Castle Sweet Castle
It had been nearly a week since the map appeared in the Castle of Friendship and stopping Starlight's cutie mark stealing. With every pony in Our Town with their cutie marks back and realizing that they didn't need to be equal to be friends, the Mane Six and Keyblade wielders headed back to Ponyville after staying a while to celebrate, and enjoy some food their stomachs demanded. As soon as they returned, Twilight sent a report to Celestia, detailing what had happened to them in the couple days they were at the village, the appearance of the Cutie Map rising up in the throne room of her castle, and an alert throughout Equestria to be on the lookout for Starlight Glimmer. Where the map for Equestria was important as all twelve ponies were to help spread friendship and solve issues for ponies in need of help, the Galactic Map as Twilight named it was still a mystery.
Aqua took the role of researching what the Galactic Map was meant to do, aside from giving them all a map of the galaxy, all the worlds explored by the Keyblade wielders' memories as new worlds they have yet to see didn't show any detail of the terrain on the Cutie Map. The black specks on the worlds she did view were a concern, but there was so little that it wasn't a major issue, at least for now. Testing that theory, she asked Sora and Ventus to check out one of the worlds with a few of those specks, a world the humans had been to before; Radiant Garden. The two pegasi headed off to the world on their gliders, dawning their armor as they zipped off into space while the others stayed in the throne room and watched.
While observing Radiant Garden, both the holographic world and the map of the town on the crystal table, they were surprised to see two white dots fly toward the world and land in the center of town. Those dots had to be Sora and Ventus as they wandered around the town, searching around for where the black dots were. They managed to find them on the outskirts the the castle town, each black speck blotting out one by one until there were none left. When the two teens returned, they explained what had happened as they ran into Heartless, though they were surprised to know they were being watched from the throne room on the maps as they took out the Heartless. Those black dots on the worlds were where the Heartless hid in the world, waiting for unsuspecting victims to increase their numbers, which meant the more clusters of dots there were, the more the world was in trouble of being destroyed by darkness.
So far, none of the other other worlds minimal Heartless activity weren't threatening enough to be warranted, seeing as none of them have increased while they were gone. Even if they kept track of the worlds, the magic from the castle would warn them if Heartless were invading and threatening the drown a world in darkness if it was like the Cutie Map. The throne room could be used as a base of operations for the Keyblade wielders since they are able to see each world from a higher perspective. Aqua immediately began figuring out a way to be able to communicate with anyone as they explored the worlds, either using magic, technology, or a mix of both to reach out and warn any of them if there were any Heartless around them that they couldn't see.
Things seemed to be back to normal, seeing as there weren't any Heartless threats at the moment or any friendship problems in Equestria to solve. Unfortunately, things didn't seem normal to Twilight as she tossed and turned in her bed, unable to fall asleep. Ever since she had gotten her new castle thanks to the Tree of Harmony, she could barely sleep in her new room. Sure, she may have gotten some sleep while at Canterlot High at human Pinkie's home, even managing to get some back in Our Town over Starlight's recorded ramblings, but she can barely stay in her room, or any part of the castle by herself. Spike had his own room now, so she didn't need to share one with him, and he had a much more comfortable bed that's bigger for him unlike that small basket fit for a dog or cat to sleep on. And even if she pestered Riku to stay in her room for the night, she didn't want to hide the reason why she wanted him by her side; she didn't feel at home in her new castle, even after a couple weeks of gaining it.
She climbed out of bed and sighed, staring at the clock as it was nearly an hour before dawn. Her ears perked up, an idea forming in her head to get her away from her castle. The alicorn rushed over to the balcony, looking down just in time to see Sora already up and heading out to Sweet Apple Acres to help out Applejack and her family's orchard. Her eyes sparkled at the genius plan, leaping off the railing and gliding down to walk alongside the spiky-haired pegasus.
"Good morning, Sora!" she greeted, startling the stallion a little in his slightly tired state.
"Yikes!" Sora yelped, stilling his racing heart. "Well, thanks for waking me up a bit more. I didn't think you'd be up this early. Don't tell me you were having another study binge."
"Actually, I was wondering if you or Applejack had anything planned for today. I really have nothing to do and I didn't want to wake Riku up." Twilight struggled to suppress a yawn, not wanting to seem tired when she barely had any sleep.
"Well, aside from bucking down a few ripe apple trees, Applejack did need some holes dug up for a few more saplings she wanted to plant," Sora said.
"Great! I'll dig the holes!" Twilight offered. "Need to work on building up my strength, and farm labor's the perfect exercise for that!"
"Ok, then...I think she wants some holes dug up in that empty section over by the east orchard. She got ten new saplings to plant, so-" Before Sora finished explaining what Applejack needed, Twilight flew ahead to get started, leaving the stallion in the dust. "...Uhh, I guess I'll help A. J. carry the saplings over, then..."
Sora took his time strolling down the path until he reached the farmhouse. Applejack was already waiting for him with the ten new apple trees ready to be planted in the orchard. He even told her Twilight was helping them, even though they both knew the alicorn wasn't much of an early bird and sometimes stayed up late reading or doing research. With the saplings carefully placed in the cart, the duo made their way out to the empty section of the east orchard, the sun peeking over the horizon.
"Well, glad to know Twilight's helpin' us," Applejack said. "We'll probably be done in no time."
"She seemed a bit too enthusiastic to do physical farm labor," Sora pondered. "...Then again, being a Keyblade wielder like us, it could help her strength little by-" As soon as they reached where they needed to be in the orchard, Sora and Applejack froze in shock at what they saw. Twilight had already been busy digging holes in the large empty space, though she looked like she was working on her fiftieth hole. "...Wow. Did she turn into a diamond dog?"
"Ah hope not." Applejack approached one of the holes where dirt was being tossed up, seeing Twilight inside as she dug with just her hooves. "Uhh, sugarcube?"
"Morning, Applejack!" Twilight greeted, poking her head up out of the hole. "Got the holes you wanted dug up!"
The farm mare slowly turned her head to Sora, a bit impressed, but more flabbergasted at her work. "Ya did tell her we only needed ten holes, right?"
"I did...but I guess she didn't pay attention to that bit..." Twilight climbed up out of the hole she finished digging, shaking off any dirt that clung to her fur. "Uhh...thanks for the help?"
"No problem! Need anything else done?" Twilight asked. "Apple bucking? I gotta work on my back legs a little bit. Or maybe you need help sorting different variety of apples to sell or store? I can do that!"
"Hold your horses, Eager McBeaver," Sora quickly said, stopping Twilight's sudden will to be overly helpful today. "What's with the knack for doing good deeds?"
"...Uhhh, just wanting to help out my friends in any way, shape, or form!" Twilight said, slightly lying, hoping Applejack didn't notice. "So, is there anything else I can do?"
"...No, Twilight, Ah think we can manage from here," Applejack said. "Why don't ya...head back to the castle and get yourself cleaned up?"
Twilight's ears drooped, looking worried for a second before her frown turned back into a nervous grin. "Oh. R-Right...I probably should..."
The alicorn fluttered off, heading back to the castle, only to make a beeline elsewhere as soon as she was out of sight. Sora and Applejack looked at each other, both of them able to tell Twilight was acting strange. They looked back at the several holes she left behind, their work unfortunately going to take a while longer than they planned.
"Welp, time to fill up forty of these holes and leave ten for the trees," Sora said as he grabbed a pair of shovels they packed in the cart. "What's bugging Twilight?"
"Ah have no idea, but whatever it is, Ah'm sure she'll tell us," Applejack said, taking a shovel and began filling in one of the nearby holes.
"Hopefully it won't be like her freak-out when she forgot to send a letter to Princess Celestia on a lesson in friendship." The stallion shuddered as he recalled the spell Twilight fired at him that made him completely irresistible to the whole town. "I think I still have nightmares about Big Mac giving me those bedroom eyes while affected by that 'Want-it Need-it' spell." Applejack chuckled, earning a leer from Sora. "It is not funny!"
"Not as funny as he told me them nightmares about y'all as a mare from the Poison Joke we accidentally walked into?" Applejack asked, holding back her sniggering as the teen blushed in embarrassment.
"Why bring that up?" Sora questioned, his honorary sister unable to hold back her laughter. Sora grumbled as he got to work digging up some of the holes. "At least I wasn't the size of an ant, Appleteeny."
