Ponies & Keyblades

by GoneGuy

25 The Rescue Mission

The train ride from Ponyville to the Crystal Empire was not a very lively one. Everypony in the train was concerned about what would happen soon. With both Shining Armor and Princess Cadence there to protect it, something big and dangerous must be after it.

Sora thought to himself that this place might be the location of the Keyhole of Equestria.

Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Rarity stood off at one end of the train, speaking amongst each other, while Rainbow, Sora, Riku, Fluttershy, and Pinkie stood at the other.

Twilight couldn't push the thoughts from her mind. A dark king... trying to take over his former throne after thousands of years. How could this be possible? Any pony would have been long gone by then. She couldn't help but feel worried.

"This sure sounds tough. Even Discord wasn't this crazy. What could become of this?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know, darling. But think of it this way; we all have our elements. They should be able to protect the... crystal.... ponies....." Rarity responded, clearly going off on the pure concept of ponies made of crystal.

8 ponies and 1 dragon all remained silent for the rest of the train ride.

Kairi was running as fast as her four legs could carry her. But, despite knowing that trouble was at foot, she couldn't help smile at her new equine form. She had always loved horses and ponies, and now she was one! It was simply amazing.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders turned the corner, and Kairi followed suit. It wasn't too hard figuring out where Flim and Flam had taken Babs, for their Super Easy Cider-Squeezy 3000 left a hard-to-miss trail. As they descended deeper into the forest, the darker it became.

They finally discovered the vehicle parked right outside a large cave mouth. Kairi caught up, and they thought up a quick plan; Kairi would distract Flim and Flam while the Crusaders rescued Babs.

They descended deeper and deeper into the dark cave, until they finally heard some terrifying laughter coming from the next room. Kairi tippy-hoofed her way into the room, followed by Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo. She then snuck around to where the Flim-Flam Brothers were standing, and clopped her hoof to the floor three times.

The Brothers turned in shock, as they heard a distinctly feminine voice yell.

"Fire!"

A burst of flame shot out of the tip of Kairi's blade, igniting a small ball of hay in the corner, bathing the cave's room in light.

"Gah! Heartless, you know what to do!"

Several dark ponies surrounded Kairi, and she prepared her blade and began slicing through the monsters like a knife through butter.

Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle snuck their way over to Babs, who was tied against the cave's wall with some ropes and gagged.

They took the gag from her mouth first, and she nearly blew their cover by saying thanks almost a tad too loudly. Fortunately, Flim and Flam were too busy watching their Heartless be destroyed to notice.

Applebloom and the Crusaders untied Babs, and prepared to sneak out of the cave, until Sweetie Belle stopped.

"Babs, you go! Applebloom, Scootaloo.... Kairi's in trouble! We've got to help her!"

"Oh no, I ain't goin' without you all. I'm helpin' too!" Babs replied.

Scootaloo nodded and the four Crusaders got onto the scooter and sped over, knocking several Heartless into a pile out of the way, which Kairi sliced with her blade.

The group fended off the remaining monsters, and soon all were gone.

"No! How could this be!"

"How..... Heartless should've eaten you alive!"

Flim and Flam ran out of the cave screaming.

"Thanks girls! By the way... I never caught your names."

"Ah'm Applebloom!"

"My name's Sweetie Belle!"

"Scootaloo."

"And I'm Babs. Thanks for saving my flank back there."

"Like I said, I'm Kairi. It's nice to meet you all!"

The 5 ponies exitted the cave and headed back to Ponyville.