Kingdom Hearts of Harmony

by steel soul

Within The Darkness

Kingdom Hearts of Harmony

By Steel Soul

Within the Darkness

Green to start music and red to stop music

Ponyville
Sweet Apple Acres

“Thanks a bunch again, Twilight,” Applejack told the lavender mare as she began to put the boxes full of sweets into her fridge box. “With Granny Smith getting on in years and Big Mac being a total dud in the kitchen, having Mrs. Cake baking for us every now and then is a real big help. And what with the big family reunion coming up and all, it's helping us out a bunch and more.”

“Thanks Isn't really necessary, AJ. All I did was deliver the food that Mrs. Cup Cake made for you and your family.” Twilight said as she waved a dismissive hoof. “And honestly I was on our way over anyway, so it wasn’t too much out of the way for me.”

“Yeah! Besides, getting a chance to eat some of your delicious apples is always a good day in my book.” Spike mused as he popped an apple into his mouth. “Oh! And helping a friend and yada yada and all that jazz.”

Applejack chuckled softly as her tail gently smacked the back of the drake’s head as she passed by him.“Good ol Spike. A true friend indeed this one is.”

“Well ya know what they say.” The purple drake mused with a cheesy grin. “My friend’s food is my power after all.”

Twilight couldn't help but roll her eyes at the drake’s butchering of Sora’s words. Ignoring the little dragon for now, she would turn to Applejack, a look of concern playing across her features. “I know how much your family means to you, Applejack, but I can’t help but wonder if it is really wise to be holding an Apple Family Reunion with everything that's going on?”

Applejack frowned at that. “Ah know what ya mean Twi, and ah understand your concern, but ah think this is the best time to be having it no matter what others say. It shows those varmints that no matter what they do, they won’t destroy our way of life. All the Apple Clan agreed as well.”

Twilight couldn't help but smile at her friend. “That's...really inspiring Applejack. I think it might even be worth a friendship letter to Celestia.”

“Ahaha...ah’m only doing what ah can, since ah am just a simple apple farmer and all that.” The apple farmer answered modestly before changing the subject. “Anyways, ya say something about the Elements when ya came here, right? Did ya figure something out about them or something?”

“Maybe…” Twilight answered. “It's rather difficult to fully explain the theory in full detail.”

“Well then, just give me the cliff note version. Don't need to be all fancy with your words when ya talk ta me and all that.”

“Well…” Twilight began, explaining the same thing she had told Her friend Pinkie Pie back at Sugar Cube Corner. When she had finished, Twilight couldn’t quite place the face her farmer friend was making.

“Huh…” A.J. said after a little while in deep thought. “The way ya talking, ya making it sound like ah might get my own little blade like Sora or something.”

“And like I told Pinkie Pie, that may or may not be the case.” Twilight assured her. “I’m still running test on them after all. Besides, we don't even know how Keyblades are really formed. I'm just going in blind at this point, throwing caution to the wind...which is both frustrating and exciting within itself, mind you.”

“Hmm…” Applejack hummed to herself. “Still, knowing that Elements really are acting up because of Sora’s Keyblade really is something. Also remember, that it was a hooman’s keyblade that helped forge the Elements of Harmony.” The apple farmer tilted her hat ever so slightly. “And now Sora is here helping with this here Heartless problem we have in this day and age. Honestly, the fact that all of this is happening...kinda feels like its destiny?”

“Destiny...Destiny...Maybe…” Twilight hummed softly to herself. “But...hmm…” The lavender mare slowly began to pace around the room. “I never thought about it like that, but it isn’t out of the realm of possibility. After all there was the tale of Nightmare Moon. In fact…” Twilight perked up as she turned to the farm mare, hugging her tightly “Applejack you're a genius!”

Her orange earthpony friend couldn’t stop the blush at the complement. “Awww shulks Twi, ah get around.” She paused. “Remind me what ah did again?”

“I have a theory, and it's all thanks to you.” Twilight told the mare. “Maybe it will lead to nothing or maybe it will lead to everything I need. For now I need to gather my things back at the Library. we’re heading to Canterlot! The mare grasped her little drake friend in her magic. “I’ll be back as soon as i can.” With a bright glow of the mare’s horn, both Twilight and Spike were gone, teleported away in a flash.”