"Hahahaha! Ah'm just messin' with ya, Sora!" Applejack said, taking deep breaths to cease her guffawing before she busted a gut. "Ah thought ya liked jokin' around."
"Only when I make the jokes! Not those plants!" he exclaimed.
"Well, at least ya can't deny y'all were a pretty mare." Sora jerked his head up and leered at Applejack, the mare smirking at his expression.
"Please, for the love of all things holy, stop bringing that up!" Sora shouted, bringing the farm mare back into her laughing fit as she fell to the ground and clutched her sides. "Maybe that's why I'm an only child; I was freed from being tormented by siblings! You're worse than the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their crazier ideas to get cutie marks!"
Twilight flew around Ponyville, quickly attempting to find something else to do besides head back to the castle. She wished she stayed around the orchard longer to help more, but if she did, Sora and Applejack would have been suspicious of her behavior. The sun was already starting to rise as ponies started to wake up or open up their shops. Luckily, she hovered over Rarity's boutique, the white unicorn opening her shop at this time, and Aqua was heading there as well. She could kill two birds with one stone, metaphorically speaking, helping Rarity with something and maybe distract herself with some Keyblade training.
"Hey, Aqua!" Twilight called out.
The blue unicorn looked up as the alicorn landed beside her. "Morning, Twilight." Aqua noticed the dirt on Twilight's hooves, confused by what she had done to get so dirty. "Were you running through mud earlier? I don't think it's rained the last couple days."
"Just a little jog around Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight said. "So, what are you doing at Rarity's? Modelling dresses? Foalsitting Sweetie Belle?"
"Actually, I wanted to ask her about gems. Specifically, crystals. I'm not really skilled with electronics, but I think I've read somewhere, both here in Equestria and back as an apprentice, that crystals can hold a lot of magical properties, which might be perfect in crafting special earpieces for communicative purposes when we go from world to world to stop Heartless from invading." Though Twilight was intrigued by the idea, she almost began dozing off from her exhaustion and lack of sleep, but she willed herself to stay awake. "And seeing how Rarity has a keen eye for finding perfection in a gemstone, she might help me find the right type of crystal that can allow us to talk from across several million light years from Equestria, seeing as this world is on the farther edge of the galaxy."
"I have heard that crystals can hold several different enchantments," Twilight said. "I can even help with finding the perfect spell to make it possible."
"Let's start with finding the right crystals and do a test run after making sure it can transform just like we do on our ears. It would be a little awkward having a differently designed earpiece meant for ponies if we're on a world where we turn into something else on another world to fit in with that world's inhabitants." The alicorn nodded in agreement after she herself had some experience as a human in CHS.
They both walked inside the Carousel Boutique, Twilight quickly scraping of as much dirt off her hooves on the welcome mat before walking into Rarity's home. She didn't want to freak her fashionista friend out by leaving dirt on her clean carpets or furniture. Rarity walked out of her workroom as she heard her front door opened, wearing her sewing glasses as she saw Aqua and Twilight come by.
"Hello, girls!" Rarity greeted.
"Hey, Rarity," Aqua said. "I was wondering if you can give me a little insight on magical crystals."
"Magical crystals? Whatever for?" Rarity asked.
"After figuring out what the Galactic Map does, I want to create some enchanted earpieces for the seven of us in case some of us split up to separate worlds to lower any Heartless threats out there," she explained. "Since I'm not skilled with making them as electronic devices like those Gummi ships, I figured using a magically enchanted earpiece would be better, and crystals crafted into earpieces that can transform along with us and our clothing when entering other worlds won't be as irritating to adjust."
"Oooh. That does sound like it would come in handy." Rarity tapped her chin with her hoof, thinking of any specific crystals at the top of her head that could hold communication enchantments. "Well, I think the type of crystal you need is a clear white, high purity crystal. Those should hold onto those enchantments for a lifetime, although I'm not sure about them being able to use them as a way of communicating from distant worlds."
"I think Twilight and I can figure out a way to make that possible. Right, Twilight?" Aqua waited for a response, only to hear the alicorn snore slightly. Both unicorns turned their heads to her, Twilight somehow falling asleep standing up. "...Uhh, Twilight?"
Twilight snorted awake, looking around rapidly. "I wasn't sleeping!" she shouted, realizing where she was, giggling nervously. "I mean...Whatever you said?"
Rarity and Aqua looked at each other in confusion, neither of them knowing how much sleep she had if she just dozed off randomly. "...Ok...So, Rarity, you have any of those crystals on you?"
"No, but I might find some around the canyons nearby, or import them with some rare gems I can't find around Ponyville," Rarity said. "I'll let you know if I get any until then."
"Thanks, Rarity. I'll find a way to pay you back for them." Aqua turned back to Twilight, who nearly dozed off again as she snapped her head back up the moment the Keyblade Master looked at her. "Are you ok, Twilight? You look exhausted."
"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm fine," Twilight assured.
"You fell asleep on us," Rarity reminded the alicorn. "Maybe you should head back to bed."
"I'm fine!" Twilight reassured. "I just need to get my blood pumping, that's all! How about some training, Aqua!?"
"...I guess we can do a little bit of training. But if you end up falling asleep on me, and not from the effects of a Sleep spell, then we're taking a break. Understand?" The student nodded her head rapidly. "Ok. Let's head out to the fields, then."
"Yes, Master Aqua!" Twilight said as she stood at attention, her enthusiasm slightly odd to Aqua, but she shrugged her shoulders and lead the way.
The rest of the day, Twilight had spent it trying her hardest to avoid going back to the castle. After a couple hours of training, insisting on no rest, she continued doing anything to help her friends or ask for more training from Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, and Ventus. She raced Rainbow Dash around several times, losing every single time, tried to duel with the male Keyblade wielders at their full strength, losing to them as well, helped clean Fluttershy's animals while getting messy in the process, and assisted Pinkie Pie with the different pancakes to make for breakfast tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow came too soon for her though as everyone met up in the dining room back in the castle. Everyone sat around the circular table, plates stacked with pancakes filled with many varieties of berries, chocolate chips, whipped cream, and warm, gooey maple syrup. Rarity, Kairi, and Aqua were the only ones using their utensils to cut their flapjacks in smaller pieces while the others dug in muzzle first, the boys, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie munching on their stacks noisily.
"Mmm! It has been so long since I've had pancakes this delicious!" Sora complimented, taking a whole pancake whole in his mouth.
"These really are delicious, Pinkie," Aqua complimented.
Pinkie lifted her face up from her plate, giving herself a whipped cream and berry Santa beard before using her tongue to lick her face clean. "Thanks! Twilight spent the whole night picking out the flavors!"
Riku stopped eating, swallowing his mouthful. "Wait. She spent the entire night at Sugarcube Corner with you?"
"Yeah. I thought we found the right one, but she insisted I make more to try," Pinkie said, piling up more pancakes, emphasizing her point while also planning to consume the larger stack she built. "And then some more. And more and more and more and more! I swear, it's like she didn't want to-"
"Leave?" Fluttershy finished.
"Exactly!" Pinkie took a bite out of the side of her now taller stack of pancakes, quickly swallowing her mouthful. "Eventually, we ran out of time, so we went with every-berry-any-chip surprise!" She then slid over to Rarity, holding up a hoof as she held a hoof up to tell her a secret, despite not speaking in a hushed whisper. "The surprise is that I lost a measuring spoon in the batter. Somepony's gonna get a very special pancake!"
Everyone immediately stopped eating as they looked down at their plates, now being extremely cautious not to accidentally swallow the lost measuring spoon. "...How exactly do you cook a measuring spoon in a pancake when you pour the batter into a pan?" Ventus questioned, poking the top of his stack in case there was a solid bulge hiding in it. "...I'm kind of afraid to eat anymore now."
"So, Twilight was up all night," Riku uttered. Everyone looked over at the alicorn, having fallen asleep as soon as they had sat down, her head tilted back as she snored. She was also a complete mess: dried up mud caked in her fur, leaves and branches sticking out of her frazzled mane, even a few scrapes when she hit the ground after getting beaten in the duels she insisted on having with him and the other male Keyblade wielders at their full strength. "...Yesterday, she kept trying to get us to duel her, even after she kept losing and wanted a rematch while her energy was already diminished after each fight..."
"Yeah, that was strange," Sora agreed. "Not only that, but she also dug up fifty holes at the orchard for me and Applejack yesterday morning when we only needed ten. Spent the crack of dawn doing that with just her hooves."
