My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria

by Codex92

My Little Pony Movie (Part 4)

Twilight grunted while trapped inside the cage, trying to break herself free with any means possible. She was stuck in a large portion of the airship, her cage hanging over a grated floor that held part of the ship's engine, a long staircase connecting the bottom to the top with some mechanisms. She didn't care much about where she was held, knowing she was being delivered back home to the Storm King on a silver platter. Twilight continued busting herself free, but the cage was far too tough and magic proof to slice apart or blast to smithereens with a spell.

"Come on!" she grunted, pouring all her magic into a beam on the cage bars, straining herself until she let out her held breath and panted heavily. Barely making a dent, the alicorn sat in defeat, lowering her Keyblade to the cage floor. She stared at the chain, her Element dangling beneath her other friends', and connected to the now added crown that symbolized Sora. "...What have I done? How could I make anything else worse?"

Her ears twitched as she heard metallic hoofs stepping down the wooden stairs, then onto the grated floor. Looking up, she gasped as her unfortunate visitor was none other than Tempest. The broken-horned mare smirked at the alicorn as she approached the cage.

"Aww, the Princess of Friendship. With no friends!" Tempest said with a laugh as she began to slowly circle the cage. "And with no way out. Magic proof, made of the toughest steel while keeping you confined to even swing that Keyblade around to scuff it, and with no lock, you can't simply unlock it to free yourself. Think of it like a claw; it only opens when I decide to release you from its clutches."

"Tempest, why are you doing all this?" Twilight asked. "Why do you serve the Storm King? You're a pony...just like me."

Tempest stopped, leered at Twilight, then slammed her hooves on the bars of the cage while unleashing a surge of magic against it, startling the alicorn. "I am nothing like you!" Tempest growled. "I'm more than you'll ever be!"

Tempest backed away while Twilight watched her. She wanted to know what made Tempest want to side with the Storm King when she was a unicorn; an Equestrian. She was helping a mad tyrant take over several different kingdoms, and take whatever magic they had to become more powerful than anything in the world. Whatever it was, she might understand the commander's motives as she heard a dark and foreboding song echo in the metal room.

[Tempest Shadow]
It's time you learned a lesson
It's time that you understand
Don't ever count on anybody else
In this or any other land

I once hoped for friendship
To find a place among my kind

Tempest walked away from Twilight as she admitted to the Princess of Friendship that she once did have herself a normal life, be a part of her former home with friends. She grimaced bitterly from the painful memories of what she wanted back then was nothing more than a fleeting desire that would have eventually been snuffed away.

But those were the childish wishes
Of someone who was blind

Open up your eyes
See the world from where I stand

As Tempest turned around, steam underneath them rose up beside the unicorn, the red lights beneath them casting shadows behind her on the wall. Twilight saw something off about the shadows of Tempest; they had their horns despite Tempest's was broken. She didn't know if her eyes were playing tricks on her or not, but she didn't believe a word the mare said. There was no way someone like her could have been innocent and naive as a foal for such a short amount of time to want to stay alone and live by herself for the rest of her life.

Me among the mighty
You caged at my command

Open up your eyes
Give up your sweet fantasy land

Tempest walked back up to the cage, reaching her hoof through the bars to tilt Twilight's head up to look at her.

It's time to grow up and get wise
Come now, little one, open up your eyes

Twilight flicked her head away from Tempest's hoof. "You think being by yourself is better? I thought that, too, but I never realized how wonderful having friends would be. And I wouldn't have become a princess without them."

"You don't have them now, though, do you?" Tempest questioned, making the alicorn grimace, but she kept her harsh, skeptical glare on her. "You are so naive. You don't believe the harsh truth of reality when it comes to losing your friends?"

"I'm not living a happy fantasy. It was real," Twilight countered.

"'Was' being the key word," Tempest said, barely flinching when Twilight growled, grasped her Keyblade, and smacked it against the bars.

"You're betraying Equestria!" Twilight yelled.

"Equestria's not my concern." Tempest reached into her outfit and pulled out a small crystal. "I just want back what I've lost; what made me feel incomplete."

"Your heart?" Twilight questioned, her response making Tempest chuckle darkly with a shake of her head.

"Do you really want to know why?" Tempest asked. She tossed the crystal into Twilight's cage, making the alicorn wary and uncertain as to what the crystal would do to her. "It's a memory crystal, not an electric trap. You're already imprisoned." Twilight grumbled, picking up the crystal with her magic. "See for yourself if you want to know why I disregarded friendship to help me through my life."

Twilight glanced at Tempest, then back at the crystal. Sighing, her curiosity won her over as she activated the crystal with her magic. The memory that was transferred inside showed Tempest as a filly, laughing and playing with other unicorn foals in a village that she must have grown up in, her horn intact and no scar over her right eye. She and her friends were tossing a ball around with their magic as they ran down a path leading to a forest far from their home.

We all start out the same
With simple naive trust
Shielded from the many ways
That life's not fair or just

One of the other ponies flung the ball hard off the path, which bounced through the trees and into a cave. As Tempest and her friends chased after it, only to stop when they reached the cave. There were warning signs set up, making sure everyone nearby stayed far away as it was an ursa den. It was even boarded up to keep others from trying to explore it and risk getting themselves mauled by the dangerous, starry ursine that might reside in there. Tempest and her friends looked at each other, silently pondering who would be brave enough to get their ball. The other two foals gestured Tempest to go in. She was afraid, but she didn't want to chicken out and lose their ball.

But then there comes a moment
A simple truth that you must face

Filly Tempest went inside the cave, finding the ball at not too far from the cave entrance. As she picked it up with her magic, her horn's light alerted an ursa minor that was sleeping, waking it up with a growl as it leered at the filly. Tempest gasped, recklessly facing the blue and starry bear after tossing her ball back outside. She was about to cast a small stunning spell on it, but the ursa was much faster, and with a roar, swiped its paw at her. Twilight gasped as she watched the ursa swipe the unicorn hard, wincing as she heard the crack of Tempest's horn getting snapped off while the filly screamed in pain, along with the scar the present unicorn now bared from one of the ursa's sharp claws. Twilight clutched her own horn in reaction, glancing back up at the stone-faced mare for a moment before looking back down at the crystal.

If you depend on others
You'll never find your place

Filly Tempest was smacked back hard, sent tumbling out of the cave while wailing in agony. The memory warped as her friends helped her up to take her to a hospital, changing the next scene to Tempest with her broken horn and scar, somberly walking down the road. She looked up when she saw her friends playing, wanting to join them to forget about the horrible loss she experienced. The two ponies spotted her as their ball rolled over to Tempest, accepting her in joining their game. When the filly tried to pick the ball up using levitation, she strained her face as her broken horn sparked. The magic began to surge, causing discharges of electric energy to surge out around the ball. Her friends gasped and backed away in fear of getting zapped, taking the ball away and running away from her.

Tempest watched as she was completely rejected by her friends, apparently too dangerous as a unicorn to cast any simple spells. They left her and found someone else to play with, which only upset the filly more. Filly Tempest sobbed and began walking away, leaving her hometown and the friends who abandoned her in her time of need. The sorrow in the filly's eyes quickly turned to anger, her tears ceasing, her heart and mind made up after experiencing a far worse pain than having her horn snapped off by an ursa minor. Filly Tempest looked back at her town, making Twilight feel sympathetic for her as she just ran away from home to escape the pain of having her friends up and leave her after such a traumatizing experience, even when they gave her a chance.

And as you take that first step
Upon a path that's all your own

As Twilight watched the end of the memory with Tempest walking away, never looking back with a scowl, vowing never to make anymore friends, the commander took back the crystal. Twilight looked up at Tempest, completely speechless as the commander walked away from her.

You see it all so clearly
The best way to survive is all alone

Open up your eyes
See the world from where I stand
Me among the mighty
You caged at my command

Tempest walked up the stairs, stopping by a mechanism and pulled a lever. Twilight's cage began to rise, barely noticing it shift as she stared at the ground, contemplating Tempest's terrible past leading her to who she's become now. She was just like Starlight Glimmer, but unlike her own former student, Tempest DID get abandoned, moments after surviving a close brush with death, but suffering from a horrible handicap no unicorn ever wants to experience. Magic surges constant any time she tried to cast any spells, preventing her from doing any basic spells unicorns at any age can do, and forced her to adapt with those spells as dangerous and painful shocks along with practically living like an earth pony.

Open up your eyes
And behold the faded light

The cage stopped halfway up the long pathway to the top deck of the airship, Tempest quickly turning the alicorn around to shock her out of her thoughts.

It's time to grow up and get wise
Come now, little one, open up your eyes

Tempest let the cage continue its ascent, watching her rise higher and higher.

Open up your eyes!

Twilight looked up as the deck opened up, the bright light from outside blinding her a bit after being trapped in that room for what felt like hours. As soon as she was able to see clearly, her cage was sitting on the deck, overlooking the direction the airship was headed toward: Equestria. Clouds covered the mountain city of Canterlot, several other airships flying off toward the very city. What horrified Twilight the most was when she saw Ponyville far to the left of the green hills and curved mountains they passed over. There were clouds there, too, along with smoke pouring out from the buildings. The Storm King's army had attacked Ponyville, taking even more hostages to bring them to Canterlot for every single pony in the kingdom to lay witness to the tyrannical king's complete takeover.

Xigbar suddenly appeared in front of Twilight's cage, hovering upside down with his spacial-rending abilities with a sly smirk. "Welcome home, Your Highness," he said with a laugh. Flipping around and righting his gravity back to normal, he walked around the alicorn's cage. "Hey, cheer up. You're gonna have a big welcome party soon. Probably not with all your friends, but hey, at least there's someone who's giving it to you."

Twilight lowered her head, looking down at her Keyblade. "Just my luck," she mumbled.

"You know, I gotta say once again, I'm actually surprised you're a lot better than I thought," Xigbar complimented. "You Keyblade wielders always impress me no matter how much I think differently."

"...You were watching us the whole time," Twilight mumbled. She touched the Elements on her blade's chain, lingering over the crown more. "...I was just lucky."

"You lucky? Pth. As if," Xigbar scoffed. "I think we're the lucky ones in figuring out where the hell you guys were running off to. Your new friends were gonna give us the runaround until we found that map leading to Mount Aris."

"Friends?" Twilight questioned.