Applejack stood dumbfounded for a moment before rubbing the back of her head in confusion. “Ah...You’re welcome?”

~

Within the Dark bubble surrounding Trottingham

To say that things started rather anticlimactic was quite the understatement.

Sora had been the first to burst through the opening in the dark barrier, brandishing his keyblade in a practiced flourish as he did so; only to be met with nothing but silence on the other side. He would have been rather disappointed if it wasn’t so unnerving.

The young stallion’s ears pivoted every which way as his gaze slowly took in the terrain. The gentle songs from the birds or the soft rustle of the wind through the trees was nowhere to be found. All he could hear were the sounds of clanking armor behind him and a whole lot of nothing in front. It made him… nervous? Anxious? On edge? No matter what, he didn't like it one bit.

The keyblade wielder tensed at the feeling of a hoof on his shoulder. He turned to see Lightning, looking off into the distance of the forest they were within.

“Easy. Take a breath. Don’t rush,” she said softly, “And calm down. You make mistakes when you get too riled up.”

The keyblade wielder was quiet for only a few moments before nodding, taking in a deep breath before releasing it all at once. He could already feel himself a little calmer now. He smiled at the mare. “Right. Thanks, Lightning.”

The Captain nodded back at him before turning back towards her troops. “Alright mares and stallions, set up base on the edge. I want communications with Canterlot up yesterday!”

Sora watched as she went to work before taking one more deep breath then turning back to face his surroundings. He had to focus. No mistakes. Not with lives on the line.

Now fully aware of where he was, the young stallion noticed that It was as dark as night under the barrier. Actually, that wasn’t quite it. Despite it being dark, and despite there being no moon to light up the sky, for some reason he could clearly see in front of him as if the sun only had a black filter in front of it. If anything, it reminded him of his time in the Realm of Darkness, and more recently when he had faced off against that crazy mare back in the Crystal Kingdom. That revelation in itself made his wings quiver ever so slightly in apprehension.

Deciding to distract himself from that horrible time, the keyblade wielder went back to surveying his surroundings. In front of him, not too far away, was that of a rather normal forest. It actually reminded him of The Forest back in Twilight Town that led to that weird building that he, Donald and Goofy were sleeping within.

“This isn’t… quite what I was expecting when we entered here. How about you, darling?”

Sora turned to face Rarity as she made her way to his side, the pristine mare’s gaze drifting here and there, taking in all she could. Close by, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash approached, the former instantly moving to stick close to Sora.

“It,” Sora started, “reminds me too much of my time in the World of Darkness.”

“You are...ah...not talking about your time back at the Crystal Empire are you?" Fluttershy asked. "I, um… think you mentioned that and you friend Riku were trap in...in the Realm of Darkness?"

“Yeah.” Sora nodded. “Me and Riku found ourselves in the Realm of Darkness after defeating Xemnas. We were trapped before a door to the Realm of Light opened for us.” Sora chuckled softly at the memory. “If it wasn’t for Kairi, I think the both of us would have been lost there forever. Not that I would have minded at the time. With Riku by my side, I was sure that it would have turned out alright in the end.” He paused as he lowered his head lightly. “That even if we were stuck there forever, I knew that I at least had my best friend at my side.”

Rainbow huffed, a smirk playing on her features. “Hah. Well if i had to be stuck with somepony forever I can think of few other dorks that could fit the bill. Though looking after you would be a twenty four hour job. Kinda feel bad for your friend, Riku.”

The caramel coated stallion turned to face the cyan mare, a look of mock indignation on his face. “And what's that supposed to mean? Huh? Huuuuh?”

“Ha! It’s whatever you want it to mean, Hero,” Rainbow mused playfully, giving the stallion a light punch on his shoulder. “Still, I bet I could think of another pony or two that would have loved to be in the position of your friend Riku. Stuck together...with only each other as company. Alone...In the dark.”

Before Sora could could ask who this pony was or why, for that matter, was Fluttershy slowly sinking lower and lower into the ground the more Rainbow Dash talked, his gaze shifted back to the forest in front of them, movement between the trees quickly catching his eye. Before anyone could say a thing, the keyblade wielder was already on the move, jumping over Rainbow and Fluttershy and getting in a readied stance.