"Twilight wanted to do some training with me earlier yesterday as well after I visited Rarity about the crystals we'd need," Aqua added. "I kept teaching her all the spells she was allowed to learn, exhausting her mana and constantly using Ethers to regenerate her magic, insisting she still fired each one poorly when each one was good enough to deal damage to a common Heartless."
"She wanted to stay at my cottage yesterday evening and help me clean my animals, even after we cleaned them all," Fluttershy said.
"And that afternoon, Twilight constantly pestered me to like twenty races, and I won every single one," Rainbow included. "I mean, I know hanging out with me is awesome, but she'd rather keep losing than just-"
"Leave?" Fluttershy finished yet again.
"Yeah. Who does that?" Rainbow questioned.
Twilight snored again, her head drooping down until her face splatted into her whipped cream covered pancakes. She murmured in her sleep, nuzzling her breakfast like a pillow, something that the humans found hilariously adorable if it weren't for the fact she had spent the entire day acting strangely.
"She's definitely avoiding something and not telling us," Kairi said. "She knows she doesn't have to hide anything if something was bothering her."
"Depends on what that something is," Terra said while Pinkie flipped her plate of pancakes, swallowing them whole as they landed in her mouth. "Looks like we're going to have to wait until she-" Suddenly, Pinkie began to gag, hacking out the measuring spoon she somehow managed to lose in the batter. It hit Terra in the face as he sat across from her, smacking him in the forehead. "Ah!...Well, there's that measuring spoon."
"I win!" Pinkie cheered loudly, waking Twilight up, her horn sticking through one of her pancakes as it hung over her face.
"I'm pancake! I mean, awake..." She grinned nervously, lifting the pancake out of her point of view to see everyone's concerned faces.
"Twilight, is there something you're not telling us?" Twilight looked at Riku sitting next to her, pulling off the skewered pancake off her horn. "I know you like spending a lot of time with us, but you've been acting out the whole day yesterday. I mean, just look at you; you're a mess, you've exhausted yourself, and you look like you barely had any sleep the other day."
"...Was I that obvious?" Twilight asked. Looking around at the others, everyone nodding their heads as it was plainly obvious with how dirty she looked and passing out on them during breakfast. No longer able to hide it, the alicorn sighed sadly. "...The thing is...I know this is going to sound silly...but, I've been...avoiding this place."
She waved a hoof around, admitting to avoiding being around her own castle. "Really, darling?" Rarity asked. "Why would you want to avoid such a gorgeous castle?"
"Yeah, this place has everything!" Pinkie said. "Big tall ceilings that make you feel tiny! Shiny new floors that are cold to the touch!" The mare fell to the ground, practically rubbing the crystal floors with her entire body before zipping over to the doorway. "And it even has loooooooong empty hallways!"
Pinkie's voice echoed throughout the whole castle, though her reasoning on why the castle was amazing didn't help Twilight's attitude much. Granted, it was an incredible castle to live in, rivaling that of Canterlot's and the Crystal Empire's. Seeing how somber her gaze was as she stared at her ruined breakfast, Riku understood her strange behavior the other day, knowing her real reasons why she wanted to do anything else away from the castle.
"...Now I get it," he said. "Twilight, you're avoiding the castle because you still don't feel at home here, huh?" She nodded her head sadly. Riku got up from his seat and sat beside her, hugging her tightly, ignoring how filthy she was as she leaned into his embrace. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't want you all to worry about what I thought," she said. "...I still did a horrible job of hiding it, anyway..."
"Well, all you need to do is decorate the castle," Rarity suggested. "A little decor suited to your liking would make things better."
"But it's so daunting! Just look at how big this place is!" Twilight exclaimed, squirming out of Riku's hooves. "I don't even know where to start!"
She was about to lay her head back down on her uneaten pancakes, but Riku moved her plate away before she could get herself more messy. "We can take care of it for you," Rarity offered. "Who better to make this castle feel like home for you than your best friends? And while we're taking care decorating your dream castle, you head off to the spa and get some rest and relaxation."
"I think that's a great idea," Aqua said. "And, in order to make sure you're relaxed, we'll come along with you to make sure you're getting the relaxation you need."
"Uhh, define 'we'?" Riku asked.
"While the girls handle decorating the castle to suit Twilight's preferences to make it feel like home for her, us Keyblade wielders are going to be having a little R&R as well," Aqua explained.
"You just want an excuse to go back there after I dragged you along for your own R&R you desperately needed, right Aqua?" Terra asked with a grin, seeing her cheeks turn pink for a moment as she leered at him. "Ah. I'm right. I knew you'd enjoy it, and you liked the pampered package I bought for you."
"S-Shut up, Terra," Aqua grumbled as the stallion chuckled in amusement.
"I'm not much of a guy who wants to be at the spa," Riku said.
"Aww, come on, Riku. It's not all that bad," Sora assured. "It's not really as girly as you think. There's a sauna, hot tub, a massage parlor, mud baths."
"Letting out that feminine side of you after that Poison Joke incident?" Applejack teased, making Sora tense up and leer at the farm mare.
"Applejack, what did I just say yesterday!?" Sora exclaimed as the ones who knew about what happened to the teen laughed at his embarrassment. "I should have pushed you in one of those several holes we had to fill up.
"Wait, what happened?" Terra asked. "The heck's 'Poison Joke'?"
"It's a plant that pulls a prank on anyone who touches it," Ventus explained, having witnessed Sora as a mare through his eyes before he was back in his old body. "It does something weird to someone physically, which can end up with hilarious results."
"...Oh." Terra put the pieces together, letting out a snort as he imagined a female Sora. "...That's...gotta be humiliating."
"Oh no!" At the doorway, Spike walked in, carrying a plushie of Rarity under his arm. "Did I already miss the pancakes!?"
"Thank you, distraction," Sora whispered to the ceiling, having the topic of his gender-swapping diverted and praying it will not be brought up again.
The baby dragon ran up to the table to eat some of the remaining pancakes that was left. "Spike, would you like to help us with something?" Kairi asked. "We're going to take Twilight to the spa. Want to come with us while the girls help spruce up the castle for her?"
"Sure. I've been meaning to get my claws done soon, anyway." He was about to munch into his breakfast, only to see the others stares telling them to get going immediately. "...Oh. You mean now."
Spike stuffed some pancakes into his mouth as the seven Keyblade wielders got up from their seats to head out to the spa. Riku was a little apprehensive to go to the spa, but he'll go along with whatever they did for Twilight's sake, knowing she's always constantly stressed and would beg him to join regardless of the situation. As soon as they left, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity cleared off the dining table before getting started on decorating the castle.
"Come on, y'all!" Applejack said. "We've got a lot of work to do!"
Once breakfast was cleared, the five mares were ready to make the castle feel like a home for Twilight. Light, cheery music filled the air as ideas filled their heads with what they think Twilight will like to have in her new home.
[Rainbow Dash]
Let's all work together
To make this castle shi-i-ine
[Rarity]
Once we add some sparkle
It'll feel, it'll feel, it'll feel...
[All]
It'll feel divine
They soon split up to gather the things Twilight would like, but as they went to their homes, they brought belongings that they liked more than their alicorn friend would probably enjoy.
[Applejack]
Crates of apples an' bales of hay
Just makes ya feel at home
[Fluttershy]
Furry friends and some popinjays
So she won't be alone
[All]
And we'll make, and we'll make, and we'll make
This castle a home
[Pinkie Pie]
There's nothing like balloons and confetti
To greet you every time you walk through the door
[Rainbow Dash]
She'll need this and those
Posters of all my heroes
How could anypony awesome every ask for more?
[All]
And we'll make, and we'll make, and we'll make
A home she'll adore
The mares brought their favorite things and returned back to the castle, beginning to decorate the throne room, being the room Twilight would mostly be in aside from the library.
[Rarity]
Bright curtains of flowing silk and lace
[Rainbow Dash]
This picture of me winning a race
[Pinkie Pie]
Party cannons to give her a surprise
[Applejack]
Hoes and rakes and some more garden supplies
[Fluttershy]
Getting hugs from this nice, big, friendly bear
[Rarity]
Decorate with some gemstones bright and rare
[Rainbow Dash]
More of this and that
[Pinkie Pie]
Don't forget the party hats
[Rainbow Dash]
How could anypony awesome ask for more than that?