"Yeah. First, that sneaky cat thought he could pull a fast one by misleading us east instead of south to some random island." Twilight's ears slowly rose as she listened to Xigbar's explanation. She was shocked to hear that Capper had actually help them after he tried to sell her and the others for money. "Just in case, we took him aboard to ensure he wasn't fibbing, and what do you know? He did! Led us astray when we saw that giant rainbow target I think the blue pegasus with the same color hair made heading in another direction. THAT was luck right there.

"Then, we met those former parrot pirates, although they seemed to be really into getting back into the pirating gig with their outfits. We had a hunch you were hiding in their ship, even when I thought we heard something open beneath their deck." He approached the cage, giving the mare an impressed grin. "You dropped yourselves out of the sky before we gave them time to think about giving away your position...Smart. Dumb, but pretty damn smart."

"...It was my idea," Twilight said.

Xigbar's eye widened, not expecting that response. "...Wow...I thought Sora made that decision...You're dumber than him!" He began to laugh at the princess, slightly irritated, though it was replaced with sadness when the stallion called her dumber than Sora. "Even after we searched the ship and came up with nothing but that map, those birds would have tried to fight us off to keep their beaks sealed and reveal where you were." Now Twilight felt even worse. Sora and Rainbow were right saying Celaeno and her crew would have covered them, even at the cost of their lives. "It's too bad they and the cat won't be of much help for you anymore. Tempest zapped some of their supplies, causing a chain reaction explosion and sent them falling down, down, down to the ground below."

Xigbar mimicked how the airship went down, letting out a long whistle as he raised a hoof in the air and let it fall slowly, then an explosion as he sent his falling hoof into his other. Twilight's heart dropped as the awful news about Capper, Celaeno, and the other parrots had perished on Celaeno's airship crashing to the earth after Tempest blew it apart. She didn't understand Capper's motives for helping them after what he did, but now she regretted berating Sora for making friends with the now lost parrot crew.

"And you watched us...fight?" Twilight asked, choking up as she reminded herself what she did to Sora.

"It was glorious! With far more practice, you really could match that kid in a heartbeat!" Xigbar exclaimed.

"And when the Storm King is done with me...am I...going to replace Sora?" she dreadfully asked. "...As...one of you?"

Xigbar raised his brow, confused by her question. "...You? Replace Sora as a vessel for Xehanort?" He leaned closer to the cage, giving the alicorn a skeptical gaze. Twilight waited in anticipation for several long minutes before Xigbar finally responded, giving her a grin. "As if."

"W-What?" Twilight uttered.

"Just because you beat Sora, you think Xehanort's gonna accept you instead of him? I don't think that's part of his plan," Xigbar said, though it did very little to reassure Twilight. "I'm still gunnin' for Sora. Even though you've got some potential, Sora's more special than you are."

"B-But...But I knocked Sora unconscious!" Twilight exclaimed. "You had a perfect chance to take him! My friends wouldn't stand a chance against somepony like you! Why didn't you go after him after catching me!?"

"I could have, but Sora's not gonna stay down and out for too long," Xigbar said. "Tempest gave the Storm King a special magic staff that's only fully powered after absorbing the magic of the alicorn princesses. If it can do just about anything, maybe I can convince the Storm King to use it on Sora to really catch him without him pulling off any of those powerful forms." Twilight was shocked to learn about why she was so important to being captured with Celestia, Luna, and Cadence. And if it was powerful enough to do anything, it might be even stronger than Sora or his most powerful of Drive Forms or Formchanges. "I'd rather not get coated in frosting again. I still smell like vanilla."

"But...Kairi's an alicorn," Twilight mentioned.

"And not from this world," Xigbar stated. "The staff might not accept taking her magic. Better to be safe than sorry." Tempest stepped out on deck, watching as the view as they approached Canterlot. "So, Tempest, I couldn't help but wonder something. While you were down there with our princess, what was with the singing? You trying to serenade her into giving up?"

"It happens from time to time," Tempest said, making Xigbar wince.

"You just break out into a musical number out of nowhere? Weird," he mumbled. "...But I will admit that was a bit catchy. Not a fan of the weird sad bit in the middle. Doesn't fit you at all."

Tempest rolled her eyes, ignoring the stallion. Twilight looked at Tempest, wishing the two had met many years ago so she didn't have to feel that alone.

"Tempest, I'm so sorry you felt so alone," Twilight said.

"Don't give me any of your sympathy," Tempest said. "I saw the truth. My 'friends' abandoned me when times got tough. But it looks like I'm not the only one." Tempest glanced at the alicorn, who looked away sadly. "Face it, princess. Friendship has failed you, too."

Twilight picked up her Keyblade, lifting the chain up. "...Friendship didn't fail me," she said, her hoof letting the chain go as it dangled from her blade. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked back out to the landscape. "I failed friendship..."

---

Back at the beach, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie sat on the sandy shore far from Twilight, Sora laying close to them while still unconscious. As the mares mulled over what to do now while still upset by what Twilight said and did, Sora began to stir awake with a grunt. Squinting his eyes, Sora tried to move, his body sore and exhausted while grunting and groaning in pain.

"Don't try to move, sugarcube," Applejack said, gently trying to lower him back on his side.

He brushed her hoof off him and sat up, wincing with each movement and a strained exhale, managing to sit himself up. "I'll rest...when I'm dead," Sora mumbled, trying to breathe through the pain.

"And Twilight almost killed you," Rainbow said. "Why'd you let her beat you? Did you force yourself to go easy on her to make her feel bad?"

Sora recalled what happened in his fight with Twilight. He slowly glanced at Rainbow, slightly shaking his head in response. His answer shocked the mares, looking at each other in bewilderment before staring back at the beaten, bruised, and just as shellshocked stallion. Jiminy hopped onto Sora's snout, giving him a disappointed glare with his arms crossed.

"You and Twilight are in a whole mess of trouble, Sora," Jiminy scolded. "Your bickering caused you to fight each other, and now look at you! Whether you did take it easy on her or not, that doesn't excuse the both of you for acting like children and taking out all your frustrations toward each other!" Sora blinked, listening to Jiminy, but he knew at some point, someone was going to be giving him an earful about his behavior. He thought it would have been Applejack, but Jiminy was a close second. "What Twilight did was wrong, but did you have to call her out on her insecurities before she became a princess? And what she said toward you warrants just as much punishment, mind you, but then it had to escalate to violence! If it wasn't you in this predicament, you could have seriously hurt Twilight! Terra told you to protect Twilight and the others!"

"...I know," Sora mumbled. "I screwed up..."

"You both did," Jiminy corrected. He let out a sigh and shook his head. "We all understand that the two of you had important roles on this journey: finding assistance to help take back Equestria from the Storm King, and protecting each other from getting captured. You were distressed when you felt so helpless leaving everyone in Canterlot to be taken prisoner, and Twilight had resorted to stealing a powerful magical item to liberate Equestria by any means."

"I know," Sora repeated, letting out a sigh of his own while grimacing from the pain in his chest from his breathing. "I...I just couldn't believe she did something like that. Ever since we escaped from Kludgetown, it was like she wasn't able to trust us and our choices in picking the ones to help us get here. The girls trusted Capper, Rainbow and I trusted Celaeno and her crew, and...maybe she did have a right not to trust them...We could have gotten some semblance of help if Queen Novo continued to refuse our pleas for their aid...We were so close, but then she just had to..." Sora growled in frustration, but he didn't stay mad for long as he heaved another heavy sigh. "...She had all her faith in me before we left...then it all just...flew out the window, and she couldn't trust me anymore."

"We still do," Fluttershy said, the other mares silently nodding in agreement.

"Well, I don't have any faith in myself," Sora uttered. A wave of pain wracked his battered body, making him groan and almost fall over while clutching his side. "...I'm too banged up, Twilight thinks she's responsible for finding a way to save Equestria, and we have no one to help us now...This was a pointless journey..."

"Sora, you should just lie back down," Rarity said. "You can barely stand, let alone sit up without looking like your body will give out."

"No. I can't," Sora argued. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a Potion. Grumbling to himself, wishing he had bought more stronger Potions from the Moogle shopkeeper before setting off to face the Pony of Shadows, he tossed the bottle up in the air, letting its healing energies revitalize him. He was still sore, but at least the pain was bearable as he shakily stood up on his hooves. "Jiminy, stay with the girls. I'm going off to Canterlot to save everyone."

"By yourself!? In the state you're in!?" Jiminy exclaimed. "Sora, don't even-!"

"Be my conscience all you want, but I've made up my mind," Sora interjected. Gripping Jiminy by the neck of his shirt collar, he set the cricket down on the sand. "If no one's gonna help us, I'm going in alone. I don't care if what I do is dumb; I'm not going to let the Storm King destroy this world with the alicorns' magic."

"But...what about Twilight?" Pinkie asked.

"She's staying with you guys. They're still after her, and they haven't figured out where we are yet." Before Sora could summon his Keyblade and transform it into his glider, he looked down along the shore. He wondered where the alicorn went after he was knocked out, but hopefully not too far. "...I should probably apologize before I go...I just hope she's cooled down enough to talk."

While thinking about Twilight, Sora realized that Spike wasn't with them. He was about to ask the girls where he was when the baby dragon himself ran up to them from where they were beached after avoiding almost drowning.

"She's! Been! TAKEN!!!!!!" Spike screamed while panting heavily.

Everyone quickly looked at Spike, the mares quickly getting up and meeting the baby dragon halfway, Jiminy bouncing up onto Applejack's back. "What!?" Sora questioned fearfully.

"T-Tempest and Xigbar!" Spike panted. "They got her! Set a trap! Couldn't break free!"

The others gasped in shock, but Sora took it the worst. "No...No. No no no no no! They found us!?" Sora screamed.

"Xigbar even said he watched you and Twilight fight!" Spike added. "He was even impressed by how she beat you, and was far better than you!"

Sora's blood drained from his face, his heart filled with guilt and regret as he plopped back down on his haunches from the horrible news. "...No...Please, don't tell me he's...considering to take Twilight instead?" he uttered to himself. He began to hyperventilate, scrambling back to his hooves. "This is all my fault! I can't let this happen to her!"

His anxious panting made him yell in pain, hunching over as his forelegs clutched his chest. "Sora, ya gotta relax! You're still hurt!" Applejack said, trying to calm the stallion down.

"How can I relax, Applejack!? Twilight's possibly going to end up being one of Xehanort's vessels and replace ME as a candidate if Xigbar watched me lose!" Sora shouted. He grunted again, trying his hardest to control his breathing, but he was too afraid of what would happen to Twilight if the Storm King takes her magic with the other princesses and Xigbar hands the magically drained mare over to his worst enemy. "Why her? Why didn't he come for me if he knew I was unconscious?...Damn it. What the hell do they want anymore?"

