Mage Meadowbrook.
"So that staff isn't really one of the talismans." Sora said. "Guess it's back to square one."
"At least we stopped a tyrant unicorn and saved another town." Goofy said. But then, Donald turned his head to see Starlight trying to sneak away from the crowd.
"Where do you think you're going?!" He shouted, making everypony look directly at her.
"Uhhh… Gotta Go!" She shouted as her horn lit up, and suddenly, she created a mighty flash before all of them, blinding them for a mere second. As the flash cleared up, Starlight was gone!
"She's gone!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"No she isn't." Party Favor said. "She's up there!" Glancing up, the group saw Starlight heading up the trail to the snowy mountains.
"Let's go!" Sora shouted as he, Donald, Goofy, the girls, and Spike chased after them. Starlight was making her way up the mountain pass, trying to get away from the group. She turned around, and saw that they were making their way right up towards her. The unicorn continued to run, but she then came to a stop, to see a large boulder in the way, blocking the entrance to another cave. She gave a smile, knowing so well that this cave led out of the area. She used her magic to lift the boulder out of the way, just as Sora and company managed to catch up with her!
"It's over, Starlight." Sora said. "You can't run forever!"
"Oh yes I can." Starlight said, as she used her magic to cut the ground between her, and Sora's group. The ground began to break by a couple of yards, leaving only a couple of smaller platforms in it's wake.
"Goodbye, Keyblade Scum!" Starlight shouted as she disappeared into the cave.
"Starlight!" Sora called out, but it was too late. Starlight had gone into the cave. The boy only sighed.
"Darn." Sora said.
"Just let her go sugarcube." Applejack said. "She can't do anything now."
"Yep." Donald said. "If she doesn't want to accept friendship."
"Then that's her choice." Goofy said.
"Yeah... I suppose." Sora said, looking back at the cave.
"Hey, look on the bright side!" Donald said. "We saved another town!"
"Yep, that makes three towns saved in one day!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Two days, actually." Rarity said.
"Whatevs." Rainbow Dash said.
"But there's still no sign of Twilight anywhere." Fluttershy said.
"Yeah... I hope she's ok." Spike said.
"Me too." Sora said.
-BOOM!-
The silent but hearable noise came from inside the cave. Looking up, they saw some flashes in the cave.
"Garsh, what's going on in there?" Goofy asked.
"Maybe she's getting attacked by giants spiders!" Pinkie Pie said, with all the ponies looking at him. "I'm just saying."
"No... something's not right." Sora said. But then suddenly, he looked down to see his keyblade. It was glowing. It was glowing the magenta color! The boy's eyes widened up with surprise, and a smile formed on his face. Twilight was nearby!
"The keyblade's glowing!" Sora said. "That could mean Twilight is nearby!"
"She is?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"But where?" Fluttershy asked. Sora pointed the keyblade forward, and turned to where the glow was getting a bit stronger. It was pointing toward... the cave.
"Inside... the cave?" Sora asked confused.
"So... is she in there?" Donald asked. The boy only shrugged and looked at the cave, seeing nothing but pitch black, and a couple of flashes. If she's in there, and there are flashes, then that must mean she ran into Starlight, and the latter is trying to get rid of her!
"Maybe she's fighting Starlight!" Sora said, and his gave a nod. "I'm going in there!" He ran forward to the edge of the cliff.
"Sora, Wait!" Donald and Goofy called out. The boy, however, kept going, and leaped off the edge, making the girls and baby dragon gasp. But Sora landed on the small platform in the middle, then on the other platform, and reached the other side. The mares and dragon reacted with awe.
"I'll be right back!" Sora called out as he ran into the cave.
"Sora!" Donald called out, but the boy disappeared into the cave, leaving the royal wizard grumbling in annoyance. "Does he always have to run off like that?"
The boy continued running as fast as he could as he went into the cave. Luckily, the keyblade glowing in his hand lit the way for him, allowing him to find his way. It was glowing much brighter now, so that must mean Twilight was close. Pretty soon, he saw light at the end of the tunnel. As he got closer and closer, the light revealed more snow, and a pathway outside. Making his way out of the cave, he followed the path to a much wider area, all of it covered in snow, much like the Summit back in the Land of Dragons. The only difference was that there were some rock structures and boulders nearby. The boy ran out until he stopped to catch his breath. He looked around, and saw that his keyblade was still glowing. But after a few short seconds, the keyblade's glow fainted and died out.
"What?" Sora asked in surprise. "But... Twilight has to be here." He looked around, see nothing but snow, and mountain rock.