[Applejack]
Let's all work together
[Fluttershy]
To show that we have shown
[Rarity]
Princess Twilight Sparkle
[All]
How we make, how we make, how we make
This castle a home
How we make, how we make
This castle a home
How we make, how we make
This castle a home!
At the song's end, the five ponies seemed satisfied with a job well done. Unfortunately, everything in the throne room was an utter mess with everything they brought and set up: Applejack brought a lot of farming equipment, hay bales, and barrels of apples, Rainbow Dash brought posters of the Wonderbolts, herself, and trophies under her name, Pinkie Pie covered the room with streamers, confetti, and balloons, Rarity set up silk curtains over the windows while also placing an assortment of gemstones and flowers, and Fluttershy had brought a variety of different animals from birds to a friendly brown bear. They had spent nearly an hour decorating, neither of them even aware of the different things the others brought, turning the throne room into a massive pigsty, not including the trio of pigs Fluttershy brought as well.
"...Uhh, wow, girls," Applejack said, sounding incredibly unconvinced. "We did a...really good job. Heheh...heh..."
The others murmured their unconvincing agreements as well. There was clearly nothing around the room at all that Twilight would have liked. Fluttershy's animals went about, the birds accidentally popping Pinkie's balloons with their beaks while the other animals went about their business messing with the other things placed around the room.
"Fluttershy, I love how you brought...so many animals," Rainbow said.
"Aren't these your trophies?" Fluttershy asked, pointing at the few trophies set on display of one of the windowsills.
"I prefer to think of them as everypony's trophies, but with my name permanently etched onto them," Rainbow replied, in a way still calling them her trophies.
"My my, Applejack, bringing the outdoors inside," Rarity complimented hesitantly. "What a...lovely touch..." She looked down at the old quilt Applejack had brought to lay out as a rug, levitating it up to get a closer look. Scrunching her nose at the musty smell it had lingering, she quickly dropped it before retching in disgust. "A-Are these vintage?"
"Nope. Just old," Applejack said, shielding her eyes from the reflective light coming from Rarity's drapes that had gems embroidered in them. "Unlike your sparkly window doohickeys, which are...well, just swell."
"Hey, no one said anything about my hidden confetti cannons yet!" Pinkie said. "...Oh wait, that's right! They're hidden!"
A moment later, Spike came walking in, looking at his filed claws. "Hey, guys. How do my claws-?" Looking up, he gasped in horror at the mess he now noticed. "Sweet Celestia!"
"Spike? You guys are back already?" Rarity asked, she and the others beginning to worry.
"No, I came back to see how everything was going," Spike said. "The others are still with Twilight, and we ordered her a super-deluxe mane blow-out." The baby dragon looked around at the random assortment decor and new pets, scratching his head in utter bafflement. "The hay did you guys do? This place looks horrible."
The mares sighed in relief. "Thank goodness somepony said something! I have no idea what the hay any of us were trying to do."
"I guess the room is a little...cluttered," Rarity said. "I think we also set some things over where Sora, Riku, Kairi, Ventus, Aqua, and Terra's thrones should be if they were in here."
"I think it looks super fun!" Pinkie said.
Suddenly, one of the party pony's hidden party cannons went off, the loud noise along with the confetti it shot out spooking the animals as they all went wild. They began knocking things over, Pinkie joining in the panicking critters as if it were a game, making more of a mess than it already was. Fluttershy tried her hardest to calm down her animal friends, but they were too startled to listen. Rarity gasped when she saw a couple of chipmunks try to run up one of her silk curtains, digging their claws into the drapes to try to climb up to higher ground.
"No!" the unicorn shouted. "That bunting is embroidered by hoof! Don't you move one more-!" Her warning was unintentionally unheard as the chipmunks did stop, only for them to slide down accidentally and tear the curtains with their claws. Rarity snapped at her favorite drapes were now completely ruined. "EVERYPONY, STOP!!!!!!!!"
The animals all skid to a halt, Pinkie freezing in place, finally stopping the madness of the stampede in the room. Now the room was a complete mess with everything fallen over or spilt, which must have been an upgrade compared to the mismatched decor they had placed earlier.
"...Ok, now it's a big mess," Pinkie said, another one of her cannons firing off at random.
"Now what are we gonna do!?" Rainbow exclaimed.
"I don't know, but Twilight's blow-out isn't going to take that long," Spike said. "If she sees all this, she surely won't be able to stay in the castle now!"
"We can fix this!" Rarity said. "Spike, you and the others need to keep distracting Twilight until then."
"But for how long?" Spike asked. "We both live here."
"Well, yes, of course. But, maybe you can manage until sunset?" Spike wasn't sure if they could distract Twilight long enough for them to not only make the castle feel at home for her, but also clean up this huge mess that was just made.
He was immediately won over by Rarity's fluttery eyes, his smitten heart answering for him. "Anything for you, Rarity."
He stumbled out in a dreamy daze, making his way back to the spa to update the Keyblade wielders of what had happened. "Ok, let's not panic. We got plenty of time to fix this. Since this room's all cluttered, why not try to take down one of our own decorations to see if it looks better?"
The others voiced their agreements with Applejack. But as they looked at the mess, they all had conflicted feelings over which of their decorations they want to take down.
"...Who wants to go first?" Rainbow asked.
At the Ponyville Spa, the business was one of the town's best for ponies in need of some relief from the hard work they do and release the stress built up from everyday life. The twins who run the establishment were giving the best treatment for Princess Twilight Sparkle, along with her fellow Keyblade wielders. The alicorn sat patiently as her deluxe mane blow-dry, now freed of the dried mud and bits of foliage that clung to her hair and body after a soak in the herbal hot tub. The Keyblade wielders had taken their clothes off as they were stored in the spa's lockers for any residents who came in with clothing, Kairi and Aqua taking a soak in the large tub while Sora, Riku, Ventus, and Terra sat in the sauna with towels draped around their waists.
"Ok, I'll admit," Riku said as he leaned back, his bangs limping over his face from the sweat his body leaked from the humid hot box. "Maybe the spa's not so bad. Just as long as none of you ordered me some kind of manicure...or pedicure...whatever the heck they call it for ponies."
"Well..." Riku glared at Sora as he began to look up suspiciously. He laughed at his friend, brushing away his wilted, spiky bangs away from his eyes. "I'm just kidding."
"Yeah. You say that now." Sora gave Riku a cheeky grin, which was slightly obscured by some steam as Terra poured some water over the hot rocks in the middle of the room.
"Hooficures really aren't that bad to have for guys," the older stallion said, surprising the three teens.
"Wait, have you actually been to a spa before?" Ventus asked.
"Before I took Aqua here, yeah. A couple times," Terra admitted. "Someone from the town close to where I was living in that forest suggested to try the small spa they had there. They thought I was a bit stressed after I got adjusted to living in this world, so I went and tried it out. The hooficure was a bit awkward at first, but you'd be surprised to know just how much wear and tear your hooves can get from walking around all the time."
The teenage boys looked at each other, then back to Terra. "...I think we'll pass on getting a hooficure."
"Suit yourselves." As they rested in the sauna for a couple more minutes, their time inside ended as they left the room.
After a quick shower to wash off the sweat their pores released, Spike found them as they left the shower room and dried themselves off with clean towels. "Hey, Spike. How's everything going at the castle?"
"Uhh, not exactly that great," Spike said. "It's...kind of a mess there. And just in the throne room."
"Oh great," Sora groaned. "What did they do?" Spike explained what had happened, even including everything Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity brought that they thought Twilight would like. The stallions facehooved, clearly seeing that they brought things THEY liked more than Twilight would, not to mention mixing up their decorations as a messed up collage in a room that also served as their base for watching over the other worlds. "Of course...Nothing ever goes right, does it?"
"So, we're going to need to keep distracting Twilight until sunset, right?" Ventus asked. "I...guess we can manage that."
"Let's warn Kairi and Aqua while Twilight's out of earshot," Terra said. "We really don't want her to see whatever mess they came up with. In fact, I don't want to see what it looks like now."
The boys made their way to the hot tub, where Aqua, Kairi, and Twilight were at their spa treatments. Aqua and Kairi spotted them walk in, wondering if they were able to go back to the castle yet, but the looks on the stallions' faces told them no. Twilight looked at the mirror, seeing the boys return from their sauna.
"Hey, guys," she said. Her blow-dry was done as one of the spa twins, Lotus, took the dryer off the alicorn's head. Her hairstyle was altered from her normal brushed down mane and bangs, now styled a bit wilder with the back of her mane sticking back while the top and front were curled out, giving her a punkish-looking style. "How do I look?"