"Don't worry, Sora! We'll get her back!" Rainbow assured the terrified stallion.

"How can we!?" Rarity exclaimed. "Tempest's airship must have already left by now! We'll never catch up with them!"

"Well, it's a good thing I happen to know a group of mighty heroes that could handle this easily!" Startled, everyone turned around, their mysterious guest surprisingly being none other than the sly, con-artist feline of Kludgetown: Capper.

The cat stood atop a tall rock as he announced his presence, though none of the ponies were happy to see him. "Well, look what the cat dragged in. Himself!" Rarity angrily said.

"These heroes have faced the Storm King's army and escaped! I've seen them tackle the streets of the roughest towns, break out of the tightest situations, and-!" Capper's exciting storytelling was interrupted with Sora summoning his Keyblade, casting a Firaga spell at him. Capper yowled in shock, quickly diving behind the rock he stood on as the fireball blew up against the pedestal-like stone. "H-Hey, now! I just narrowly dodged getting my whiskers singed earlier!"

"Back off, cat!" Sora growled. Capper poked his head around the rock, stepping out while keeping his hands up in the air in surrender. "Why'd you follow us? To get that debt of yours paid off? Sorry to burst your bubble, but one of the mares in your boss's collection had been kidnapped, and we need to save her!"

"Uhh, right. Still sore about that," Capper uttered sheepishly. "Look, I'm not here to try to sell you all again."

"Like any of us are gonna trust you after that," Rarity said with an annoyed scoff, turning her head with flick of her mane.

"Then maybe you'll trust our word for it!" The ponies looked up the cliff nearby, surprised to see Celaeno and her sky pirate crew here as well. The parrots all leapt down to the beach, the captain straightening the rim of her hat as she and her crew walked over to them. "Capper's with us. He used to be part of our crew years ago before he and his friend snuck off with one of our captured airships."

"Him?" Applejack questioned.

"Eheh. Guilty," Capper admitted with a nervous grin. "It was a...short-lived career as a sky pirate. And...well, a long life living as a con-artist and thief."

"But...if Capper was one of these 'Abyssinians' you took in...who was the other one?" Fluttershy asked.

Capper grimaced, then let out a depressed sigh. "...My former friend since we were orphaned kittens, Chummer," he said. "We used to be real close, just the two of us on our own. When we got stuck in Kludgetown, we had to steal and con just to survive. As hard as it is to believe, I wanted us to just one day get away from this lifestyle we ran with and be more carefree. No more stealing, no more tricking others to take what we need to survive in that rundown city. But, little did I realize, Chummer didn't seem to like the idea."

Capper looked a bit uncomfortable talking about it further, but Celaeno rested a hand on the cat's shoulder. "Please, tell us what happened to him?" she asked. "I know it must be painful, but don't keep it locked away. You're among friends, and I want to know after I worried about you two for so many years."

"I don't think we're willing to call him a friend just yet," Sora said.

"Reasonable," Capper uttered. The tip of his tail flicked nervously as he looked at Celaeno. Despite her disposition as a pirate, Celaeno has a big heart, caring about her crew far more than any plans to attack and loot airships that were armed to the teeth. And she cared greatly about him and his friend, even after they stole one of their own hijacked airships from the Storm King during their biggest heist. Sighing, he nodded, then looked back at Sora, still eyeing him warily. "Well, after getting a bit too big for our britches, Verko caught wind of our daily ritual of survival in a big city. But, knowing he was the head honcho of Kludgetown, we lured him to us on purpose.

"When we crashed the airship in the desert, we were only able to salvage a magical green stone called the Misfortune Malichite that was stored inside. It looked valuable, but we relented pawning it until we met Verko. After being escorted to him by his goons, we offered him that very stone in exchange for at least millions in an airship of our own with everything we requested. We made a deal, but when we got home to the windmill we made our home into, Chummer and I had a small talk about our new life. Where I wanted a much more normal life, Chummer thought us stealing was our best talent. By the next morning, Verko got our supplies and our very own airship. Chummer and I had matching blue packs, where mine had the Malachite, and I thought his had some smaller things we had in our 'home' in Kludgetown to bring with us.

"Chummer offered to climb into the ship to make sure everything was accounted for, but I should have realized he had other plans. He went up first to make sure everything we asked for was there, and while I waited for him to give me the go ahead to give Verko the Malachite, he cut the rope ladder and began to fly it off without me. I was shocked, and it was worse when the Malachite in my bag was a fake. I panicked and ran to the ship, grabbing onto a hanging rope and climbed up to confront him. He thought I was going to give up on how we lived, but he just didn't want to listen to me. He tried to rock the airship to knock me off, getting me tangled up in this very coat I wear now, but he also knocked over one of the lanterns hanging by the cabin door. It crashed and spilled oil, lighting the whole thing on fire, and even while we were in danger of getting burnt alive, Chummer still tried to shake me off."

While everyone was invested in Capper's story, they were shocked to know that his friend he'd known ever since they were young betrayed him and chose to keep living his life as a thief rather than life off the lucky fortune they would have had if they gave Verko the Misfortune Malachite. "Oh my," Fluttershy uttered. "Why did your friend throw away what you wanted?"

"And what happened to Chummer?" Pinkie asked.

Capper grimaced, letting out a disgruntled hiss as he crossed his arms, his paws clutching the sleeves of his coat. "...He managed to shake me over the edge of the rail, but I held on, begging him to help me...He loomed over me, and sent me overboard. I fell back into Kludgetown while he stayed on the now burning airship, which didn't fly for much longer until it began to plummet into the vast desert. I don't know if he survived or not, but after such a betrayal, I didn't even care anymore." The mares and Spike all gasped in horror at Capper's thoughts on his former best friend. Celaeno's crew were just as surprised, but the pirate captain lowered her head, wishing she had found them to keep such a terrible fate from happening to them. Sora lowered his Keyblade, seeing where Capper wasn't able to trust anyone and be forced to survive just to make a living, which only made it worse with the debt he was stuck with no thanks to Chummer. At least he tried to convince his friend to change, but unlike with him and Riku, Capper failed, lost his only friend, and worked to pay tons of money to that naked mole rat because of his friend's scheme and resentment. "Everything went downhill so fast, and I was stuck with a debt I thought I'd have to pay with all nine of my lives."

"Capper...I'm so sorry," Celaeno mumbled sadly.

Sora approached Capper, making him flinch a little, even though the stallion wasn't pointing his Keyblade at him anymore. "Why are you here now?" Sora questioned. "You didn't tell Tempest and Xigbar where we were headed, did you?"

"I was at first...but I didn't," Capper said. Holding up his sleeves, he showed Sora the gold cufflinks Rarity sewed into his coat's sleeves. "Rarity reminded me of the only nicest thing any creature has ever done for me in my whole life. For years after Chummer left me like that, I was cautious of whoever gives me anything. There was always some sort of catch; the fine print in a deal that could only been viewed with a magnifying glass. But she didn't want anything in return." Sora looked back at Rarity, the fashionista nodding slightly as she confirmed the generous gift she gave the cat. "After feeling guilty for selling your friends to Verko, I thought misleading those other ponies would be the perfect way to pay her back for such a small thing. It was a risky bet, but it almost paid off, even though I was forced to join them to ensure I wasn't lying to them."

"Then they changed course after seeing the sonic rainboom," Sora uttered.

While Rainbow coughed sheepishly, trying to play off that mistake like nothing happened to avoid getting glared at, Sora glanced at Celaeno, Boyle, Mullet, Lix Spittle, and Squabble. "Even when they boarded us, there was no way we would have given away where we hid you guys," Lix said, Squabble giving a squawk in agreement with a very shaky nod.

"You and Rainbow Dash gave us back our argh!" Mullet said.

"That's right. You're part of our crew now," Celaeno said.

"But how did they know we would be here?" Jiminy questioned.

"They found that map of Mount Aris your purple friend had that she left behind," Boyle said. Sora grimaced, but he can't be upset with Twilight now when she's already in far more trouble than she's in. "Speaking of, where is she?"

"Tempest and Xigbar caught her," Sora said, startling the cat and parrots. "We need to save her, and we're already wasting-"

Suddenly, out in the ocean, one spot in the water began to glow as bubbles rose up to the surface. Hearing the strange bubbling, everyone looked out to the sea, Sora grimacing as he prepared to face what was coming. Breaching the water was a glowing figure in the middle of a transformation, and once it was complete, the creature spread out its wings. The light faded, revealing Princess Skystar as a hippogriff, the mare hovering over to a nearby rock while everyone stared in awe. Aside from having four legs now and no mermaid-like tail, hind legs hooved while her front ones had claws, her bangs now a hanging plume instead of a glowing light, and her muzzle changed to a beak, there were no other differences between the princess in either form.

"Hello! Me again!" she greeted with a giggle. "I am gonna be so grounded after this."

"Is that...what I think it is?" Capper questioned, unable to believe his eyes as they all witnessed a hippogriff standing before them.

"Princess Skystar?" Sora uttered. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Uhh, isn't it obvious? I'm here to help you guys!" Skystar said.

"But what about Queen Novo? Won't she be upset that you just...disobeyed her?" the wielder questioned.

"Yeah, she will be, but after all you guys did for us, even if your friend did try to steal our pearl, I understand that she wanted to help save your friends back home," she said, her answer making Pinkie grin. "One small thing can make a really big difference."

Pinkie bounced with joy as Skystar flew over to join the group. "Oh man. If you're like a mermaid I know, then your mom is DEFINITELY gonna be as strict as King Triton," Sora uttered worriedly.

"I don't know who that is, but if he's as bad as my mom, I bet they'd hit it off real quick," Skystar said, letting out a snort at the humorous thought, though that only made Sora grimace out of the awkwardness of the two different rulers of the sea mingling with each other. While the hippogriff princess laughed at the stallion's expression, everyone quickly turned and faced a strange sound, along with a portal of darkness appearing on the beach. Capper, Celaeno and her crew, and Skystar gasped in surprise at the dangerous portal, though its appearance made Sora let out a disgruntled groan. "W-W-What is that!?"

"Oh, come on. NOW Xigbar's come to get me!?" Sora exclaimed. "Make up your mind already!" Sora began to charge forward and attack the one-eyed assassin as he stepped out. When the pony walked through, Sora's ire quickly turned to shock as he skid to a halt, kicking sand up at his father's Nobody after he stepped through. Kaito sputtered and coughed, the portal disappearing behind him as he wiped the kicked up sand out of his face. "K-Kaito!?"