"TWILIGHT!" Sora called out. "HELLOOOO!!! TWILIGHT!" Despite his efforts, he didn't see Twilight, nor find her. The only thing that was there was the echoes of his voice, which surprisingly didn't cause an avalanche. He gave a defeated sigh. Twilight was not here.
"Dammit..." He cursed. "Twilight's not here either." Shaking his head in disappointment, he turned around and made his way back to the cave.
-BOOM!!! RUMBLE-
"Whoa!" Sora said as he almost lost his footing. He turned around, and saw a blast coming from the right side of the mountain. Shooting out of it was Starlight, who was screaming in agony as she landed face first onto the other side into the snow, with a bag of her belongings dropping to the side. The boy only winced as he saw the unicorn lift her head up, all dizzy, before falling back into unconciousness, her face falling flat on the ground.
"Starlight?" Sora asked. But then he saw another blast coming from the hole. Looking around, he saw a big rock on the right. He made his way towards it and hid behind it, not wanting to be seen. Peeping from his hiding spot, he saw another pony coming out of the wall. It was the pony wearing a blue mask with blue eyeholes, dark blue bandages, a purple hat on his head, and purple cape around his neck. It was Mare Do Well!
"Mare Do Well?" Sora asked. The masked pony, who didn't see him, was approaching Starlight, who lifted her head up from the ground.
"You jerk!" Starlight shouted. "Get out of my way!" The lighter pony jumped back up and fired a spell, with Mare Do Well summoning a magical wall around himself, shielding him from the attack. Magic?! Mare Do Well can do magic too?!
"What?" Sora asked, and noticed something on Mare Do Well's forehead, who lifted his hat up a bit, revealing a horn covered along with the mask, glowing brightly.
"Mare Do Well is a unicorn?" Sora asked. All he could do was watch as Starlight kept firing beams of magic, while Mare Do Well blockd each attack with his magic shield.
"Stop blocking me, you fool!" Starlight shouted, and soon, her horn began to glow brightly. Then suddenly, three more ponies emerged from her body. They were identical to her! Actually they were her! Starlight performed some sort of duplication spell.
"Like it?" Starlight asked. "Similo Duplexis. When combined with Accelero in just the right way, you can be in two places at once!..."
"Or four places!" Her three duplicates said.
"Let's see how you can handle four of us!" Starlight and her duplicates said. She and her copies fired multiple beams at Mare Do Well, who continued to block with his shield. Unfortunately, the shield kept breaking and cracking up. But then, when the shield disappeared, Mare Do Well's horn glowed, with a dark cloudy purple color. He grabbed a hold of the three Starlight clones and lifted them up in the air. His horn gave a flash, and the three clones began to scream as they melted away... literally, turning into small spheres that went back into Starlight.
"What?!" Starlight asked. "How?!" The cloaked pony approached Starlight slowly.
"Well, let's see if you can catch me instead!" Starlight hissed as she began to use her Accelero spell, moving really fast, almost as fast as Rainbow Dash! She began to zip around the area, while Sora kept watching the fight. Pretty soon, Starlight charged toward Mare Do Well. But then suddenly, his horn glowed once more, this time freezing Starlight in place. The mare couldn't move!
"Wha... why can't I move?!" Starlight asked. Suddenly, Mare Do Well disappeared, and reappeared in front of Starlight. She then conjured up a big bat, and swung, striking Starlight and hurtling her across the floor. Seeing that made Sora freeze up. As he saw what happened, he suddenly saw Ventus in Starlight's place, while he saw Xehanort, using Terra's body. This scene was just as that one, where Xehanort mortally injured Ven!
The boy almost felt paralized by what saw, but he shook his head, trying to get it out. He managed to not get either of their attention. Starlight lifted herself up, and glared at Mare Do Well.
"Ok then!" Starlight shouted. "You asked for it!" Soon, Starlight's eyes began to glow, and her horn glowed with a bright light blue color. She began to lift herself off the ground, charging up with magic.
"Let's see if you can block... THIS!" Starlight shouted as she fired a massive beam of energy. Mare Do Well's own horn glowed and she too fired a beam... a familiar colored beam that Sora had seen before. The beams were at a stalemate, until Starlight's began to move closer and closer to Mare Do Well.