It was a little surprise to see Twilight with a hairstyle like that, but it did seem to suit her, even if she wanted to keep it temporarily. "It's not bad. Not as wild as us guys' spikes, but an interesting look."
"Eh, I prefer how I normally do my mane, but it does look good," Twilight said, brushing up her new bangs as they began to hang over her eyes. She looked at Riku, stunned silent with his mouth slightly agape. "What do you think, Riku?"
"...Uhhhhhhhhhhh..." The stallion was speechless, making the others laugh at his dumb struck response.
"I think he means, 'I love it. Please keep it for me,' in dumb love-struck language," Sora said, nudging the white pegasus's shoulder.
"And how exactly are you a linguist in 'dumb love-struck language'?" Kairi asked. "Did you become an expert after we first met when you stood there staring at me dumbly, then smacked into a wall as you tried to leave?" Sora's pupils shrunk, his cheeks turning pink as he looked at Aqua, Terra, and Ventus nervously. Kairi giggled, getting herself out of the large tub, Aqua following suit as the two mares dried themselves off with a towel. "I think it's cute how we met. You were silly, and when you finally said something to me, you were being yourself; a big goofball that always makes me smile."
"...But that was embarrassing," Sora whined.
"I'll say," Ventus said with a smirk. "You have a way with girls, that's for sure."
"Shut up, Ven," Sora growled.
"Anyway, Spike, how's the castle looking?" Twilight asked, diverting the topic.
"Uhh, great," Spike said nervously.
"I think they should be done by now. I'm a bit more relaxed and ready to see what they made for us." Twilight was about to leave the spa, which began to worry the others greatly as they weren't exactly done yet.
Riku snapped out of his daze from admiring his girlfriend's new manestyle, quickly getting in her way as he grabbed one of the pamphlets detailing the spa's services. "Wait, we can't leave yet! We haven't had a massage!"
"You want to get a massage?" Twilight asked skeptically.
"Well, with all the wandering I've done for a whole year on my own, you have no idea how much tension I've got in my muscles along with fighting Heartless." Riku opened the pamphlet and pointed at a random massage treatment. "I'm going to get this one."
"The 'Extra-strength-hot-stone-deep-tissue massage'?" Confused, the white stallion turned the pamphlet around, his eyes growing wide at the massage he picked.
"...Uhh, yeah. Just what I need." Riku chuckled nervously with an unconvincing grin.
"I'm just going to get a traditional massage," Twilight said. "But, if that's what you want to do, go ahead, Riku."
"Did somepony order massages?" Aloe asked, overhearing the couple from the doorway.
Suddenly, the wall was smashed through by Bulk Biceps, wearing a spa uniform. "Yeah! Let's do this!" The hulking pegasus noticed Sora and Riku, giving them a wave. "Hey, guys!"
"Bulk? You work at the spa?" Sora asked.
"Yeah!" Bulk answered. "...Uhh, why do you ask?"
Riku and Sora both looked at each other, both just as baffled as well as the rest of the group. "We thought you'd have a job somewhere in a job. Not a spa."
"Weight lifting is my talent, but I'm a masseuse here!" Bulk said proudly. "Now, who ordered the 'Extra-strength-hot-stone-deep-tissue massage'!?" Riku slowly and shakily lifted a hoof, catching the bulky stallion's attention. "Alright! You're in for a treat! It's awesome!"
Bulk ran up to Riku, grabbed the smaller pegasus, placed him on his back, and began running through the same wall, creating yet another hole as he stole the Keyblade wielder away. "Ugh, I hate when he does that," Aloe groaned. "Right this way, Your Highness."
Twilight followed the pink spa twin as they headed to the massage parlor. "Have fun, you two!" Sora called out. "We're gonna see how the girls are progressing!"
"Actually, can I stay and get that kind of massage?" Terra asked. "That sounds really relaxing."
"Terra, the girls made a mess of the castle throne room," Ventus said. "If it gets any worse, we're going to have to clean it up, otherwise Twilight will try to live elsewhere in Equestria. Or another world."
"How bad exactly is this 'mess'?" Aqua asked.
"I'll explain on the way," Spike said.
Sora, Kairi, Ventus, Aqua, and Terra followed Spike back to the castle, the earth pony stallion groaning in disappointment with his head hung low. "But I wanted to try that extra-strength-hot-stone-deep-tissue massage..."
Back in the castle, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack picked up the mess left behind by Fluttershy's stampeding animal friends after getting spooked. Once everything was cleaned up and set back the way things were, the five mares looked over their decor. Out of all of them, Rarity was the only one who didn't pick something they brought as decoration in the room.
"Come on, Rarity," Applejack said. "Everypony here has already taken one thing out except you."
"Ooh! I just can't decide!" Rarity complained.
"Well, how about this?" Rainbow pointed at a large picture of the Mane Six, Sora, Riku, and Kairi in the clouds, Spike poking his head up in the bottom right corner.
"No! Not that! Anything but that!" the fashionista exclaimed.
"What about these flowers, then?" Rainbow asked.
"But those brighten up the whole room!" Rarity reasoned. "They're my favorite accent!"
The pegasus growled and flew up to the curtains. "Then let's loose the curtains! The whole room wouldn't need brightening if it weren't so dark!"
"Not them either!" Rarity's whining and complaining began wearing on Rainbow's, and the others', nerves.
"They can't all be your favorite!" Rainbow flew over to the large picture, taking it off the wall. "Ok, I'm taking down this picture. We all know what we look like."
Rarity got upset as her decision was made for her, looking around the room in disdain against Rainbow. "Well, this room is still cluttered, isn't it? Perhaps I'll take down a poster or two, only to be helpful, of course!"
Rarity levitated two of Rainbow's Wonderbolts posters out of the room, irritating the pegasus as the two mares leered at each other. "Alright, everypony, calm down," Applejack said. "Ah'm sure we can remove all this clutter together."
"...You're right, Applejack." Rarity and Rainbow looked at each other for a moment, the unicorn levitating one of Applejack's family quilts out of the room.
"Hey! Those are mah warmin' quilts!" the farm mare complained as Rainbow kicked the floating quilt out of the room before landing beside Rarity.
"Together!" they said simultaneously, bumping hooves.
Suddenly, the sound of balloons popping rang out in the throne/map room, Fluttershy's birds pecking at Pinkie's balloons to get rid of them. "Fluttershy! Tell you birds to stop pecking all my balloons!"
"I guess they don't like being scared out of their wits by confetti cannons or something," Fluttershy grumbled.
"But we can't get rid of them!...I forgot where I hid them." As if on cue, one of Pinkie's hidden cannons fired outside of the throne room, the mares hearing several voices screaming out in surprise.
The doors opened, revealing Spike and the Keyblade wielders sans Riku, all of them covered in confetti. They saw the decorating the five mares did, which they knew did not suit Twilight's standards as a home for her castle.
"By the light of Kingdom Hearts, what are you girls doing!?" Sora exclaimed. "And what was with the random party cannon firing off out there!? We thought we were under attack!"
"We're still trying to make the castle feel like home to her," Applejack said. "And...we don't seem to be doin' a good job at it, are we?"
"Apparently not," Kairi said. As the Keyblade wielders entered the room, holding their Keyblades in their hooves as their thrones appeared, they looked around at all the objects the former Elements of Harmony brought. Kairi looked at the trophies set on display, all of them with Rainbow Dash's name on them. "Why did you bring your trophies here, Rainbow?"
"And all the animals, Fluttershy?" Ventus asked as he eyed the brown bear sitting in a corner, curiously looking at the thrones that magically appeared.
"It's like you guys turned this room into a glorified petting zoo," Terra noted. "I may not know Twilight as much as you guys, but clearly, this place does not suit her at all."
"Or as our base with all this clutter around the thrones and map," Aqua added, using her magic to move Pinkie's party decor away from the Cutie Map.
"I don't know what we're even doing anymore!" Rainbow said.
"Well, I don't think I did anything wrong," Rarity said. "I did exactly what I would do if this were my home."
At the fashionista's reasoning for not being part of the blame, it dawned on the other four mares that they all did exactly what they wanted if the castle was their home. "I think that's the problem," Sora said. "You guys all just brought stuff from your places without realizing what Twilight actually wants."