"Uhh...is this pony just as dangerous as the other one?" Capper asked the mares nervously, fearing any mysterious ponies in black coats after Xigbar's scare tactics.

"He's a friend," Rarity assured.

"And his father's Nobody!" Pinkie added.

"A...what?" Boyle questioned.

Kaito spat out the last of the sand in his mouth, blinking a few times to make sure he didn't get blinded either. "Sora, if this is how you're gonna greet me, I'd rather we not run into each other at home," he grumbled.

"I thought you were Xigbar!" Sora exclaimed, throwing his hooves up in the air. "I could have slashed you!"

"Well, how else was I supposed to meet up with-?" When Kaito looked at Sora, his eyes widened at the injured state he was in. "...My god, what happened to you?"

Sora grunted, quickly shaking his head. "It's a long story, but we have no time. Tempest and Xigbar caught Twilight, and they're on their way back to Canterlot."

"Oh boy. That's not good," Kaito mumbled. "We've got to save her."

"How? Is this all the help that we've got?" Spike asked, pointing out the only friends the group had made throughout their treacherous journey.

Sora looked at Capper, the parrots, and Skystar, then back to Kaito, who would definitely be of greater help with his Swashbuckler Nobodies against the Snipers, Berserkers, and Dusks that were still patrolling Canterlot along with the Storm King's army. "...Well, you did find one hippogriff," Kaito said as he pointed to Skystar. "She the queen? Looks a bit too young to be a queen."

"I'm actually her daughter and heir," Skystar said.

"Ah. Makes sense," Kaito uttered. "...Should we get some more help, Sora?"

Looking back once more at the other creatures, Sora knew there wasn't enough time to search for anyone else, trusting in their skills while it was mostly up to him and Kaito to do some of the harder work. "...I think we have all the help we need," he said. "We've got a king to overthrow."

The sky pirates all cheered, riling everyone up as they were itching to get payback for the Storm King breaking their spirits. "Uhh, one question. It's gonna take us all day to hoof it on land from here," Capper said. "Without Captain Celaeno's airship, how are we going to catch up to the Storm King's commander?"

Kaito smirked as he looked out at the water, summoning his cutlass, then gave it a flick. "Anyone know how to surf?" he asked. The water began to creep up on everyone like it was high tide, startling all but Sora when they felt the water under their feet slowly rise them up into the air. Kaito laughed, raising the massive wave higher over the cliffs, commanding it with a wave of his hooves to carry them north as fast as possible without accidentally slipping them off. The new comrades had no idea what kind of magic Kaito was using that made the wave they rode on solid enough to stand on, but it was an interesting ride as the pirates and Skystar cheered. "Sora, are you well enough to fight?"

"I'll live," Sora said. "I can't rest when they're all counting on me. Especially Twilight."

"Do you have a plan to get us closer to the city without using up whatever energy you have left?" Kaito asked, highly concerned with the younger stallion from his original self's parental instincts kicking in.

"Ooh! I think I have an idea!" Pinkie said.

---

Canterlot had quickly turned into a massive prison camp in only one day. Ponies were muzzled as they were chained together while escorted to a different part of the city, some placed in cages as they began losing any hope of being saved, and those who were strong enough were forced to pull carts and wagons full of heavy equipment or more cages.

[Songbird Serenade]
I am here and I see your pain
Through the storms, through the clouds, the rain
I'm telling you you can not escape

Songbird Serenade tried to sing to everyone, doing her best to lift the ponies' spirits in this hard time and believing they'll be free. Sadly, her song was cut short as one of the nearby guards slammed her cage hard, silencing her while scolding her to keep quiet in their grunting language. Sonbird let out a sigh and obeyed, slowly shaking her head.

"Everypony's a critic," she mumbled.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were trapped together in a cage across the road from the singer, Scootaloo huffing irritably as she occasionally smacked the bars. "You guys are gonna get it when Sora comes back!" the pegasus filly shouted, but the guards ignored her after hearing her whining for the last several hours. "Hey! You listening to me, or are your ears full of wax!?"

"Scootaloo, stop it!" Apple Bloom hissed. "You're gonna get all of us in more trouble!"

"Where did Sora even go?" Sweetie Belle asked. "He ran off to watch our sisters and help them escape, right?"

"He'll come back. And he's gonna smash your skull in with his Keyblade, buddy!" Scootaloo said to the guard, who responded by banging the cage hard, knocking the pegasus filly into her friends.

"Yeah, just keep makin' them more mad," Apple Bloom grumbled.

"Make way, troops! Delivery comin' through!" Everyone nearby looked down the road, Xigbar, Grubber, and Tempest leading a pair of imprisoned stallions pulling a cart carrying Twilight's cage.

Seeing the Princess of Friendship being carted off to the castle as a prisoner destroyed every pony's last hope of being freed. Twilight looked over at Songbird Serenade, the singer silently watching her pass by with a somber expression. Twilight looked away and saw the Crusaders, the fillies unscrambling themselves from each other as they pressed up to their cage in shock.

"Oh no. They got Twilight," Sweetie Belle uttered.

"But...where's Sora?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Twilight, what happened to Sora!?" Scootaloo asked, but the princess turned away from them in shame. "Twilight!?"

"He'll be back." Xigbar hung upside down as he warped in front of the fillies, startling them as they scampered away from him. "But not for long."

"W-What did you do to him!?" Scootaloo demanded despite her trembling at the one-eyed stallion's sly grin.

"What? Me? I didn't do anything," Xigbar answered coyly, then teleported behind the fillies and pointed to Twilight. "It was all her fault."

Xigbar laughed at their reactions, shocked with disbelief, though Scootaloo yelled and tried to buck the cage bars he stood near. "Liar! Sora's stronger than anypony! Twilight wouldn't hurt her friends!"

Xibgar merely chuckled, grasping the filly with his magic hold, watching her struggle as he levitated her closer and force her to face him. "You're the little pegasus who tried to rescue Sora from Marluxia a few months back, aren't ya?" he asked, the mention of Marluxia terrifying the three fillies and drop Scootaloo's enraged bravado.

"Y-Y-Y-You...know him?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Oh yeah. We are in the same Organization," he said, waving his hoof to show off his coat. "And Sora seems to favor you three out of the other ponies he kidnapped Christmas Day. Especially...you." He poked Scootaloo's snout, emphasizing the fear he had when she tried to dive down on Marluxia to save him. Seeing she wasn't going to try to fight back and be smart with him, Xigbar lowered the petrified filly back to the cage floor, patting her head, then walked away. "Better say your goodbyes to him soon when he does return. You won't be seeing him for that much longer."

Xigbar smirked, not even looking back to know that the Crusaders began huddling together, unable to believe him and cling onto believing in Sora to come to their rescue while also fearing the inevitable. He warped back to Tempest as they approached the castle, wheeling Twilight through the halls and into the throne room. Twilight stared dumbfounded at the petrified states of the princesses and her friends beyond her world. While the Keyblade wielders, Donald, and Goofy were set along one side of the wall, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were placed in the middle of the room, each princess standing on the ends of the petals of a floral design on the floor. The guards lift Twilight's cage off the cart and carry her to the opened petal meant for her, one of the guards taking the two stallions with him out of the castle.

"Yes! All four princesses!" Grubber cheered. "The Storm King will be pleased!"

"Tempest, please don't do this," Twilight begged. "Don't give the Storm King-"

"Your magic?" Tempest questioned. "Did you really think you'd keep it all to yourself? Time to share." Twilight wasn't going to convince Tempest to change her mind. Even though she understood why she acts so cold and harsh toward others, giving someone so much alicorn magic could only bring disastrous results, just like Tirek when he succeeded in taking every single pony's magic. "I'd love for everybody out there to know what I can really do."

"Ooh, fascinating!" Startled, Twilight, Tempest, Xigbar, and Grubber quickly turned to the back door behind Celestia and Luna's thrones were, where they were surprised to see the Storm King himself in their presence. He gave Tempest a skeptical look, carrying the Staff of Sacanas in one hand while looming over the ponies at nearly three times their height. "What CAN you really do?"

Tempest quickly faced the Storm King and stood at attention, remaining silent, though Grubber wasn't able to keep his mouth shut. "Uhh, your bidding, of course, Your Mighty One!" he said with a nervous laugh.

After the awkward silence, Grubber dashed away to the throne room doors, making his leave. "Oh, I see. Bidding is good! I like that," the Storm King said, making his way over to the caged princess. "And...what are you supposed to be?"

"...I'm the Princess of Friendship!" Twilight responded, leering defiantly at the tyrant primate king.

The Storm King laughed at her expression and title of princesshood. "Oh, that's nice," he uttered, then turned to Tempest and Xigbar with a frustrated glare. "Why is this one still moving?"

"She and her friends put up a bit of a fight, but she's alone now," Tempest answered.

"And we used up a lot of those petrifying glass bombs you supplied on the others who would have put a dampener on your scheme," Xigbar added, showing off his row of petrified opponents. "Although, it's only been a day and a half since our promised deadline, but better to get this over with sooner than later." The Storm King glanced at the living statues on the sideline, though his eyes trailed back to Kairi as he slowly approached the other wielders, Donald, and Goofy. "There's only one more left, but he's taken quite a beating, and knowing him, he'll come back to try and save his friends on his own. Then I'll get my target for-"

"What is this?" the Storm King interrupted. Xigbar peeked around, noticing the king eyeing Kairi. "Petrified pony, with wings AND a horn...Another alicorn." Slowly turning around, he gave Xigbar a suspicious leer. "...So, you had the 'fourth' princess all along? And you wanted to take a vacation from all the hard work you've done?"

"We were CHASING the fourth princess," Xigbar restated. "Tempest failed to tell me that your little staff right there is supposed to take the magic of the four alicorn princesses-"

"And you HAD all four all along!" the Storm King interrupted once again. "Why chase the other one if you had them all gathered the day before!?"

"Ok, buddy, if you just listen to me for one second!" Xigbar exclaimed, already beginning to get frustrated by the hasty primate with horns and hooves. "THAT princess in stone lined up with the others ISN'T a princess from THIS world! The staff was meant to take EQUESTRIAN magic, and it wouldn't-!"

"All I'm hearing is excuses!" And yet again, the Storm King interrupted, making the purple stallion growl. "But, now that I know there are FIVE princesses, the staff will take all their magic and make me more powerful!" Xigbar glanced at Tempest, who remained silent, though she was a bit startled by the Storm King's outburst. She didn't even know if Kairi's magic would be taken as well, and she didn't want to argue when getting back her horn was just one squeak away from getting thrown out if she tried to argue back. "Now, be more useful than your mouth is and place that princess with the others, you little cyclops."