"Yes... Yes... YES!" Starlight shouted with an evil grin. With the mask on, it was truly impossible to see Mare Do Well's reaction to this. But soon, Mare Do Well's horn began to glow even more, with it conjuring up with purple clouds and dark green magic. Then, a circle formed around him. Sora almost gasped, seeing something like this before. The scene from the Keyblade Graveyard came back to his head, when Donald was charging up his Zettaflare attack! Was this what Mare Do Well was doing?! Yanking her head back, Mare Do Well fired again, this time, his beam becoming much more massive, pushing away Starlight's beam within seconds, making the latter gasp as the beam hit her right in the right side of her face.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" She screamed as the beam consumed her. In a mighty flash, Sora lifted his arm to shield his eyes from the blast. As the light began to die away, Sora looked over to see Starlight fall to the ground, almost on the edge of the mountain cliff. The ground below her was beginning to crumble and break away. Mare Do Well slowly approached the unicorn, who was weakly trying to get up. Starlight lifted her face up slowly, and turned, showing the right side of her face completely burnt and scarred.
"Who... are you?!" She asked.
".....Your End." Mare Do Well spoke, revealing it to be a female voice. He... or she then stomped her hoof down and the ground in front of her shook. Before Starlight could react, the surface under her broke apart, making her fall... off the mountain.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Starlight's voice echoed as she fell down and down and down from the mountain. Sora only watched, in both shock and horror. There was no way a pony would survive that fall that far. The boy couldn't help but look away. No one deserved that. Not even Starlight. Lifting his head from his spot, he saw the masked mare looking down at the ground, seeing a saddle pouch on the floor, with Starlight's cutie mark sigil on it. Picking it up with her magic, she opened it, pulling out what appears to be a strange mask in the shape of a bird.
"Yes... the Mask of Mage Meadowbrook." Mare Do Well said, her voice really being a female voice. "Only one more talisman remains." The boy's eyebrows lifted a bit. Mare Do Well was a girl? And that mask is one of the talismans? Not only that, he heard her say only one more talisman is left! Does that mean she already has five of them? Either way, she had to be stopped. Seeing that she was distracted, Sora began to slowly emerge from his hiding spot, and his keyblade was still in his hand.
"Ok... gotta move up... quietly..." Sora said as he lifted his keyblade, and pointed it at Mare Do Well... A little fire spell might stun her a bit so he can go all out.
(RING RING RING)
The sudden ringing of his phone quickly made him jump back into his hiding spot. He pulled it out and answered it.
"Hello?" Sora asked.
"Sora!" Aqua's voice spoke from the phone. "Are you there?"
"Aqua?" Sora said. "Uh, now's not a really good time."
"Sora, listen!" Aqua said. "We think we know what's wrong with the magic-"
-CRACK-
The sudden cracking of the rock behind Sora made him turn around and lower his phone, seeing it being torn apart. As it was forcibly separated in half, the boy saw Mare Do Well, using her magic to rip the hiding spot up. The boy watched with shock. His cover was blown.
"Aqua, I'm about to get my butt kicked." Sora said over the phone. "I'll call you back."
"Wait, Sora!-" Aqua spoke, but the boy hung up before she could finish. Placing it back into his pocket, and holding the keyblade with both hands, he charged toward the mysterious pony. She fired magical beams at the boy, he leaped, jumped, and dodged every single one. He then swung his keyblade to strike, with Mare Do Well jumping out of the way. The masked unicorn then made a run forward to escape. But Sora looked to his left and saw a column of bolders blocked by a structure. With his keyblade, he shot a ray of light at the structure, breaking it up and making the boulders go loose, all of them forming a blockade to prevent Mare Do Well from leaving. The masked mare was almost startled, and was hesitant to find a way out.
"Hold it right there!" Sora said as he moved forward, pointing his keyblade at the mare. "Who are you?" The masked pony didn't respond, but her focus was much more on what was behind Sora. She pointed a hoof forward.
"What?" Sora asked.
-HISSSSS-
The sudden hiss made Sora freeze in place. The sound of a hissing meant someone... or something... was right behind him.
"Uh oh..." He said as he slowly turned around to see what was there. There, right behind him, was a massive violet colored four legged heartless, with yellow swirly eyes, a big round shaped lower body, and four insectoid legs with black pincers... and there were purple and black pinchers in it's mouth. It was a Savage Spider! The insectoid heartless let out a loud roar, startling Sora greatly.
"WHOA!" Sora shouted as he pointed his keyblade at the monster. "WATER!" He then summoned a water shield around him, which conjured up a sphere and fired at the Heartless Spider, only to splash in it's face like a rain drop. It let out another roar.
"Well, that made it angry." Sora said. He made a couple of steps backwards as the Savage Spider approached him. Suddenly, Mare Do Well passed him and leaped into the air, using her horn to fire a zap of electricity upon the spider, making it roar in pain. Sora was surprised. Mare Do Well was helping him? Guess the heartless are in her way as well. The boy gave a nod, and then rushed forward. He then swing his keyblade and struck the spider in the face.