"...I guess we got a little carried away and forgot," Fluttershy admitted.
The others voiced their agreements with Fluttershy, all five mares feeling guilty thinking about themselves more than Twilight. "Let's get all this stuff cleared out and figure out what will really make Twilight feel at home."
"But we're going to run out of time!" Pinkie yelled. "If she comes back now if she sees we didn't do anything, she'll be all 'What did you guys do!?' And we'll say 'Nothing!' And we'll end up being horrible friends and she'll never ever speak to us again-!"
Aqua silenced Pinkie's panicked rambling, using her magic to keep the mare's lips shut. "Pinkie, calm down. It's not the end of the world. We just have to think about what Twilight loves most when she lived in the Golden Oak Library."
"Well, I think that's obvious," Rainbow said. "She loves all those books she had, organizing them..." The pegasus chuckled as a thought came to her. "Hey, Sora, you remember when I crashed into the library when I tried to perform my sonic rainboom the day before the Young Fliers' Competition?"
"Unfortunately, yes. And you crashed into me and knocked all the books down," Sora said. "You always have some way of crashing into me while showing off back then."
"Oh, and the sleepover!" Rarity chimed in. "Applejack, remember how awful that storm was, and you, Sora, and I stayed with Twilight until it blew over?"
"Sure do," Applejack said with a nod. "That and hearin' how great of a hero Sora was when he told us about Kairi."
"Sora having a sleepover with three girls?" Terra questioned, crossing his hooves over his chest as he stared at Sora with a raised brow.
"We didn't do anything suited for an all mares sleepover," Rarity said. "And Twilight never had a sleepover when she was a filly."
"Remember the time it got blown to smithereens!?" Pinkie exclaimed, everyone leering at the mare for bringing that painful memory of Tirek's attack and him destroying the library.
"Pinkie!" they all shouted.
"Oh...That was a bad moment...oopsie," the mare uttered.
"Aside from Pinkie that up, there were a lot of memories in that library," Sora said. It suddenly clicked to him, his ears perked up as he gave a wide grin. "That's it! Spike, head back to Twilight and Riku and help him keep her distracted!"
"Ok...but, what exactly is 'it'?" Spike asked.
"You'll see! But first, we need to get rid of all this stuff and clear it all out of here for the thing that'll really make this place feel like home for Twilight!" Spike shrugged, having no idea what Sora had in mind as he left the castle, the others getting to work cleaning the throne room as they too wondered what his idea was.
Twilight let out a relieved sigh, feeling fully relaxed after her spa treatments. She changed her mane back to her usual style before leaving.
"I feel so much better now," she said. "That massage was a good suggestion, Riku."
Following behind her, Riku winced every step he took, the rough massage he picked more painful than relaxing. It felt like his spine was snapped out of alignment, his muscles were repeatedly battered by a hammer, about ready to fall apart if he were an action figure being roughhoused by a five-year-old.
"Glad you feel better," Riku said with gritted teeth.
"You doing ok?" Twilight asked with a giggle, knowing he picked the wrong type of massage when she heard him screaming out in agony in the spa.
"Yeah. Just not gonna get that treatment ever again." Placing a hoof against his back, Riku pushed down hard, yelping in pain as he cracked his spine back in place. "If Terra wants to have that massage, I'll let him suffer through all that himself."
"No kidding," Twilight said. "I think we've spent enough time relaxing. Let's head back to the castle and see what the others have done."
"Uhh, wait!" Riku quickly said, wracking his brain as he tried to continue stalling for time. Twilight looked back at him with a confused gaze. "...Uhhh...How about we take a stroll around Ponyville? I mean, it is a pretty nice day out today. When's the last time we ever had time to ourselves without some random disaster showing up to distract us?"
Twilight thought over the last time she and Riku had really spent a day to themselves without their friends and something important or dangerous comes up from out of nowhere. There was that promised date he was planning after he attacked her while under the sirens' spell, though he still hasn't come up with anything just yet after being held hostage by Starlight Glimmer. Other than that, there wasn't really much time the couple had spent together without some interruption.
"Huh...It has been a while, I guess. Maybe we can take the scenic route." Riku was relieved to keep Twilight distracted as they began walking away from the direction of the castle. He also needed to stretch out the kinks from Bulk Biceps giving him that advanced massage meant for golems. "So, you finally come up with something for that make-up date you promised?"
"I was thinking we might spend a day at Destiny Islands," Riku said. "Though, we would have to stay on the island Sora, Kairi, and I hang out at. I wouldn't want to risk having someone like you out in the open in town."
"I've never been to a beach before. Can we bring the others with us to see your world?" Twilight asked.
"I don't see why not," Riku said with a shrug. "We brought the six of you to other worlds, but if our other friends back home show up on the island, you might need to hide on the other end since they hang out there too." As they walked around one of the buildings, he didn't notice Twilight had stopped as she looked at something. "Speaking of worlds, that alternate world of Equestria. If there were human versions of your friends, then there should be a human of you there somewhere. I wonder if you might get jealous if you see your twin around me." The stallion chuckled as he poked fun at her, but hearing no response, he was worried he might have ticked the alicorn off. "Twilight, you know I'm just-" He turned his head, only to find her walking off elsewhere. He noticed what she was looking at, now seeming like a bad idea to walk around Ponyville. "-...kidding..."
Riku followed Twilight as she stood in front of the remains of the Golden Oak Library. He stood beside her as she stared at her destroyed home. All that had remained were part of the large tree that didn't take much of the impact of Tirek's attack, everything inside completely gone. Aside from this place being a library for the town, Twilight had also lost several things she had brought from Canterlot when she decided to live in Ponyville. It was also the starting point of her finally discovering what the magic of friendship was all about, becoming friends with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Sora as they discovered she and her pony friends were the Elements of Harmony.
"So many memories here," Twilight mumbled, getting misty-eyed as every moment in the destroyed library passed through her mind. "Everything is gone..." Riku gently wrapped her hooves around her, the alicorn leaning into his close embrace as she buried her muzzle against his neck. He rubbed her back, calming her as he began to feel her tears against his neck as she grieved for the loss of her home. "This place was like a second home to me and Spike..."
"I know." Riku sighed as he looked at the damage. "If only we stopped Tirek sooner...If Discord didn't betray us..." He growled, but as much as the draconequus was to blame for almost letting a magic-sucking centaur take control of Equestria, he got his comeuppance from the backstabbing he rightfully deserved. Even though the Golden Oak Library was Twilight's home, they could replace material possessions; they can never replace the memories they gave, or give back any lives that were lost. Riku sighed again, nuzzling Twilight, thankful to know she had managed to escape in time. "I'm sorry, Twilight...At least you're still here, and Tirek's finally put back in his place in Tarterus."
"...Riku?" Twilight looked up at him, tears still welled in her eyes, but she was calm enough to talk. "When your home was lost to darkness...did you feel miserable?"
"...A little," he said, looking up at the clear afternoon sky. "I never really put much thought into it when I wound up in Radiant Garden, right outside that castle. I had no idea where I was or where Sora or Kairi were. After I was swallowed by darkness after Sora tried reaching out to me, I think I knew that our world would have fallen." Looking down at his hoof, Riku held it out, summoning his Keyblade. "...Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to explore the world. Go wherever the wind takes me, see what other places there were out there. I knew at some point, if I chased that dream, I would have to leave my family.
"I didn't really show my sadness that much when that day happened. I was hurting, but Maleficent shifted my pain to jealousy when I stupidly believed her when Sora befriended Donald and Goofy." As Riku stared at his weapon, he remembered how it looked before it was now, formerly called Soul Eater. The only difference between how it looked before and now were the signs of light on its design; the end of the blade didn't have the angel wing, nor did half of the guard. "Maybe I had matured earlier when I was little, after I met Terra, or maybe I was more worried about what happened to Sora and Kairi than getting upset over losing my home...But even when I knew it was gone, I never forgot about the memories I had there."
He dismissed his Keyblade, looking back at Twilight. She would never forget the memories she made at the Golden Oaks Library as they were precious to her. It was hard to forget about what happened, but the one thing that was important to her, even after losing her home, was the ones she made those memories with.
"I'm surprised you didn't come back to see your home again when you found a way out of the Realm of Darkness," Twilight said.
"I wanted to make sure Sora and I both came back home, even though I specifically told him to take care of her while I stayed in the Realm of Darkness to close the Door to Darkness," he said with a sigh. "He really doesn't listen to me, whether I'm serious or not."