"It's not going to work!" Xigbar reiterated. The Storm King continued to glare at Xigbar, tapping his hoof impatiently against the floor. Seeing there was no point in trying to explain anything to this egotistical nutcase of a king, the assassin grumbled irritably, levitating Kairi with his magic, and set her down beside Twilight. "There. She's part of the group. Don't come crying to me when it doesn't work."

"Spare me your whining," the Storm King muttered. Xigbar heard him, grumbling himself as he tried to keep his composure, focusing on getting Sora when he made his return. "Now, there's a new problem I'm facing."

"Is it my patience not to kill you hanging by a thread?" Xigbar uttered.

"This place is just...it seems a little, I don't know...CUTE!!!! I don't like cute! I never did like cute!" the Storm King exclaimed angrily.

Xigbar stared blankly at the Storm King while he went on his random tirade, shifting his gaze to Twilight. "...You know, I'm kinda regretting teaming up with someone like him," he said to her. "Can I go back to working with Tempest?"

The Storm King paced around the middle of the floral design. "This whole cute thing doesn't go well with my whole 'big bad powerful magic guy' thing, does it!?" he questioned. "Deliver the punchline, Tempest, because this has gotta be a joke!"

Yelling in frustration, the Storm King slammed the staff down, managing to luckily place it down in a hidden slot on the floor in the stem of the flower. Magic suddenly surged from the indentation, lighting the petals of the flower as the room got darker. Xigbar and Tempest quickly leapt away from the glowing petals, but the Storm King looked around, baffled, shocked, and a bit worried about what he just did. The magic flowed up from the petals, veins of blue energy trailing up the petrified alicorns. Twilight gasped, seeing the same veins trail up Kairi, then to her as she grunted and writhed in agony, the staff taking ALL of the alicorn's magic.

"N-No!" Twilight cried out, letting out a yell as she opened her eyes, glowing a bright white as her magic was stripped away from her through her's and the other princesses' horns with the other alicorns' eyes glowing a similar white light.

Colorful magical energy sparked around the room, the Storm King laughing with glee at the dangerous light show as he watched the staff begin filling with power. Xigbar was shocked seeing the magic from Kairi getting drained as well, which only made the situation worse if the staff would give the wielder her own unique magic and power of light. The whole castle began to spark wildly as the ponies outside all watched in terror at what was happening inside. After enough magic was drained, the Storm King pulled the staff out, his eyes lighting up at the sparks of magical power coursing through his new weapon as he laughed triumphantly.

"Yes! Ha ha HAAA!!!!! I can practically feel this stick pulse with unbelievable power!" the Storm King cheered. As soon as the draining stopped, Twilight let out a weak groan, collapsing in her cage with the color in her eyes faded. Xigbar stepped up to Twilight's cage, but showed no concern for her as he stared at Kairi, feeling more concerned about how powerful the Storm King really was with an additional alicorn's magic trapped inside that staff. Summoning his Nobodies, he ordered them to move the petrified heroes and princesses elsewhere when the Storm King turned to look at him with a smirk, barely batting an eye at the silvery, rubber creatures carefully dragging them to safety. "And you doubted that princess' magic wouldn't be taken away. Now, let's get this storm started! Ooh, hey, that's good. I should trademark that."

"Ok, maybe I was wrong, but even though it did, you're not at all worried about an overload of-" Ignoring Xigbar, the Storm King grasped the Staff of Sacanas, then pointed it at him and Twilight as the gem began sparking with magic. Xigbar flinched as the mad king fired a powerful bolt of lightning at them. The stallion teleported away, leaving Twilight to get struck as the beam-like bolt was strong enough to break Twilight's cage and destroy the wall leading out to the balcony. Twilight cried out in pain as she tumbled across the balcony, too magically drained to move and grimacing in pain from the magic blast. Her Keyblade clattered after her, unable to return to its owner with even her Keyblade magic drained as well. The Storm King stepped out, impressed, only to be met with a ticked off Xigbar teleporting in his path, both arrowguns drawn on him. "Hey! The hell's your problem trying to shoot me like that!? I help you get your princess and you go blowing me up with that staff!?"

"I wanted to test it, but that was just first rate," the Storm King nonchalantly said. "What are you even mad about? You avoided it."

"Buddy, one thing you never want to do is cross paths with an assassin like me," Xigbar growled. "Pull another stunt like that, and it'll be an arrow right between the-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the Storm King interrupted, not even the slightest bit intimidated by the Nobody's dual guns, his exaggerated waving of his staff causing an invisible force to smack Xigbar against the balcony railing. While Xigbar recovered from both the impact his back made with the rail and the insane amount of power the Storm King now wields, the king was too busy looking at his new weapon. "What else can this thing do?"

Tempest ran up to the Storm King, fulfilling her promise to the world dominating monarch and was ready to receive her end of their deal. "Your Excellency, you promised to restore my horn and give me-"

"Ah-ta-ta-ta-ta, ok. Hang on a second." The Storm King ignored Tempest, making it much more obvious to Xigbar that he made a huge mistake trusting this immature monkey king and helping him get this power. While Tempest just stared at the king in disbelief, the Storm King began testing out his new staff. He waved it around, then gave it a hard flick, quickly changing it from day to night. When he noticed he was able to control the sun and moon, the Storm King laughed excitedly, flicking the staff to make the sun and moon orbit swiftly around the world before stopping them. "You've gotta be kidding me! I can move the sun! Now this is what I'm talking about!

"Time to play!" The Storm King began laughing like a little kid in a toy store, then began playing around with the staff's magic like it was a toy, changing the time of day like he was flicking a light switch on and off in amusement. "Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday! Day! Night! Day! Night! Day night! Day night! Day night! Sunrise, sunset!"

The ponies looked at each other while the Storm King kept monkeying around with the celestial bodies of Equestria. "He calls himself a bad guy, and yet he's using all that magic to play with it," Xigbar said. "...What the hell did we just do?"

---

Outside the city of Canterlot, the sky constantly switching between day and night due to the Storm King playing with his new power, Capper led Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy up the road to the city. The mares were hooked to a cart carrying a huge triple-layered cake, while on top of the cake pretending to be a dragon topper was Spike, blowing out a small stream of green fire from his mouth to add to the decorated cake about the Storm King's successful takeover of Equestria. Inside the cake, however, were the rest of the saviors to liberate everyone from the Storm King in a Trojan horse-style ambush, not a delicious cream filling since the surprise will bring a bitter end to the tyrannical primate.

The mares looked down miserably, acting enslaved as they approached the gates, Capper approaching the guards as he wore a chef's hat and apron with a letter bearing a forged seal from the Storm King. "Hello there. I got a delivery here for a Mister 'The Storm King'," Capper said. "I was given explicit instructions to bring this here cake to this here castle's throne room." The two guards grunted and pointed their spears at Capper. Barely flinching, Capper remained calm, lifting up a paw in defeat. "All right, then. But, could one of ya be a pal and tell your boss he's not getting his 'congratulations on subduing defenseless pastel ponies' cake? 'Cause I don't wanna be the one responsible for the big guy missing his special dessert. You know what I'm sayin'?"

Capper turned around and walked back to the cart with a shrug to the guards. Their plan didn't seem like it was going to work, but Capper silently counted down from three with his fingers, then pointed his thumb at the guards, who stepped aside to let them through. Pinkie's frown turned to a smile as her idea worked, Capper giving her a wink before he led them and the Storm King's surprise into the city. The guards eyed Pinkie when she was suddenly smiling happily and not looking as miserable as the rest of her friends. Jiminy, who was hiding under Applejack's stetson, hopped over to the pink mare, pretending to act like a random cricket to avoid suspicion.

"Pinkie, stop smiling," Jiminy whispered. "You're going to blow your own plan."

"Oh! Ok!" Pinkie whispered back, then quickly made a really sad puppy dog face, not exactly what he meant, but at least it was a sad look.

Jiminy hopped along the mares' backs and landed on the top tier of the cake, pulling out a chunk of the pastry, still surprised Pinkie could bake a hollow cake while still keeping the pastry from collapsing, then stuck his head through the hole. "It's working so far. We're entering the main square."

"Great. We're tricking the guards, but I don't know if the Nobodies can tell it's a trap," Sora uttered. At least he was rested enough on the trip back to Equestria via wave through Kaito's power, but he was still exhausted and anxious. "I just hope we're not too late."

"Uhh...we might, actually," Jiminy said. "The sun and moon kept switching around the time of day, and I don't think they don't have sentient thought to argue over who's supposed to rise first."

Sora winced and let out a heavy sigh. "Their magic's gone...and the Storm King's...playing with the sun and moon?" he questioned.

"At this rate, it'll take us a whole year to reach the castle," Kaito joked, but while he chuckled, the others didn't. Kaito cleared his throat bashfully, wishing his humor matched his original self's. "Sorry. Just...trying to break the tension for Sora."

"Swing and a miss," Mullet commented.

As the cart continued slowly making its way down the road toward the castle, their plan seemed to be working. Not even the Snipers, Berserkers, or Dusks patrolling the streets noticed the surprise inside the giant cake. Unfortunately, as they passed by a stand with an assortment of pies that Grubber was helping himself to eating, the hedgehog spotted the enormous pastry.

"Oh, hello, cake!" Grubber said, ignoring his pies and followed the cake, jumping up onto the back. "Ooooh. Don't mind if I do!" Smearing his hand across the lower tier, Grubber scooped up a big glop of frosting, stuffing it in his face and revealing an eye hidden inside, which happened to be Squabble's eye. The others noticed the small bit of frosting that was taken as the hedgehog had his "small" sample, remaining quiet and holding as still as they could while cramped inside the cake. "Mmm...Tastes like some...gourmet icing." Grubber was about to grab another taste, now noticing the eyeball staring at him. "Who puts eyeballs in as filling?" Squabble blinked, startling the hedgehog as he hyperventilated, realizing that there was someone in the cake. "G-Guards! Guards!"

"Grab him!" Sora hissed.

Squabble lunged out of the cake, snatching Grubber, and dragged him inside while keeping his mouth shut. Unfortunately, the guards heard their commander's right-hand assistant shout, quickly surrounding the group and halting their progress. Dusks, Berserkers, and Snipers warped around them as well, making Capper, Spike, and the five mares panic.

"Uhh, time for Plan B?" Capper suggested.

"The jig's up!" Rainbow shouted, then kicked the cart, signalling the hiding group their cover's blown.