It let out another growl and began to lift its legs up to stomp on the two. Sora leaped out of the way, and so did Mare Do Well. Seeing that stomping wasn't killing it's pray, the Savage Spider leaped to the side of the mountain and crawled slowly, and it aimed it's rear at the two. Spiders can shoot webs from their bottoms, and that was what the heartless was doing, shooting out webs at them both. Sora moved forward, dodging the web shots as he leaped up on the side of the mountain. He then threw his keyblade into the air, and it transformed into the Double Arrowguns. He aimed at the Spider and shot magical ethereal bullets with heart-shaped tips, all of them homing onto the heartless, as they arrows shot it multiple times. Mare Do Well leaped onto the mountain and fired concussive beams with her horn. She also aimed at some of the snow above it to make it drop on the heartless.
The spider let out another roar, and started spitting out poisonous venom. Some spiders are poisonous, after all. Mare Do Well managed to summon a magic shield around herself. Surprisingly, Sora couldn't help but notice that the aura coloring was familiar. Where did he see that coloring? Either way, he snapped back to his senses as spits of poison dropped near his feet. He hid behind one of the massive rocks. As the Savage Spider let out a roar, Mare Do Well saw one of the boulders nearby. She then charged up magic and fired at it. The flash got the spider's attention, but then suddenly it's eyes widened up as it stared at the boulder. Hearts appeared around the heartless's head as he moved toward the boulder and began to snuggle it. The boulder was hit with a Want It, Need It spell, so the spider saw it and began to be affectionate towards it. Sora looked from his hiding spot and saw that the Heartless was distracted.
"Alright, now to finish it off!" Sora shouted as he emerged from his hiding spot and combined his Arrowguns, transforming it into the Magic Launcher! He then aimed at the heartless, and the launcher gun, the size as a bazooka, fired a massive shot, impacting the heartless as it exploded into multiple particles, damaging the heartless critically. Sora then made one more rush towards it, his keyblade transforming back into it's normal form, ad he sliced through the heartless. The spider gave one final shout as it began to fall off the side of the mountain as a glowing heart popped right out of it, and the beast faded away into nothing but ash. The heartless was dead.
The boy stood there, glad that the heartless was gone. Those heartless always come out of nowhere, or could've been summoned by someone. He then turned around, seeing Mare Do Well pick up her bag. The boy started to approach her.
"Hey, thanks." Sora said. Mare Do Well turned her head towards him, and began to hesitate. She fired a projectile at his feet, making him jump.
"Whoa, what was that for?!" Sora asked, as Mare Do Well was about to gallop pass him. "Wait!" He said, trying to grab her cloak. But he did grab something, as it snapped off and made Mare Do Well fall on her head. The boy then looked down at what he grabbed from her. He then gasped. It was a necklace. But it wasn't just any necklace. It was a necklace that had a yellow star on it. This necklace! He gave it to Twilight! He then glanced back at Mare Do Well, who got back to her hooves.
"Where did you get this?!" The boy asked. "This belonged to a friend of mine!" The masked pony only stared at him. The boy's eyes widened.
"You..." He said. "Did you steal this from her? What did you do to Twilight?!" Mare Do Well shook her head and tried to run, but the boy rushed up, summoned his keyblade and swung down, as Mare Do Well pulled out Rockhoof's shovel and blocked the attack. The boy needed answers!
"Stop This!" Sora shouted. "Why are you stealing the talismans? What did you do to Twilight? What do you want? WHO ARE YOU?!" Before he could ask anymore, he noticed something glowing. Turning his head a bit, he saw that his keyblade was glowing the color magenta again, the same color as Twilight's magic. And it was glowing much brighter than before. The boy's eyes widened. That meant Twilight was nearby!
However, he was then thrown backwards by Mare Do Well, pushing him to the ground. Luckily he landed safely on his feet. He then looked up to see the masked pony glance down at him, and then galloped away.
"Wait!" Sora shouted. "Come Back!" He then chased after the pony, who disappeared with a flash of magic. The boy stopped as she disappeared, giving a sigh of defeat. He then glanced over at his keyblade, and saw that the magenta glow weakening, until it completely went out. The boy stood there for a minute, thinking. The keyblade glowed right when he was fighting Mare Do Well. And come to think of it, the blade always glowed whenever Mare Do Well would show up, and then stop when leaving. Now that wasn't a coincidence... If it was glowing when Mare Do Well showed up, and then stopped glowing when the pony disappeared...
"The keyblade's glow died out... when she vanished..." Sora said. "And she had the necklace I gave to Twilight... around her neck... Then that means." But then he froze, realizing that this was no coincidence at all! The keyblade's glow meant that Twilight was nearby, but yet Mare Do Well was here when it happened. This could mean...