Twilight giggled a little, poking his side with a hoof. "Maybe he does that because of the teasing you constantly give him."
Riku gave a light shrug, unable to fault Sora for his boneheaded decisions when his heart makes the right choices, regardless of what options were given to him. Down the road, he spotted Spike approaching them.
"Spike?" Twilight turned to look at him, diverting her gaze away from the remains of the library. "What's going on?"
"Uhh, nothing," Spike said. "Everything's going along great. They're just putting the finishing touches on at the castle."
"I'm a little bit curious about what they've been doing." Before Twilight could make her way back to the castle, her stomach stopped her as it growled loudly. She barely had anything to eat today, which gave the baby dragon a bit of relief since the castle wasn't truly ready. "Ugh. I can't believe I didn't have any of those pancakes for breakfast."
"Well, you were a little busy snuggling into your plate like a pillow," Riku reminded the alicorn, making her blush in embarrassment. "Were the pancakes better at snuggling than me?"
"No!" Twilight whined. "I passed out and didn't realize what I was sleeping on!"
"I think we heard you whispering sweet nothings to your flapjacks, too," the stallion added with a snicker, making Twilight blush harder, slapping his shoulder with an exasperated grunt.
"This is why you're not funny! You're a big jerk!" Her stomach growled again, making her whine and smack him again for no reason. "And I'm hungry! Stop talking about food!"
"Then let's get Her Royal Crankiness to the cafe and get you some early dinner," Riku said through his laughter.
"I am not cranky," Twilight grumbled, along with her empty belly.
"Fine, you're not cranky. You're grumpy." She stuck her tongue out at her coltfriend, turning away from him and lightly smacking his face with her tail as she made her way to the cafe. Riku chuckled, having his fun teasing Twilight before bringing his attention to Spike as the pegasus and baby dragon followed the alicorn. "So, is the castle cleared up yet? With nothing for Twilight to make her feel at home?"
"Sora says he had an idea, but I don't know what he had in mind," Spike said. "For now, let's just keep Twilight away from the castle for a little bit longer."
Riku could only hope Sora had a good idea to make up for whatever mess Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy made. The duo quickly caught up with Twilight before she got anymore moody so she could finally fill her stomach. A moment later, Sora lead everyone through town to the remains of the Golden Oak Library, carrying several shovels with them. They stood before what was left of the library, unable to imagine how much pain Twilight had gone through after escaping an inch of her life from its destruction.
"Ok, so what exactly is your plan, Sora?" Rainbow asked. "There's nothing left of the library. Just a burnt away stump."
"Yes, but the keyword to my plan was what we discussed earlier: memories," Sora explained. "The top of the library might be gone, but if we just sand off the burnt sections and dig it out by the roots, it could be a good decoration."
"That sounds more like scarrin' Twilight and remindin' her of what she lost," Applejack said.
Rarity gasped, finally catching on to what Sora had planned. "I get it! Sora, darling, I think I get what you're meaning! I can see it now! Applejack, Fluttershy, you stay with Sora, Terra, and Ventus! Rainbow, Pinkie, you're with me, Kairi, and Aqua! We're going shopping!"
It took Ventus, Terra, Aqua, and Kairi a moment to realize what Sora had in mind for the roots of the library until the term "root" also had another meaning. "Ohhh. I see now. Sora, that's quite clever."
"Heheh! Well, I was just as much a part of this group of pony friends as Twilight, so I've got some memories of my own around here," Sora said as he brought his forelegs behind his head, giving everyone a toothy grin. He then grabbed a shovel, planting the spade in the ground. "We'll meet back at the castle and give Twilight something that'll make her feel right at home." Sora stuck his forehoof out, prompting the others to join him as they stacked their hooves over each other. "Let's get to work!"
"Yeah!" Everyone shot their hooves up in the air as they cheered, splitting up in their groups.
The reprise of the same cheery song rang out around them, Rarity and her group heading off to get some proper decor while Sora and his group got to work on the stump. Terra, Ventus, and Sora summoned their Keyblades, simultaneously cutting along the stump horizontally, getting rid of what remaining parts of the library were sticking out, leaving behind a flatter hollow stump. Once the debris was cleared away, they began to shovel around and dig out the library from the roots.
[Applejack]
It's not the things that you gather 'round
Fluttershy called in some of her burrowing animal friends, helping assist the others dig the tree out.
[Fluttershy]
It's not how much you own
After a lot of effort, they managed to dig out the large trunk, Sora, Ventus, Terra, and Applejack carrying it back to the castle. On the other end of Ponyville, Rarity, Rainbow, Pinkie, Aqua, and Kairi left the shopping district, carrying several bags filled with crafting materials as they too headed toward the castle.
[Rarity]
The things that hold the meaning in your life
Are the memories you've sewn
Once both groups returned, they immediately got to work: sanding the uprooted trunk and its roots, attaching a pulley on the ceiling of the throne room to lift the heavy trunk up and hang it, and placing clear ornaments hanging off of strings as they were tied to the thick roots after Rarity and Aqua sewed them in groups by color. Terra, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie pulled the rope, lifting the newly refurbished trunk up above them with the pulley system, Sora, Ventus, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy keeping it steady as it rose up.
[All]
So we make, so we make, so we make
This castle a home
So we make, so we make
This castle a home
So we make, so we make
This castle a home!
With the trunk firmly set in place, Rarity helped the three earth ponies tie the ropes, keeping it hanging still above the center of the room like a chandelier. Everyone looked up at their handiwork that Twilight was sure to love when she got back, the ornaments hanging from the roots sure to catch her attention as they were set above where the Galactic Map would appear.
The sun was beginning to set as Twilight, Riku, and Spike left the cafe, the alicorn's stomach finally sated with food as they returned back to the castle. The others waited in the halls as soon as the couple and baby dragon entered.
"Welcome home!" they all said.
"Thanks..." Twilight looked around the halls, which haven't changed much at all from when she last saw them. "I guess...you did a good job preserving the integrity of the original design of the castle."
"Well, we couldn't really go through ALL of the castle," Rainbow emphasized. "That's a bit too much for just twelve ponies and a baby dragon to change up in a whole day."
"Not to mention how much longer we had to stall you after a very big oopsie we made!" Pinkie added.
"Wait, what?" Twilight stared at her friends, utterly confused by what Pinkie meant by "oopsie". It soon dawned on her why she was kept away for longer than she expected, Riku's stalling back at the spa for a massage and wanting to walk together around Ponyville. "...Riku? What's going on?"
"Let's just say we had to find some way to keep stalling you for a while longer," the stallion admitted. "Apparently, the girls had a little mishap with their plans, made a big mess, but that's pretty much all I know. I didn't know if they were even done, so Spike came back to tell us to keep you occupied until around sunset when he came back."
She looked at her number one assistant, the baby dragon giving her an apologetic look. "Sorry, Twilight. Trust me, you wouldn't have liked seeing what they did earlier."
"But we got it all cleared up and finally realized what exactly would be perfect," Applejack said. "We needed a bit of remindin' from our human friends about what makes a home feel like home for somepony. It's not about what it looks like."
"It's the memories you make there," Rarity said. "So, all of us made something that celebrates those memories all of us have made with you since you moved to Ponyville."
Now what they had made peaked Twilight's curiosity. She watched Sora and Ventus fly ahead to the throne room doors. The two teens opened the doors, the others watching with bated breath to see how the alicorn will react. She gasped when she looked up, finding the roots of the Golden Oak Library hung above the map and thrones with dozens of colorful, diamond-shaped ornaments hanging from the curled roots. Twilight walked inside, her mouth agape, unable to believe her eyes, the others following while Spike and Riku held the same expression as her.
"Is that...the Golden Oak Library's roots?" Riku asked. "But we just saw it a moment ago..." Looking back at their friends, he was completely baffled, a little worried that seeing this would upset Twilight. "...Guys...?"
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew up and held out the ornaments hanging on the roots. "These ornaments hanging on the chandelier have reminders of all of the fun we've had together."
"Like the party I threw for you in the library welcoming you to Ponyville!" Pinkie said as Fluttershy held an ornament that had a magical image inside showing a surprised Twilight being thrown her welcome party in the Golden Oak Library with Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Sora there with her.
"And when we shared donuts after the Grand Galloping Gala!" Rainbow added, holding up an image of the Mane Six, Celestia, Spike, Sora, and Kairi in the doughnut shop in their Gala outfits.