Dash raised an eyebrow at Sora’s actions at first, but soon caught on to what was happening, the mare quickly standing side by side next to the Keyblade Wielder. Even in the dark, the cyan pegasus’s eyes were as sharp as a needle. She, too, could vaguely make out the shape of a pony ruffling in the shadows. The real problem was she couldn’t tell if they were heartless or not.

“W-what's going on?” Fluttershy timidly asked. “Sora… Rainbow Dash? Is s-something out there?”

“I think so,” the young stallion replied, keeping his tone sharp and low, yet still having a gentle inflection just for the shy mare. “Fluttershy, go get Lightning. Tell them we might have trouble.”

The shy mare nodded at his command, dashing back towards where Lightning and her guards were stationed.

“There's a few of them coming this way, I think,” Rainbow quipped as soon as the shy mare was away. “I can’t tell how many, though. This stupid dark bubble night thing is making it hard to see in the distance.”

“My guess is they are not coming here for a friendly chat,” Rarity quipped. “Would have been a welcomed change of pace if that was the case.”

Sora nodded before turning back towards the forest just in time to see three figures crashing through the forest barrier, surprising the stallion a great deal. From what he could see, it was a mare and two colts galloping hard and fast towards him and his little party. He could vaguely make out a cape and hat on the mare as she drew closer. Honestly, the hat reminded him of Merlin, that old wizard who taught him magic, if anything. Maybe she was a wizard, too. Before he could think on it any further, Rainbow’s voice cut through his musings

“Dear Celestia, you have got to me pulling my wing,” the cyan mare groaned with a roll of her eyes. “What the heck is Trixie doing here?”

“That is an astute question, Rainbow Dash, but I think I’m more worried about the things chasing after her and those two poor colts!” Rarity countered as she pointed towards dozens of Shadow Ponies materializing from the darkness of the woods right after the running trio.

Sora was the first to act, closing the distance between himself and the ponies fleeing for their lives. As soon as he was close enough , he leapt into the air with a flap of his wings before crashing down upon the nearest heartless that was just seconds away from catching its first victim, making it disperse in a cloud of smoke. The two little ponies, the colts Rarity mentioned, stopped in awe as the keyblade wielder began to engage the dark creatures without hesitation.

“Woah! He- he's actually fighting them?” the oldest colt asked in disbelief, the smaller one upon his back looking over the top of the older one’s head.

“Are you colts crazy?!” the pointy hatted mare, the one called Trixie, yelled. “We have to get out of here while we can! Who knows how long that crazy pony can hold them off!”

“If you think that he would lose to some stupid heartless, then you don’t know Sora,” Rainbow snarked as she landed in front of Trixie. “If he wanted to, I bet he could kick all those heartless baddies flanks by himself with one hoof tied behind his back! ”

It only took a moment for Trixie to recognize the familiar rainbow mane and tail. “Y-You?! Grrrrr! I knew I’d seen that egocentric rainbow hued hair somewhere before! What the hay are you doing here of all places?!”

“Saving your derriere as it were, darling,” Rarity explained as she made her way to Rainbow’s side. “I know it's beyond you sometimes, but a thank you goes a long way.”

“And you say I have an ego?” Rainbow huffed as she poked the showmare’s chest none too nicely. “It takes one to know one, buddy!”

“Trixie calls them as she sees them. And do you really think the great and powerful Trixie needs help from the likes of you two?” the great and powerful mare asked with an incredulous tone. “The great and powerful Trixie needs no help from a braggart and a prissy mare!”

“Says the biggest braggart and prissy mare of them all,” the older colt said offhandedly. Much to his chagrin, however, the show mare heard.

The next thing he knew was the pain of having his cheeks pulled at none too nicely by said mare’s magic. “Be more like your brother and stay quiet when you have nothing nice to say, you little brat.”

So distracted were the show mare and the colts that they didn’t see the heartless about to descend upon them until Rainbow pushed the two of them out of the way, lashing out at the heartless with a spinning kick with one of her hind hooves shortly after.

“Geeze! If you’re gonna just yap, then get out of here,” Rainbow growled. “Can’t look after you and fight and don’t wanna!” She dashed off to join the fray, the mare quickly aiding Sora in his fight against the dark creatures.