"No.... it... it can't be..." Sora said, looking at the direction Mare Do Well went off. Sora started to realize who Mare Do Well truly was.
"Twilight?" He asked. No, that can't be. Twilight is Mare Do Well? But that can't be right! Yet, it makes sense. The keyblade glowed when Mare Do Well showed up and Twilight nearby, and it went out just as Mare Do Well left. Not to mention the magical aura she had was the exact same color as Twilight's. Twilight Sparkle... was Mare Do Well?
"Sora!" The duo of voices called out didn't get his attention as he looked on. Donald and Goofy emerged from the cave and rushed up to him.
"Sora, don't run off like that." Donald said.
"Yeah, you almost had us worried-" Goofy said.
"It was her..." Sora spoke, making them tilt their heads.
"Huh?" Donald asked. Sora stopped himself for a minute. While the obvious clues were there, he's not really sure if Twilight was in fact Mare Do Well, so maybe he shouldn't say anything about that part.
"I saw... Mare Do Well." Sora said as he turned his head to face them.
"Mare Do Well?!" Goofy asked. "Is he here?"
"No... she ran off." Sora said. "She had a mask too. She said that it belonged to Mage Meadowbrook. It must've been one of the Talismans."
"Uh oh." Donald said.
"That can't be good." Goofy said, but then he lifted his head up, hearing Sora say she instead of he. "Wait, did you say she?" Sora was hesitant to say, but he continued.
"Y... Yeah, Mare Do Well was a girl." Sora said. "Or a mare, since she's a pony. But... she helped me."
"Huh?" Donald and Goofy asked.
"There was this giant heartless spider." Sora said. "And Mare Do Well attacked it. She helped me defeat it and ran off."
"She did?" Donald asked. "Well, guess the heartless were in her way too."
"That heartless you fought could explain why me and Donald felt the cave shaking a bit." Goofy said.
"Yeah." Sora said.
"Well, well. If it isn't Sora and company..." A voice said from behind the boy. The group nearly froze, recognizing the voice. They all turned around and wouldn't believe their eyes. Emerging from a dark corridor was Maleficent, and Pete! The two villains were surprised, but they were smiling.
"Maleficent!" The trio shouted as they summoned their weapons.
"Hehehah, I knew there were familiar voices ringing about in my ears." Pete said with a laugh.
"Was that suppose to be a joke?" Goofy said.
"No." Pete said.
"What are you two doing here?!" Sora asked. "Were you the one who summoned that Heartless Spider?"
"Certainly not." Maleficent said. The witch then looked at the boy, as if she was examining him.
"What?" Sora asked.
"There's something different about you, and it is definitely not your new clothes." Maleficent said.
"What are you talking about?" Sora asked.
"I sense something about you." Maleficent said. "There is conflict within you. A great deal of fear, it seems." The boy gasped a bit. She sensed fear in him? Wait, the nightmares that he had for quite some time. Is that what's she sensing in him.
"Say, Maleficent." Pete said. "Can we do away with these rascals? Their magic ain't strong this time, so this is a good chance to get rid of them."
"No." Maleficent said, surprising the buffoon.
"What?!" Pete asked. "But they're right here!"
"We'll deal with them later." Maleficent said. "We have a much more important task to do." Pete began to think, and then remembered.
"Oh yeah, we gotta get to the Crystal Empire!" Pete said.
"Silence you fool!" The witch shouted, making her lackey shut his mouth closed. Sora and co. however heard him well.
"The Crystal Empire?" Sora asked, but then he gave a confident smile. "Well, whatever you're up to, Riku and the King will hold you guys off."
"Yeah, they're already there right now!" Donald said.
"Wait, are they?" Goofy asked, only for Donald to stare at the captain with a glare, making him be quiet.
"Perhaps." Maleficent said. "But we already have big plans for them... especially for you." She then turned away and summoned another dark corridor. She then went inside, and glanced back at the group.
"We will meet again, Sora." Maleficent said. "And I shall have my revenge on your yet."
"Yeah, later losers!" Pete said as the witch disappeared inside the corridor, with Pete realizing that she already left. "Hey, wait for me!" He then ran inside, and as he did, the portal closed up behind him.
"Nuts, they got away." Donald said.
"For now, but I'm sure Riku and the King can deal with them until we find Twilight and fix the magic." Sora said.
"Yep." Goofy said. "I'm sure they're already there by now."
"Yeah." Sora said, but then he lowered his head, trying to think. Maleficent said that she sensed great fear in the boy. Was he really afraid? The nightmares were scary, and they shake him up a bit, but that can't mean he's afraid. Is he?
No doubt Donald and Goofy were thinking the same thing. Seeing that he wasn't paying attention at all, the two looked at each other and whispered.