Spike broke out of his pose, hopping off the cake with Jiminy clinging onto his tail. Hearing the signal, Sora, Kaito, Skystar, and Celaeno and her crew burst out of the cake, splattering frosting on the surprised guards faces while the Nobodies slithered away. Before the Nobodies could retaliate and attack Celaeno and her crew, Kaito swung and unleashed a wide, water shockwave slash on one half of the Nobodies surrounding them while Sora unleashed Thundaga on the other half, keeping them stunned as the others attacked the Storm Guard troops.

Capper helped unhitch the ponies from the cart, then split up and fought who they could take on, leaving Grubber behind on the cart with the cake splattered all over the place. Boyle and Mullet dodged the guards' spears, even managing to disarm them and smack them back with their own weapons. Squabble caught one of the guards in his life preserver he had around his neck, trapping the muscular brute's huge arms in place before tackling them down and knocking him out. Lix Spittle was even able to hold her own despite being the crew's cook, using one of her forks to stab an unsuspecting guard in the hindquarters and laughed as the guard leapt in pain.

Celaeno was taking on four Storm Guards that surrounded her, blocking spears and shields with her cutlass while weaving around their stabs and lunges with ease. "Come on, you lumbering baboons! You think you can touch the great sky pirate, Captain Celaeno!" she mocked, ducking another thrust, then lunged toward a guard and kicked them in the chest, knocking the guard hard into a stall, which shattered to pieces. Her bravado didn't last when Dusks suddenly surrounded her, one of them wrapping its arms around her arm wielding her blade. "W-What the-!?"

She yelled, trying to kick the Nobody with her emerald peg leg, but the Dusk's elastic body only made it stretch back, causing her to stumble as it pulled along with its body. Just as more Dusks came to hold her down, Kaito surfed over to Celaeno's aid, leaping off and sent the wave into her and the Dusks. Celaeno was freed, unharmed while getting soaked as the Dusks were trapped in the wave, which began to rise up and form a liquid sphere. Kaito leapt up with a grunt, slashed through the sphere a couple times before landing on top of it, then sent it slamming down to the ground while increasing the pressure inside with a flex of his hoof. The sphere crashed and sent a small, swift wave along the ground, sweeping the Storm Guards off their feet while the Dusks that were entrapped burst in a flash of light.

"Looked like you could use a hand!" Kaito said. Celaeno nodded, highly impressed, though their relief didn't last long when Berserkers appeared to take the fallen Dusks' places. "So do I. Good thing I've got my own little crew on standby."

"You have a crew?" Celaeno asked curiously.

Kaito curled one of his wings up to his face, curling two feathers to his lips, then let out a shrill whistle. He summoned his crew of Swashbucklers, appearing behind the Berserkers and thrust their cutlasses through the Nobodies' backs. The backstabs instantly killed the tough Berserkers, shocking Celaeno. She was about to fight them, but the Swashbucklers quickly turned and leapt off to help the parrot's crew when Snipers began aiming at them from a distance.

"That's my crew," he said. "Swashbucklers."

"Swashbucklers, eh? Nice," Celaeno uttered.

While the parrots handled their group of foes, the others were dealing with the rest in their path. Skystar flew through the air, avoiding Sniper fire as she snatched Storm Guards from the ground, using them as shields with their durable body armor. Capper teamed up with Rarity as they saw more guards coming, Capper running past them with a long stream of ribbon from the decoration supplies that were left over for the festival. The guards tripped over the pink ribbon spanning several yards long, then were quickly wrapped up tight by the cat and fashionista. Applejack used her lasso to hogtie one of the Storm Guards, unaware of a Berserker diving down after her. Sora jumped in to rescue his surrogate sister, tackling the Nobody with a hard slash, then snatched its heavy claymore. While hovering with the larger blade, Sora swooped around to gather as Nobodies as he could, attracting them all to it like a magnet to a box of nails. Keeping the Nobodies trapped in a giant ball of silver, spiraling limbs, Sora gave a few swinging flips, sending them higher into the air, then rapidly spun around while hitting them with the claymore, destroying all of the Nobodies he caught before flinging the claymore down at another Berserker.

The Berserker that got struck was sent flying while it tried to smack a speeding Rainbow Dash. It flew and crashed toward the cage the Crusaders were held in, its own claymore smashing it apart and sent the fillies tumbling out of the debris.

"Ow," Apple Bloom grunted. "W-What's goin' on out there?"

The Berserker slowly rose back up, making the fillies cower as it looked straight at them. Sweetie Belle screamed in fear, Sora's ears perking up as he heard one of his surrogate little sisters as he ran off to help them. Spotting the Crusaders with the Berserker trying to scoop them up to put them in a new cage, Sora cast Blizzaga on the Nobody, freezing it, then slashed it several times before kicking its back, shattering the Berserker to pieces.

"Girls!" Sora cried out in relief.

"Sora!" All three fillies ran up to him, jumping into his forelegs as they held him tightly, so happy to see him return to save everyone.

Swashbucklers leapt from the roofs of the buildings as they caught up with Sora, Kaito's commands for a few to watch him as backup while the rest assisted the rest of the battle back in the square. "Can you make sure everyone gets out of here safely?" he asked the friendly Nobodies. They responded with a nod as a couple dashed off to help free the caged and chained ponies nearby. "You three stay with the others. We're taking back Equestria."

He set the fillies down, but they panicked and grabbed onto his hind legs. "No, Sora! Please don't!" Scootaloo begged.

"Girls, it's too dangerous right now!" Sora said.

One of the Swashbucklers that stayed behind tried to gently pull the fillies away, but with the way they were so frightened to see him made them so much more clingy to Sora. "No! He's gonna take ya away just like that pink stallion, Marluxia!" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"He said Twilight hurt you, and he was going to take you away, and we don't want to say goodbye to you before it's too late!" Sweetie Belle cried.

"'He'?" Sora uttered before realizing just who they were talking about. Whatever Xigbar told them, he was going to make sure the sniper Nobody wasn't going to come back for scaring them. Sora turned around, hugging the trio again tightly. "I'm not going anywhere. Whatever he said to you three to scare you like this, I'll make sure he won't come back to hurt anyone else ever again."

"Promise?" Scootaloo begged.

Sora reassured the girls with a Pinkie Promise, completely ensuring that he was never going to let the Organization take him away like last time, or to this day. "Pinkie Promise," he said with a gentle smile. He gave the Crusaders one last hug, then lifted them up and placed them in the protective care of the Swashbuckler. "I'll be fine. Nothing's gonna stop me."

With the Crusaders believing him, the Swashbuckler carried them to safety, the other Nobodies doing the same as they escorted the freed ponies out of the city. A few moments later, he saw the rest of his friends regrouping with him, but there was no sign of Celaeno and her crew.

"The pirates are sticking around to handle the stragglers down the road with my Swashbucklers," Kaito said. "I think they can hold off the guards while my own crew handles the other Nobodies."

"We've got no time to lose! Let's go!" Sora said, leading the way as they hurried up the road to the castle.

As they reached the bridge leading up to the castle, more guards chased after them. Skystar noticed the backup, turning around to deal with them herself.

"Keep going, guys! I'll take care of these ones!" Skystar called out, then pulled out her two clam friends. "Shelly, Sheldon, let's kick some Storm Guard butt."

She tossed Shelly and Sheldon at one of the guards, each one clacking as they flew and latched onto his eyes. The guard panicked and scrambled to get the clams "attacking" him off while Skystar grabbed another by the arm and flung him back to his friends. Up ahead, the rest of the cavalry reached the gardens, only to run into a blockade of even more Storm Guards.

"Sheesh. I didn't think there were THAT many of these guys," Kaito grunted.

He and Sora were ready to fight them off until Capper looked at Spike, getting a crazy idea. "Hey, hold on, ain't you a FIRE-breathing dragon?"

Getting the hint, Spike looked at Capper with a grin and a nod. Capper grabbed the baby dragon, holding him up by the chest with one paw while the other grasped his tail, then pulled his tail to let Spike spew out a stream of green fire at the Storm Guards like a living flamethrower. Their shields can block magic spells, but they certainly can't protect them or their hairy bodies from fire. Capper laughed maniacally, aiming Spike's mouth at the guards, catching some of them on fire as they screamed and scrambled to put themselves out. He took the lead while the ponies followed, making the other guards retreat, some of them getting ignited with green fire as it spread over their bodies.

From the balcony high above them, Xigbar, Tempest, and Twilight heard the screams beneath them. Twilight managed to find the strength to stand, joining Xigbar and Tempest as they looked down over the railing in shock.

"Seems like they got here sooner than I thought," Xigbar said. "And...wait, is that the same cat we just keelhauled with those parrots? How'd they survive!?"

"This is impossible," Tempest uttered.

Twilight looked down, a grin slowly appearing on her face as her friends came to save her. "It's...the Magic of-"

"Yeah, yeah!" The Storm King suddenly scooped the three ponies in his arms, his tone sarcastic as he mocked the cutesy sentiment Twilight was about to say. "Friendship, and flowers, and ponies, and bleh!" he said, sticking his tongue out in disgust, then dropped Twilight, Xigbar, and Tempest. "I'm so totally over the cute pony thing. This...ends...now!"

Raising his staff up to the sky, the Storm King unleashed its magic on the clouds above, making them swirl faster and faster around the castle as lightning started to streak through the air and rumbling thunder grow louder. "Oh, NOW he decides to do something useful with that thing!" Xigbar exclaimed in irritation. Twilight and Tempest could only watch in shocked awe at the massive storm the Storm King was creating. Even the rescue party down below stopped attacking the guards when the weather suddenly shifted as the dark and gloomy suddenly got windy and stormy. All the while, the Storm King was laughing, creating the mother of all storms, making it strong enough that it could destroy the entire mountain if he wanted to. Xigbar looked down as Sora and the gang made a retreat when the wind went into tornado-levels of dangerous. "Wait, hold the storm off for a second!

"Keep them trapped here with us!" The Storm King refused to listen, too busy laughing as his ultimate plan finally came to fruition. Xigbar growled as he watched Sora escape the storm, he and his friends barely making it out as he saw some of the guards chase them away get swept away by the powerful winds. Having enough with the blundering baboon king, Xigbar summoned his arrowguns, approached the Storm King with his weapons aimed at him, about to take that staff for himself if he wasn't going to listen. "Hey, I helped you and Tempest get you the power for that staff of yours! I scratch your back, you scratch mine! I need to catch Sora!"

Tempest ran up to Xigbar, hastily lowering his guns with a look of desperation. "No, wait! He still promised me my horn!"