Rarity sighed as she helped the mare and colts back to their hooves using her magic. “As crass as she is, Rainbow is right, darlings. While I do have many things to say to you myself, I very well can’t let you or these cute little colts get hurt. Fluttershy and the guards are already on the way, so meeting up with them is for the best.”

Trixie moved to get back up on her hooves, her eyes never leaving where Rainbow and that strange stallion had left. “Just...what on Luna's moon is going on around here?”

~

Sora’s blade struck out as he twisted his head hard, dispatching a nearby heartless in one go. Just as he landed, he lashed out with a hind-hoof, kicking another of the dark beasts away from him as it tried to approach him from behind. As it flew into the air, Rainbow rise above it, delivering a swift kick downwards towards the waiting ground below, causing it to crash into another set of heartless. With a smirk on her lips and a glint in her eye, the mare landed right beside the stallion, her wings spread wide in defiance against the foes before her.

Sora chuckled softly before teasing, “Sure took your time getting here. Thought I was gonna do this all on my own.”

The cyan mare scoffed playfully. “What? I thought you wanted to play the hero, Hero.”

“I was more worried that you would have complained if I didn’t leave any for you to take on yourself.”

Rainbow dodged a swipe from a heartless just before Sora swung above her head, destroying the shadow pony then turned to face the stallion with a huff. “You make it sound like I love beating these shadows up.” She dodged another attack, grabbing the heartless by its foreleg and tossing it away, back into the crowd of its kind, in one fluid motion. “Which I totally do.”

“Long as you take them out then having fun shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Don’t you know it.”

The stallion and mare nodded towards each other before they separated, hooves and keyblade lashing out wildly at the encroaching heartless, taking them by surprise.

Rainbow had flown into a crowd of the dark creatures with hooves outstretched, knocking aside any and all heartless that dared to cross her path. The mare would soon take towards the sky, catching one of the monsters on the chin with an uppercut, taking it with her as she went. Quick as her namesake, the mare zoomed above the heartless, striking it down with a mighty kick without hesitation. Before it could even hit the ground however, Sora lashed out with his keyblade, striking the heartless down before moving on to the next, his blade cutting down droves of the creatures with ease.

The keyblade wielder dodged an attack from below, rolling to the side just as a Shadow Pony materialized under him, trying to catch the stallion by surprise. Before the heartless could even lash out again, Rainbow was on it, Drop kicking the heartless away before flipping and landing right beside Sora once again.

“Geeze!” The prism maned mare exclaimed with an annoyed huff. “Where are all of these things coming from anyway? I didn’t think there were this many when they were chasing Trixie and those colts.”

“Maybe there's a leader?” Sora suggested. “Usually there's someone controlling these types of Heartless. If we can find them we might be able to stop the flow.”

The sound of a loud roar would cause both stallion and mare to perk up, looking towards the direction of the forest it came from. Both of them could feel the ground rumble and shake harder and harder as the very trees themselves seem to bend for some unseen creature. Before the pair could even come up with an idea of what it was that was making all that noise, a large being crashed through the trees, something the likes that neither had ever seen before.

It was big. Nearly as tall as the trees that hid it. It looked almost like a dragon or giant lizard of some sort, one that was made out of metal and gears. Upon its back was an opening, and within that opening was a heartless. More than likely its pilot. Under the metal body of the creature was a cage full of little round balls with deep yellow eyes, rolling around without a care in the world within their contained area.

“Is that...a heartless riding a heartless?” Rainbow asked, in pure disbelief. “Or am I seeing things.”

Sora frowned as he drew his keyblade once more. “I think I'm more worried about the ones in the cage. Since they have a fuse and everything.”

“Wait…”Rainbow gawked as she finally noticed the little creatures within the bared container. “Are those bombs!?”

As if to answer her question the metal dragon opened his giant maw, both Stallion and mare stepping back as they spotted a giant cannon within it. The cage under the heartless rattled with life as one of the little orbs were sucked into a funnel, traveling a short distance within the dragon before blasting out with blinding speed towards the shocked duo. Sora had barely caught himself, quickly tackling his prism maned friend to the ground, causing the giant ball to fly over them, exploding shortly after a few steps away from the pair.