There were many more memories shown that Twilight could see from the ground, all of the magically created pictures inside showing moments everyone remembered, some new ones being created now that she was present. There were some memories of her childhood, one with Shining Armor and Cadence getting married, her coronation as a princess, and some with her and Riku together. Each ornament shifted to different fond memories of the ponies in the room, even those from the Keyblade wielders.
"Each of those ornaments are enchanted to shift between different memorable images from all of our lives," Aqua said. "Kairi and I made that possible after a little bit of research from the library in the castle."
"Sora thought of the idea of making the Golden Oak Library a chandelier, and all of us hope that looking at those old memories will help inspire making new ones," Kairi said.
"And that new chandelier of yours being the roots of the library is quite literally your 'roots' from how your discovery of the magic of friendship began," Sora said with a light chuckle at his pun.
Riku facehooved at the lame joke Sora made, Fluttershy and Rainbow flying back down with the others. "Really, Sora? As great as making the old library a chandelier with memories, that pun was just awful."
They soon waited for Twilight to say something after being introduced to her new memory chandelier. She didn't know what to say, her eyes welling up with tears again, only this time, they were tears of joy. She turned to her friends, smiling as her tears ran down her cheeks.
"It's exactly what the castle needed," she said. She walked up to everyone, all of them coming together in a large group hug. "And I'm ready to start making some new memories here."
"Then let's all start with a new memory cake!" Pinkie hopped out of the middle of the massive group hug as she disappeared out in the hall, quickly coming back in with a seven-layered cake balanced on her back, each layer designed differently. "Seven layer what's-that-flavor!" She then pointed at some black toppings on the sides of one layer. "These might be chocolate chips, or they might be super-spicy black beans!"
"Who the heck puts beans on a cake?" Terra asked. "And why spicy?"
"Why question it if it's supposed to be a mystery?" Ventus asked in response.
"Let's head to the dining room and try it, anyway," Twilight said, leading the way to the dining room with the others following. "I know that room is a bit sparse, but at least there's a table and some-" As she opened the doors, she gasped in surprise as the dining room was set up as if it were for a royal gathering, courtesy of Rarity's taste in decor from her belongings. Seeing the royal dining room set up this way even caught the others off guard, neither of them expecting this room to have been renovated as well. "What in Equestria? Last time I checked, this room was completely bare."
"I couldn't help myself!" Rarity admitted. "The dining room begged for a little personal touch, and after setting up your new chandelier, I had plenty of time to decorate a bit more."
"Truth be told...Ah couldn't either," Applejack said. "The kitchen might have some rustic farm decor, too."
"And there may or may not be some Daring Do posters in your library," Rainbow added.
"I thought I found it weird when I saw those posters in there a moment ago," Aqua said as she had pondered that thought.
"And some stuffed animals in your bedroom," Fluttershy said. "I even got a doll that looked like that furry Moogle creature that had his store where the Golden Oak Library was."
"Really!?" Twilight squealed, now having her own plushie of the Moogle she met in Whitetail Wood. "Wait, what happened to that Moogle? I didn't see him or his shop."
Suddenly, the holographic Moogle shop appeared beside the doorway out in the hall, surprising everyone. "Ooh! Here's another good spot! In a hallway, kupo! And in a castle!"
"Speaking of, there he is," Sora said. "I thought his shop got destroyed by Tirek as well, but it's just a hologram."
"At least he'll have some customers who'll buy his helpful items," Riku uttered. Suddenly, a loud blast of a party noise blower rang out as confetti flew out of nowhere at the group. Even the Moogle got spooked as he disappeared from his newly set up shop. "What the heck was that!?"
"One of Pinkie's hidden party cannons," Applejack said with a sigh.
As they looked at the party pony, the cake balanced on her back had toppled over, making a mess of her and the floor along with the confetti. "What? It's not my fault I hid them so well."
Riku groaned in annoyance, wondering why Pinkie decided to hide party cannons that activated randomly to startle anyone nearby. "How many did you hide?"
"...A lot of them!" The white pegasus sighed in defeat, the others laughing at his befuddlement over Pinkie's terrible idea of decoration for a castle.
"There better not be any in our bedrooms," Riku warned. "And hopefully you didn't stuff them with an infinite supply of confetti to shoot out at random."
"Don't be silly, Riku! How can I reload them if I don't know where I hid them?" Pinkie asked.
"She does have a point," Twilight said. "But if we find them, we're getting rid of them. If we have guests, I don't want them to get startled by loud blasts and raining confetti."
"Okie dokie, Twilight!" Pinkie said. "Now I need to make another new seven layered what's-that-flavor cake for a new, new memory in place of the old, new memory I wanted us to have but was ruined by my-"
Riku shoved his hoof in Pinkie's mouth, stopping her tangent before she wound up in a completely different topic. "Just some normal cupcakes will do, Pinkie."
Stats
Page generated in 0.029 seconds
Total duration
780 users online
1,120,614 hits today, 2,244,100 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Two things, are you planning to bring in Jiminy Cricket at some point? Because he seemed to be working at the castle in Re:Coded and I think it be a good idea to bring him in.
Two, I've been kinda hoping that Spike would form a paticulary strong friendship with one of the key blade wielders, specifically Ventus. I guess it's because Spike is my favorite character and considering loves forming friendships, they could be really good pals.
I love this chapter more please
8080474 I never really did think about bringing Jiminy Cricket into the story. Not even in the Dream Festival chapter. I know he played an important role in recording everything that happened during Sora's adventures and in Re:Coded to figure out what happened to his first journal, but I end up forgetting he was a part of the group when he barely appears in cutscenes or showing up when going through the journal to look up anything. I guess it slipped my mind to have him at least take part in the festival or make an appearance.
Spike does have a bond with Sora and Riku, though I think that bond was more them being a role model to him after the Power Ponies chapter. And I can see Ventus and Spike getting along as close friends, seeing as they're around the same age (Physically for Ventus since he didn't grow older while his heart was lost). Not sure if I'll make a chapter around that, but I'll think about it.
8080916 Maybe like as an in between chapter of them bonding over an activity, like maybe or gers and oubilettes or Spike asking Ventus to teach him how to fight?
8080916 He was actually way more active in birth by sleep. If you watch the cuts cents in the game, you'll know what I mean.
Um Codex, I think you should know that in part where it is says " "Apparently now." Kairi said" shouldn't that be Apparently not? just figure I ask since that got me confused, but I got where you were going with it.
Also I really love the Moments you made in this chapter. my favorites mostly the Riku and Twilight moments as well as the sibling bond Applejack is having with Sora. goes to show how much she cares. but I really am looking forward to when we see Twilight and the others see Destiny island so Twilight can finally see it and finally have a relaxing date with no interruptions with Riku since the two truly do earn it.
With Twilights new castle now feeling more like home to her and a special date plan for her and Riku to Destiny islands, Our heroes can now enjoy their new Home away from Home. But even with the calms of weather and romances in the air, Our heroes villans still lurk in the shadows and on the run for revenge.
Will Riku and Twilight have a romantic time on the Destiny islands while Sora and the others have fun? Will the Ponies ever have a disguise to try and see what their Town looks like? Will Riku ever meet his parents again and introduce them to Twilight? and How will Jimmy Cricket feel knowing all that he has missed? The Romance, fun, and exciting adventures continues! Next Time on My Little Pony Soras misadventures in Equestria!
Out of curiosity, are you going to keep doing chapters as long as there are more mlp episodes, or are you going to stop at a earlier point?
8081599 Thank you for pointing that out. Fixed that error. Curse you, fingers! How do type!?
8081635 I'm thinking of keeping the story going as MLP episodes come out for now, though with season 7 on the way, there's probably going to be a lot more in the future.
Can't wait for the premiere! 
8080963 Jiminy wasn't in Birth by Sleep at all. He was with Pinocchio during that time until the worlds finally began to disappear into darkness. Aside from 358/2 Days, he's been in every other KH game, not including the sleeping world Prankster's Paradise since that was a different Jiminy with no memories of Sora and the gang.
8081906 Whoops, I meant to say Chain of Memories.
8081906 And the upcoming film?
8082134 Haven't seen the trailers for the movie yet, but I can't wait for it. Nor season 7.
I probably should watch the trailers, but I want to avoid spoilers for everything, because I know some impatient people will end up posting something that'll end up ruining the episode/movie in some way.