"What did Maleficent mean when she said there was conflict in Sora?" Goofy asked.
"I dunno." Donald said. "He has been feeling a little strange recently." The two looked back at him, as he was still in his thoughts, staring at the ground.
"Garsh, I hope he's ok." Goofy said. Donald then noticed something in Sora's hand, and it looked like a necklace.
"What'cha got there?" Donald asked, getting the boy's attention. The duck was pointing at the necklace in the boy's hand. He glanced at it, and almost gasped.
"Oh... just a necklace I found." He said as he placed it into his pocket, not wanting to tell them that Mare Do Well had it... or Twilight that had it. He still couldn't get his mind off that though. But he had to change the subject.
"So... what were we talking about again?" Sora asked.
"About Mare Do Well and the Talismans?" Donald asked.
"Talismans?" Pinkie Pie's voice asked. Turning around, Donald and Goofy saw Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, and of course, Pinkie Pie coming out of the cave.
"Girls." Goofy said. "Guess Rainbow Dash got you all over too."
"Yeah, and it was hard working." The rainbow maned pegasus said as she stretched her hooves.
"Did you find Twilight?" Spike asked.
"Uh.... well... no." Sora said, not wanting to say anything if his theory of Twilight being Mare Do Well wrong. "I saw Mare Do Well, though."
"Did you also see Starlight?" Applejack asked. The boy then remembered. Starlight! She was pushed off the edge of the mountain by Mare Do Well!
"Yeah... but..." Sora said, looking back at the edge next to him.
"But what, sugarhog?" Applejack asked.
"I think she's dead." Sora said.
"WHAT?!" The girls and Spike asked.
"She and Mare Do Well were in a battle, and Mare Do Well defeated her, and pushed her off the mountain." Sora said.
"What?!" The girls asked again, with Rarity and Fluttershy almost close to fainting, while Pinkie Pie moved towards the edge, glancing down at the abyss below.
"HELLOOOOO!!!" Pinkie Pie called out. "Starlight, are you down there?!" She leaned in to hear something... but no response. "Yeah, she might be dead."
"Garsh, are you ok though?" Goofy asked.
"Yeah." Sora said. "I think so..." He closed his eyes for a second. Seeing Starlight get pushed off that cliff began to bring back that horrible memory of his friends being sucked up by the Heartless Swarm. He only shook his head, getting it out of it.
"But why did he attack Starlight?" Spike asked. The boy began to think. He remembered his short call with Aqua before he hung up when Mare Do Well discovered him. He remembered her saying Mare Do Well having five of the artifacts already.
"Because Starlight had a mask that belonged to Mage Meadowbrook." Sora said. "And from what Mare Do Well said, all she needs is to steal one more artifact." The ponies gasped a bit.
"Wait, Mare Do Well is a Girl?" They asked.
"Yeah, I heard her talk." Sora said.
"Well, that does explain it, since her name starts with Mare." Rainbow Dash said.
"But what is Mare Do Well planning to steal?" Rarity asked. "So far she has stolen a shovel, a flower, and now a mask."
"They're aren't ordinary items." Goofy said. "They're actually the Talismans."
"Talismans?" The girls and Spike asked.
"Yeah, the talismans that belong to the Pillars of Equestria." Sora said. "They might be the key of awakening an evil spirit-" Suddenly, Sora, Donald and Goofy froze instantly. They never had the chance to tell the girls about the Pillars of Equestria or the Talismans. They nervously spoke, unable to say anything else.
"I guess we forgot to mention that." Donald said.
"Awww, it's ok, fellas." Applejack said. "But next time there's something important, be sure to tell us next time and not leave us in the dark, ok?"
"Ok." Sora said. "I promise... at least I will."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Donald asked.
"Well, you never filled me in on anything that was important." Sora said. "You guys never told me about Master Xehanort, or about Terra, Aqua, and Ven."
"Sorry, a decade is a pretty long time." Goofy said.
"And the King never tells us everything." Donald said. "That we all can agree on."
"Anyway, Mare Do Well has five of these talismans." Sora said. "And she's after the last one." The two looked at him even more confused.
"Wait, how do you know that Mare Do Well has five of the talismans?" Goofy asked, looking back at Sora.
"I overheard her talking to herself." Sora said. "She said that she only had one more to find, so that meant she had the other five. I was about to jump her, but I got a call from Aqua and my cover was blown- OH!" The boy gasped again. Aqua tried to call him, and she said that she knew what was up with the magic. He cursed. "Awww, No!"
"What's the matter, Sora?" Goofy asked.
"Aqua said that she might know what is up with the magic, and I hung up on her." Sora said, and hung his head over with guilt.