Sora was the first to recover, after saving Rainbow, the stallion instantly got on his hooves and dashed towards the monster.

I gotta take that thing out before it causes any real damage!

The keyblade wielder leapt into the air before flapping his wings causing him to rocketed towards the heartless for a mighty slash. His blade however would only meet that of the ax-like tail behind the heartless, blocking the blow with ease. The tail would push its blade against Sora’s own, and still being in the air, the stallion was forced out of the deadlock. He fell to the ground awkwardly, unable to correct his landing as he slid to a stop not too far away from the beast.

As he tried to pick himself back up, the dragon heartless opened its maw wide, revealing the twin cannons within. Without hesitation it fired, releasing two of the heartless shaped bombs, both fuses lit and heading straight for the young hero. Unable to get up fast enough, Sora lifted his keyblade in front of himself as he closed his eyes, hoping that the blade would take the blunt of the damage if nothing else.

“Strike!”

Sora opened his eyes to find a pink haired mare flying in front of him, her blade, something he had never seen the likes of before in his time in Equestria, sliced though both Heartless, destroying them in one go.

Lightning landed upon the ground before turning to face the stallion. “Get up Sora! Taking a break now isn’t in the job description."

Nodding dumbly, he jumped back to his hooves, standing with the mare as he did so. Rainbow would join their little party, the cyan mare nodding towards Sora as he did the same to her. All three stood, ready to take on the heartless before them as a team.

It was well that they did so too, as many more shadow ponies would slowly slip from the ground below, the metal dragon heartless roaring loudly as he spewed flames into the air.

Lightning would be the first to attack, her hooves quickly carrying her though the length of the battlefield. Her blade would slash though the heartless without mercy, striking out with precision with each blow she made, Followed closely was Sora and Rainbow Dash, both mare and stallion attacking the stragglers as they kept pace with the Pegasus Captain.

The dragon's attention would fall to the one in front, that being the pink haired Capitan. It lashed out with its tail out, swinging to cut the mare down in two. Guard Captain was much too fast for it however, effortlessly sidestepping before lashing out at the base of the tail, severing the blade from its body. Just as she landed, the heartless would turn its maw towards the pony, ready to once again fire off another set of bombs.

It was thwarted, however, as Rainbow Dash came rammed a shadow pony against it causing tis jaws to shut and for the building flame to fire back on itself, causing internal damage the the heartless machine. Despite the blast having sent the mare Flying away, she took it in stride as she laughed wildly, loving the thrill of the fight. The Rainbow maned mare would turn to catch Sora just as he was passing near her, latching onto his foreleg before swinging and rocketing the stallion hard at the monster. Before it could retaliate, Sora’s blade sliced right though heartless, the stallion landing with a flourish of hooves as the monster dissipated, releasing the heart trapped within it.

Sora sighed softly before looking up towards Rainbow, who had flown to his side, raising a hoof as she did so. Giving the mare a smirk, he would tap her hoof with his own before turning to face Lightning, nodding towards the mare. “Thanks for the save, Lightning.”

The pink maned guard shrugged as she sheathed her blade. “I won’t always be there so make sure you watch yourself out there.” She told him. “But...Good work overall. I can see why Celestia put so much praise into you, even if you are a little rough behind the edges. You too Dash.”

The rainbow maned mare perked up at her name, the giddy excitement briefly show before she hid it behind an air of faux coolness. “Yeah...cool...thanks.” She mused as she swept a hoof across her mane.

Sora, for his part, rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Hehe...What she said. And I’ll keep what ya said in mind.” He told her before watching the mare head back towards her troops. The Keyblade Wielder couldn't stop the dejected sigh escaping him as he looked at his hoof in frustration.

“I still...gotta get stronger…”

Sora’s mind was pulled from its inner thoughts as he felt a familiar set of hooves wrap around his neck, the feeling of Fluttershy’s body pressing against his own causing the stallion to blush profusely. She pulled away from him, her gaze shifting up and down his form as she did so.

“Sora! Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere?”

With the shy mare fussing over him as if she were a mother hen, Sora couldn't help but want to get slightly embarrassed. If it was anyone else, the stallion would have had something snarky to say back, but with Fluttershy, he couldn’t help but feel his cheeks redden at the thought of embarrassing himself in front of her. Which was rather unlike him.