"He only seems to care more about himself than fulfilling any promises at this point!" Xigbar exclaimed.

He was about to take aim again and fire, only to yell as Tempest shocked him with her horn, stunning him. Tempest quickly ran up to the Storm King, praying she only stunned Xigbar long enough to get what she was promised.

"Now I truly am the Storm King!" the Storm King cheered. "And the entire world will bow to my ba-ba-ba-boom, baby!"

"Yes, yes, you are every bit as powerful as I promised, Sire!" Tempest said, finally diverting the Storm King's attention away from his powerful magic storm. "Now, restore my horn and I swear to use my magic to serve you!"

She bowed to him as she swore her loyalty to him, but instead of being granted her end of their bargain, the Storm King just laughed at her like it was a joke, then glared at her. "Who cares about your dinky little unicorn horn!?"

Tempest looked up, appalled by his question, Xigbar shaking off the unicorn mare's shock as he looked at the Storm King, knowing he was going to end up stabbing them all in the back after getting all the power he needed. Twilight was even shocked, watching Tempest run back in the Storm King's path after walking past her.

"B-But...we...we had an agreement!" Tempest said.

"Get with the program! I USED you and the cyclops!" the Storm King admitted, barely even ashamed by his decision to betray them after they promised to give him the power he now wields. "It's kinda what I do!"

He shrugged at Tempest, brushing off her shock as an, "Oh well. Things happen," sort of manner, then aimed his staff at the mare. He fired several bolts of lighting at Tempest, who quickly leapt away as he attacked her. Growling angrily at holding back his promise, Tempest retaliated back with her own surged lightning magic. The two bolts connected, causing an explosion that sent them flying away from each other. The Storm King stayed safely on the balcony, thrown for a loop from the blast, but Tempest wasn't lucky as she got too close to the railing, the storm beginning to suck her away.

Twilight watched Tempest cling onto the railing, holding on for dear life to avoid getting sucked into the intense magic storm that was slowly destroying Canterlot Castle. There was also the staff, held weakly in the Storm King's hand as he slowly recovered from the explosive force of the clashing lightning bolts. She wanted to take the staff and use it against him, but there was also Xigbar, who slowly approached the Storm King with a deathly glare. And without her magic, including her Keyblade magic as her weapon failed to return to her, she was completely defenseless. It was either push her way past Xigbar and take the staff from the Storm King, or help Tempest, who was in dire peril and needed someone to help her when she needed it most.

Tempest grunted, her hoof beginning to slip from the railing as the wind was pulling far too strong. Her horn sparked in desperation, but with it so broken, she couldn't do any magic spells to pull herself back to safety or protect herself if the high winds bashed her into the mountain. She couldn't hold on for long, losing her grip and flailed with a yelp, but Twilight quickly grabbed her outstretched hoof, saving her from the storm.

"Hold on!" Twilight called out. "I've got you!"

Tempest looked at Twilight with a stunned, baffled expression, being saved by the princess she had been hunting down all of yesterday overriding the fear of getting killed in the Storm King's destructive storm. "Why are you saving me?"

Twilight didn't respond, but she gave Tempest a small, reassuring smile. "Because this is what friends do."

Confused, Tempest was struck with disbelief, being called her target's friend. She felt no remorse chasing after her or her friends, but that all came crashing down on her after the Storm King tried to kill her after breaking his promise to her after all these years. She could never forgive herself now after all she's done to Equestria, to all the kingdoms she helped the Storm King conquer, and where she expected to be hated by her enemy, the Princess of Friendship saved her when she was in danger and didn't leave her when she needed help like her former friends did when she was a filly. Her cold heart melted, her look of guilt slowly softening into a grateful smile. Using all her strength, Twilight pulled Tempest back onto the balcony, safe from the powerful gales tearing the city apart.

While Twilight had been deciding on her choice, Xigbar walked over to the Storm King, aiming his arrowguns at the tyrant's head. "Big mistake breaking a deal with someone like a mercenary," Xigbar uttered at the Storm King regained conscious. "You complete that deal...or the one you hired will end up double-crossing you if you stiffed them on the full payment. Good riddance to you, 'Your Majesty'."

The Storm King looked up, gripping his staff tightly, the blue crystal at the end reacting as it began to shine white. Xigbar fired, but milliseconds before he pulled the trigger, the staff cast a barrier of light, protecting the Storm King and deflecting the energy arrow back at Xigbar. The reflected shot struck the stallion's hoof, making him yell and back away, shaking his injured hoof. When he looked back at the Storm King as he got up, Xigbar's jaw hung open as he saw the barrier that protected him. It was made of pure light, similar to the light that came from Kairi. The Staff of Sacanas not only took Kairi's alicorn magic; it must have taken her own Keyblade magic, and even her light. When the Storm King noticed it too before it disappeared a few seconds later, he looked down at his staff in awe.

"...Ooooh...I don't know what that was...but that was exciting," the Storm King said to himself, then looked at Xigbar with a harsh glare. "Were you really going to kill me?"

"...I was...but now it's gonna be a bit tougher when you have a Princess of Light's power," Xigbar mumbled.

"You know, there's a reason why I don't trust whoever works for me, and the double-crossing is the exact reason why," the Storm King explained, gently tapping the staff in his free hand. "So, I double-cross them first if they decide to get a bit too chummy with me. That's where I succeeded as the Storm King back then, and I will today with that very same philosophy." Slowly, he aimed his staff at Xigbar, who quickly aimed his arrowguns at the Storm King to defend himself. The crystal sparked, an orb of fire beginning to form at the end. "You do my bidding, and if you served your purpose to me, or if you attempt to betray me first, you're no longer necessary. No ifs, ands, or buts!"

The Storm King thrust his staff with a yell, sending a massive fireball hurtling toward Xigbar. The stallion flinched, teleporting away as they fireball blew up where he stood. Twilight and Tempest huddled together when they heard the blast, shocking the two mares as the Storm King figured out how to use more spells with his staff. Xigbar appeared at the top of the castle without getting too far away from the eye of the storm, combining his weapons into a sniper and decided to take out the tyrant from afar. He fired a few shots, but the barrier rose faster than the velocity of his arrows, bouncing off the Storm King and flew straight back at him. Xigbar got hit by two of them before warping back down to the ground, wishing he took the staff away before killing the now unstoppable Storm King.

---

"Hurry! Under here!" Kaito called out, waving the others to hide under a stone awning back in the city.

They all managed to get away from the suddenly appearing storm before it caught them, but with how the guards were getting picked up so easily, there was no way to breach through the strong winds protecting the castle. "I don't think there's any way we can get through that," Sora said. "If only I could fly."

"You'd have to be faster than a speeding pegasus to break through that kind of wind!" Rainbow said. "I don't even think me pulling off a sonic rainboom can get me through!"

Pinkie gasped, getting another brilliant idea as she put on a helmet with a pair of wind-resistant goggles. "Excellent idea, Rainbow Dash," she said with a sinister grin.

"Uhh, what idea?" Rainbow questioned.

"We shoot ourselves out of my new party cannon I made for the festival!" Pinkie suggested. "You know, the one where I shot that yummy cake, but it didn't bake all the way after it launched and got Twilight all sticky with cake batter and frosting, and Riku did that cute face lick to clean off some of the frosting on her cheek?"

Everyone looked out in the city, spotting the giant easy bake confetti cannon still sitting where it was before the Storm King's army invaded. "...That'll work," Sora said. "Come on!"

Sora ran ahead to the cannon, the mares, Kaito, and Spike following after him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you crazy!?" Capper called out as he chased after them. "Launching out of...THAT thing!?"

"I'm crazy enough to do anything if it means keeping Twilight from getting taken away in my place!" Sora yelled back. Once they reached the cannon, they found Boyle and Squabble by the cannon, but no sign of Celaeno or the rest of her crew. "Boyle! Where are the others!?"

"The captain and those allied monsters are helpin' the ponies get outta here before that strange storm gets too big," Boyle said. "Dealt with the Storm Guards like nothing."

Squabble squawked and nodded his head while raising his arms and flexed, showing his strength despite his muscles barely matching his crewmate's bulk. "You know how to work a cannon?" Sora asked as he pointed at Pinkie's giant cannon.

"Of course," Boyle said with Squabble squawking in agreement.

"Good. Launch me to the castle!" Sora said, his response baffling the two parrots as the Keyblade wielder leapt up and climbed into the barrel.

Pinkie was about to bounce up after him, but Kaito snagged her tail and pulled her back down. "Whoa, hold on a second. Let me and Sora go first," he said.

"Awww! But I wanted us to get launched together!" Pinkie whined.

"We'll take it for a test run," Kaito assured. "If we make it through, then you can go next."

"Yay!" Pinkie cheered, putting her goggles on while bouncing eagerly for her turn.

While Boyle and Squabble helped get the cannon set up to fire onto the castle, Kaito flew up to the barrel and climbed in with Sora. "Kaito?"

"Don't you go telling me to stay behind to help everyone else," Kaito scolded, getting himself comfortable as the two stallions laid at the base of the cannon, watching the barrel turn as it aimed at the Category 5 storm surrounding the castle. "You need my help this time. Even though you managed to recover a little, I can still tell you're still not at your one hundred percent best."

Sora stared at Kaito before he grinned at him. "I was actually going to thank you for your help, but if you want to lecture me, I'll just take it back."

"Heh?" Kaito uttered, then smirked and shook his head, his hoof subconsciously reaching out to ruffle Sora's mane. "Smart aleck." Realizing what he was doing, Kaito quickly moved his hoof away, looking away awkwardly. "...There I go again...Your dad's memories just...you know..."

"I know. It's fine," Sora reassured.

"Sora, the cannon's ready!" Boyle called out. "Are you and your friend ready!?"

The two stallions braced themselves, ready to get launched. "Fire away!" Sora shouted.

Squabble danced eagerly on the plunger to fire the cannon. When Boyle gave his crewmate the go ahead, he pushed the lever down, launching both pegasi off to the castle at breakneck speeds with a loud boom.

---

Xigbar panted, running around the Storm King on the ground and upside down in midair while firing barrage after barrage of arrows at him. No matter what he tried, his projectiles just kept getting deflected and sent straight back to the stallion. He wasn't built for close-quarters combat, and none of his attacks seemed to get through that impenetrable shield of light protecting him. The Storm King retaliated harder, unleashed different elements of magic spells with the Staff of Sacanas, though he preferred using lightning spells since he IS called the "Storm" King. Twilight and Tempest stayed where they were, staying out of both their lines of fire as they used the balcony as their battleground.