"It's ok, Sora." Goofy said. "You were in the middle of a fight."
"Yeah." Donald said. "It happens."
"Maybe she'll call back after a while." Goofy said. The boy gave a sigh.
"Ok." Sora said. "When she calls back, I'm gonna apologize too." He then looked back at the remains of the edge of the cliff, seeing the abyss below it. He couldn't get his mind off of how Mare Do Well threw Starlight over the cliff. If he had interferred with the fight, could he have saved Starlight?
"I could've saved her." Sora said. "I could've saved Starlight."
"Even if you did, she would've blasted you to get away." Rainbow Dash said.
"I doubt it." Fluttershy said. "The Manticore didn't harm me when I got the thorn out of his paw."
"But still." Rainbow Dash said.
"Don't think about what you could've done, sugarhog." Applejack said. "Besides, If Mare Do Well was able to fight her and beat her to an crushed apple, then she would've wasted you like that too."
"I guess so." Sora said.
"But what about Mare Do Well?" Spike asked. "We gotta stop her from stealing the last talisman, whoever it could belong to." The boy began thinking. Canterlot is where Mare Do Well is probably heading towards right now. The other pillars came from far away places, so it had to be a pony who lived in Canterlot. He recalled Jiminy saying the Princesses were mentored by Starswirl the Bearded, and he's one of the Pillars of Equestria. Perhaps whatever Mare Do Well is after belongs to Starswirl.
"She might be stealing something that belonged to Starswirl the Bearded." Sora said.
"What makes you say that?" Applejack asked.
"Well, Twilight told us that Princess Celestia was very close to Starswirl." Rarity said. "I'm sure the Princesses might have some artifacts that belong to him, and the only place that I could think of is the Canterlot Vault."
"Canterlot has a Vault?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I have a Party vault back in Sugarcube Corner, and it's filled with party stuff."
"I think she means a vault of valuable treasures." Fluttershy said.
"Ooooh…" Pinkie Pie said.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Rainbow Dash said. "Let's go to Canterlot right away! Girls... It's Hero Time!"
"YEAH!" The other mares and Spike said. The mane five and Spike then rushed to the cave to get back to Starlight's Village, with Donald and Goofy following them. Before he joined them, Sora took one last look at the area, seeing it in ruins. He couldn't help but think of Mare Do Well, and his keyblade glowing the magenta color as Twilight's, and it's only happened whenever Mare Do Well shows up. Could it be true? Was Twilight and Mare Do Well the same pony? It couldn't be. The boy gave a heavy sigh.
"Twilight... please don't let it be true." Sora said. He then turned around and went off to join the others. Their next stop, Canterlot.
Back at the village, everyone was celebrating as all of them had their cutie marks back. They were now colorful and bright, happy to have their special talents. Sugar Belle was now making delicious muffins, Double Diamond was snowboarding again, Party Favor was now making more balloon animals, and Night Glider was flying, and performing cool stunts again. Every pony was happy again, and Sora, Donald, Goofy, Spike, and the rest of the Mane Five were happy to see them smiling with real smiles this time.
"Now those are real smiles!" Pinkie Pie said. Fluttershy was showing a happy face, but then she looked back at her friends, still feeling bad for leaving them alone with Starlight.
"Girls, I'm really sorry that I didn't listen to you all." She said. "I probably should've before I got wrapped up into this."
"Don't be sorry, sugarcube." Applejack said. "We shouldn't have been a little hard on you for thinking that they were normal... in some way."
"But perhaps it was a good thing." Rarity said. "If you hadn't gone off with the crowd and left us with Starlight, she would've never been exposed."
"That's true." Sora said.
"Uh huh!" Goofy and Donald nodded.
"Thank you girls." Fluttershy said. But then she looked away for a second and started to think. Come to think of it, she remembers the day before the wedding when Twilight was trying to warn them about Cadance acting out of sorts. She can't stop thinking how much she didn't listen to her friend. Sure, them not listening to her kinda helped expose the faker, but if they had listened, could they have stopped the invasion before it began? The butter colored Pegasus couldn't help but frown with a sad face.
"What's the matter, Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"It's just... I wish we would've listened to Twilight though." Fluttershy said. "Maybe if we had, then we would've avoided the Changeling Invasion, and she wouldn't be bitter with us." The girls knew what Fluttershy meant. They all still feel guilty for what happened.
"Don't worry, girls." Goofy said, getting their attention. "I'm sure Twilight will forgive you when we find her."
"That's right!" Donald said. "Right Sora?" The duck looked and saw Sora looking away, thinking. He noticed that the boy had a bit of worry on his face.