“I’m fine Shy. Really.” Sora assured the mare. “I promise, I can take a punch or two.”

“I know.” the shy mare said never once looking away from him. “I just...I mean if I could…”

“Dude, that was unreal!”

Sora and Fluttershy turned to find the colts from before making their way towards them, the oldest one still allowing the younger to ride upon his back. Seeing him clearly now, Sora took note of the dull teal green fur of the older boy, the blond mane he was sporting tied into a long and neat ponytail. He seemed so much more bouncier than the younger gray colt, who would only look on with something akin to indifference.

The young hero smiled as he turned to face the two. “I’m glad that you guys are alright. You guys sure are lucky we made it here when we did.”

“You’re telling me, the way you dealt with those shadow things and that monster really was cool.” teal green said as he adjusted his collar. “Oh! But where are my manors?” Smooth as a feather, the colt would make his way towards the butter yellow pegasus, grasping her hoof into his own as he bowed gently, kissing the tip. “The name’s Zidane. Budding magician and wooer of fair mares, such as yourself.”

Fluttershy couldn’t stop the blush on her cheeks at such bold actions and words from the young colt. “O-Oh...Ah...My name is...Fluttershy. It’s nice to meet you...I-I guess.” She squeaked softly before pulling her hoof gently away.

“Oh my...a lovely name for a lovely princess such as yourself.” Zidane would muse. “To bask in your company, I do count myself one lucky colt.”

Before the teal colt could say anything else, Sora would push himself in front of him, a gentle frown upon his face. “Yeah...okay. How about we get back to the others. Don’t want to keep them waiting after all.”

Not missing a beat one bit, the colt would slip past Sora, his hoof locking on to Fluttershy’s own. “Then allow me to guide the way back. I would love to get to know a pretty mare such as herself along the way if you would accompany me.”

“Oh...I mean...I guess It’s alright…” Fluttershy would stutter as she allowed herself to be escorted by the younger colt. The gray little unicorn would roll their eyes before following after the two, his horn giving off a soft glow as it lit the way within the darkness.

As they left, Sora couldn’t help but feel the fur on the back of his neck bristle ever so slightly, the sight of the colt leading Fluttershy away filling him with a sensation he had never really felt before. At least...He doesn't think he had felt this way before.

“Woah…” Rainbow whistled as she looked between Sora and the and the leaving pair. “Never seen that look on you before, hero.”

Shaking out of his stupor, the colt would look towards the rainbow maned mare, frowning ever so slightly. “Huh? W-what are you talking about, Dash? Gah, Stop wasting time. We gotta get going. We have a town to save, remember?” He told the mare, his tone more than slightly irritated.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow as he left before tilting her head ever so slightly. “Huh…”

Author's Note:

Music soon. Wanna make sure i find the best i can

Comments

[OnceMore26]

Yea your back, oh dear seems Sora is becoming jealous, hope both he and Fluttershy admit their feelings for each other

[Charedfirescale]

I'm going to be honest I'm completely against Sora joining up with anyone but Kiari. I will sink any other ship. So I'm protesting Sora x Fluttershy

[steel soul]

11046666
Oof haha. Guess i'm just the opposite of you but thats okay

[steel soul]

11046632
I know right?

[AllenVth]

Jealousy doesn't mesh well with Sora because he's never dealt with it, but it will be something he has to deal with.

His jealousy, his fear of his own weakness...it's only a matter of time he taps into his dark side for strength, especially if it gives him access to magic again.

[Vespra Dream Drop]

Ayyyyy welcome back! Hopefully Sora can figure out his feelings before his mare gets taken from haha.

[ShadowLegacy13]

Love the chapter I can’t wait to see what happens next

[Sunkaiju]

Glad to see a new chapter, just please try to post the rest of the story BEFORE the next decade.

[Kirbybot]

Hmmm Sorashy interesting ship for this fanfic.

[NaviNautical]

“Well then, just give me the cliff note version. Don't need to be all fancy with your words when ya talk ta me and all that.”

So they have carriages and simple radios, but somehow advanced enough for computers, internet, WWW, and made a cliffnotes.com website? Damn, magic of friendship go hard