"Sora?" He asked, getting him back to reality.
"Huh?" Sora asked. "Uh... yeah, right." Clearly, he didn't hear what they were talking about unfortunately, but his smile showed that he probably was. Either way, Donald and Goofy gave a nod.
"Thank you all again." A voice said, getting their attention. They turned to see Sugar Belle, Party Favor, Double Diamond, and Night Glider. "You all helped us so much."
"No problem." Sora said. "We were glad to help."
"It's nice to see y'all learned what true friendship really is." Applejack said.
"Actually it's you who have taught us something." Party Favor said. "We all came to this village because we were searching for something missing in our lives. We thought Starlight had given it to us, but now... we realize that it was right in front of us all along. It's us."
"Being the ponies we want to be." Sugar Belle said.
"So, now what?" Sora asked. "You all are gonna stay here?"
"It's our home." Night Glider said. "I'm not going anywhere."
"This is the chance for all of us to get to know each other again." Double Diamond said. "This time for real!"
"And I can finally bake delicious muffins again!" Sugar Belle said, holding out a tray of frosted muffins with jelly beans. Pinkie Pie gasped with a smile. He tried one of the muffins and gave a yummy sound.
"She sure can bake!" Pinkie Pie said. The group gave a happy laugh.
"So, what about you all of you?" Party Favor asked.
"Well, we're heading back to Canterlot to go find something." Applejack said. "And we're gonna go find our friend. She's out there and we need to make things right with her."
"Yeah, because she's our friend." Rainbow Dash said.
"And we're gonna prove to her that we love her." Pinkie Pie said.
"Definitely!" Spike said, as Sora, Donald, and Goofy gave a nod.
"Well, good luck." Sugar Belle said.
"You got it." Sora said with a thumbs up.
"Take care out there!" Night Glider said.
"We hope you find your friend!" Double Diamond said.
"Come back anytime too!" Party Favor called out.
"Ok!" Sora and the others said. "Goodbye!" The group happily waved goodbye to the four ponies and the townsfolk as they continued on to get back to Canterlot, and to find their missing friend. As they left, far, far away from the town, watching on the edge, was a certain draconequus, who was giving an evil smile.
"Well, wherever they're going, I'm going too." Discord said as he gave a happy and evil laugh... that is until his phone rang. Hearing the ringtone, he picked it up and answered.
"What?" Discord asked, as he listened to whoever was calling him. "Oh, I'm appearing in the chapter after the next one? Works for me!" He then hung up and continued laughing evilly... only to let out a hacking cough after laughing too much.
On the other side of the mountain, the snow covered the landscape, while debris from the mountain cliff really made it more messy. It was now a burial ground for Starlight's corpse... or was it.
Suddenly, a familiar heliotrope colored hoof burst through the snow covered ground, and suddenly, another hoof came out. Then, Starlight gasped as she pushed her head out of the floor, slowly getting herself out and on solid ground. As she lurked forward and dragged herself away from the hole she popped out of, she began to pant.
Her village. Her order of Equality. Her harmony. It was all gone. All of it. Taken from her by that keyblade wielding scum and his two lackies. And of course those five colored mares and their little dragon too.
But then she looked down at the floor, seeing a frozen puddle before her, but it was clear enough to see her scarred up face. Her right side was completely burned, and her right eye was closed up and scarred. That masked pony! She did this to her! Everything bad that has happened to her was all their fault! She gave a cold growl.
"They... they will pay for this...!" Starlight said. "All of them will pay for this!!!"
"Awww... did the little pony lose her equality?" The voice got her attention.
"Who said that?!" Starlight asked, turning around to see who said that.
"Right here." The voice said. Starlight turned to see a hooded man wearing a black coat. It was the same man that recruited the teenage dragons, Iron Hoof, and the Flim Flam Brothers!
"Who... are you?" Starlight asked.
"You can call me... a friend." The man said as he got up from the snow, brushing himself off. The unicorn tilted her head.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"I just want to help, that's all." The cloaked man said, slowly approaching her. "You seem hurt. Allow me to help you."
"Why would you help me?" Starlight asked.
"Because, you want vengeance, so do all my friends." The man said. "How would you like to be part of my group of friends. In return, I will help you get back at those ponies who ruined your harmony of equality." He extended his hand, with the unicorn unaware of it emitting a black smoke. She looked up at him, showing lots of promise. She didn't care if he looked suspicious or not. She wanted vengeance on those ponies and that boy who took away her town of Equality. She took the man's hoof, while the mist spread across it. She gave a smile.
"I'm in..." She said, and her right eye that was scared opening up, revealing it has turned to red sclera and a yellow pupil. This pony was in need of revenge...