"Will! You! Just! Hold! Still!" the Storm King shouted, spinning around while launching spells at the teleporting Xigbar.

"Like hell I will!" Xigbar teleported behind the Storm King, combining his arrowguns into a bow, then unleashed his barrage of arrows as he fired up in the air.

Instead of letting them spread out, he made sure they aimed directly down on the Storm King. Sadly, that barrier kept coming back and continued to protect the Storm King, and the storm's wind was blowing some of the dark purple energy arrows away from their target. Running out of ideas, Xigbar tried to escape, but the Storm King flicked his staff at him, grasping him in a telekinetic aura, then flung the stallion hard into the arch leading back inside. Xigbar grunted in pain as he hit the ground. He tried to stand up, only to be dragged across the floor painfully back to the Storm King. The king stomped down hard on the downed stallion's back, making Xigbar cry out in agony.

"Now I've got you, you pesky, one-eyed, horned fly!" the Storm King exclaimed. He aimed his staff at the back of Xigbar's head, the crystal sparking dangerously. "No one can stop me now. I'm all powerful! And you will be the first to die as my mighty storm destroys this land!"

Just as the Storm King was about to zap Xigbar to death, through the harsh winds, Sora and Kaito flew through without getting sucked into the storm. Both stallions brandished their weapons as they plummeted toward the balcony. Kaito quickly thrust his hooves out, creating a large sphere of water in front of them to slow their fall a little, quickly flipping after passing through and landing on the balcony. Their entrance surprised the Storm King, ignoring the Nobody under his foot.

"Sorry to drop in unannounced, but we're here to overthrow the king!" Sora said.

"Sora! Kaito!" Twilight called out, relieved to see them and find a way to break through the storm.

They noticed Xigbar underneath the Storm King, his head about to be shocked by the still glowing staff in the Storm King's hands. "We interrupting a little moment between you two?" Kaito questioned.

Xigbar quickly teleported away from the Storm King while he was distracted, reappearing between him and the two pegasus stallions while facing the backstabbing king. "A business deal gone horribly wrong," Xigbar grunted. "I was hoping this guy would cooperate with me after we got his staff powered up, but instead, he withheld his end of both our bargains just to get all that magic."

"Both?" Sora uttered in confusion. Glancing at where Twilight and Tempest huddled at, seeing the Storm King's commander with Twilight baffled him. "What are you talking about?"

"Who are those two?" the Storm King asked, pointing at Sora and Kaito. "Friends of yours? And how did they get through my storm!?"

"Barely considered acquaintances," the unicorn stallion said. "I tried to warn you to wait for him-" Xigbar pointed to Sora. "-to get closer to the castle to trap him in your storm. He's a much more bigger threat to your own plans for world domination than you think." He then glanced back at Kaito, smirking at his presence. "And I'm surprised you're still alive after all these years."

"The feeling's mutual," Kaito responded.

The Storm King squinted at Sora, highly confused by Xigbar's warning. "That pegasus?...With a giant key? Is going to stop me???" Xigbar nodded in response. After a small moment of silent contemplation, the Storm King began to burst out laughing. Sora and Kaito looked at each other while Xigbar growled irritably, the Storm King not taking him seriously. "You've got to be joking!? That skin and bones pony is going to beat me, with all this power I wield, all on his lonesome!?"

"Will you listen to me for one second!?" Xigbar shouted. "We team up against him, we can knock him down, and I'll-!"

"I'm sorry, but...are you TELLING me what to do?" the Storm King interrupted angrily.

Xigbar glared daggers at the Storm King, finally done with trying to convince the powerful king to work together and defeat one of the strongest Keyblade wielders among him and his friends. "Should have just done this all myself," he grumbled, then looked back at Sora. "Sora. The Storm King's a whole lot tougher than you might think with that staff in his hands. It's got all the alicorns' magic inside, even Kairi's."

Sora gasped, his eyes shifting to the Staff of Sacanas. "What?"

"I didn't think the staff could also take her magic away, too, but I think it took much more," Xigbar warned. "Not only did it take her Equestrian magic; it took her magic as a Keyblade wielder, Princes of Light, I'm not sure what."

Sora growled, unable to believe Xigbar would let this happen. "Where is she!?" he demanded, pointing his blade at the sniper. "Where are the rest of my friends!?"

"Relax. They deeper inside the castle," Xigbar reassured the enraged pegasus. "After the staff took Kairi's power, I had a feeling something was gonna go wrong." He gave Sora a sly grin, hiding one of his hooves as he subtly moved it. "I'm not that cruel of a person. They're safe...but you're not."

Kaito heard a faint sound, his ear twitching from the noise. Glancing beside him, at Sora, his eyes widened when he saw one of Xigbar's arrowguns sticking out through a void, aimed right at the back of Sora's head. Reacting quickly, Kaito released a stream of water toward Sora, harmlessly shoving him away as Xigbar fired several arrows from his weapon. He teleported away as they came at him, which then headed right to the Storm King. The Storm King flinched, his staff reacting as Kaito and Sora saw the barrier of light protect him and reflect the arrows right past them.

"Ok, I'm getting really sick of you pulling these stunts!" the Storm King roared, looking around for the unicorn stallion.

Xigbar reappeared between the two pegasi, aiming one gun at each of them while looking at Sora. "Damn you, Xigbar!" Kaito shouted, his sword turning to liquid as he swung it, the water latching onto one of Xigbar's hind legs and constricted tightly around his limb. Before the unicorn sniper could teleport away, Kaito flicked his cutlass, making the water whip his horn to stall his magic casting, then flung him over the side of the balcony, letting him plummet down to the courtyard. "I'll deal with him. You think you can handle the Storm King on your own?"

"I was hoping to punch Xigbar's lights out," Sora uttered, but nodded, letting Kaito handle Xigbar. "Give him a few good ones for me." Kaito nodded, then dove over the rail to confront Xigbar. Sora faced the Storm King, crouching low in his stance, waiting for the Storm King to quit trying to search for Xigbar after he was thrown off the balcony. "Time to put Rafiki's estranged cousin in his place."

Sora charged forward, his hoofsteps catching the Storm King's attention. "Oh no you don't!" he exclaimed, aiming his staff at the Keyblade wielder and fired several lightning bolts at him.

Sora leapt from side to side, dodging the oncoming magic bolts as he got closer. Swinging his blade, he smacked the staff up into the air as the Storm King fired another bolt, making it aim straight at the clouds, causing a dangerous chain reaction as lightning rained down on them. The Storm King's barrier protected him while Sora continued dodging the lightning, evading faster than the bolts could strike the balcony. Twilight and Tempest were forced to leap away to avoid getting struck. Tempest flinched as she skid across the ground, startling by a bolt that hit a few meters in front of her, causing her to trip and slide, stopping in front of Twilight's Keyblade.

As Sora kept the Storm King distracted, Tempest picked up Harmony with her hoof. "Twilight, I have your Keyblade!" she called out.

"I can't help!" Twilight said.

"But...what I saw on the beach!" Tempest said. "You bested him in-!"

"I was just lucky!" Twilight interjected. "But I really can't help him! The Storm King drained every ounce of magic in me, even my Keyblade magic! I can't even call it back to me right now!" She held her hoof out, showing Tempest that ALL of her magic was completely taken from her. "It would have disappeared if I wasn't near it or holding it! You have to help him!"

Tempest was worried about that idea. She had helped Xigbar hunt him and Twilight down, and if he was tough with his Formchanging abilities, he didn't want him to focus on her when the Storm King should be stopped. She could only hope Sora would trust her for now and put an end to the Storm King's reign over the world once and for all. Sighing, Tempest took the hilt in her mouth, waiting for her time to strike. She watched Sora get close enough to the Storm King and slashed away, his Keyblade striking the barrier, but managed to stagger the king from each impact made. Tempest made her move, dashing toward the Storm King as he caught Sora in a telekinetic aura and slammed him down to the ground.

"I'll turn you into a charred icicle, you annoying little flea!" the Storm King yelled.

Just as he was about to freeze Sora with a powerful ice spell, Tempest yelled as she swung Harmony. The Storm King staggered as his barrier protected him, stumbling toward Sora as the pegasus flipped back to his hooves, then rammed his shoulder into the horned and cloven-hooved primate's chest, knocking him in the air and let him fall on his stomach with a grunt as he backed away. When Sora realized who it was that saved him, he was a bit startled to see Tempest and not Twilight.

"What are you doing?" Sora questioned.

"Helping right a horrible wrong I caused," Tempest said. While the Storm King recovered from the fall, Tempest gave Sora a nervous glance, disturbing the stallion after only seeing her show only one expression: stone-cold seriousness. "I understand if you don't trust me, but I know you can't stop him on your own. Not with the magic he has."

"You're his commander; you WORK for him," Sora reminded the mare.

"...Not anymore," Tempest growled. "I promised him to gain all the magic he needed to conquer the world, but my intentions weren't as sadistic as his. In exchange for my services and the promised magic, he would give me back my horn I had lost to an ursa minor when I was a filly." Sora blanched, looking at Tempest in shock. He looked at her broken horn, and the scar over her eye, unable to imagine how terrifying and dangerous a situation was like for her. He did stop an ursa minor before with Twilight, but if he was in her shoes, he probably wouldn't have survived an attack. She was lucky to have only lost her horn, but that loss was a huge part of who she was as a unicorn. "All he did was use me to get what he desired, giving me false hope to make me feel whole again...He even tried to kill me with that staff. But...Twilight saved me from getting caught in this storm."

Sora looked over at Twilight. She looked away from him, but he knew that if Twilight decided to spare Tempest and save her, she must have learned of her past and wanted to help her. As much as he wanted to make up with Twilight, the Storm King and ending his powerful storm came first. He looked at Tempest again, then back to the Storm King.

"You might not be able to borrow the magic in Twilight's Keyblade, but can you use a sword?" Sora asked.

Gaining his trust, Tempest smirked and faced the Storm King as well, both ponies crouching down, ready to strike back. "No, but I'm a fast learner," she said. "But that barrier's tough. How can we get through that?"

"It's gotta give with enough damage," Sora said. "And I think I know which one to use to bring on the pain."

Exchanging his Kingdom Key with the Keyblade of Honesty, Sora unleashed its power, transforming it from a sword to a massive hammer. Tempest flinched at the sight of the large and quite possibly heavy hammer. If she thought turning a Keyblade into a pair of bubble guns and a bazooka was shocking, a giant hammer of that size carried by someone like him was even more startling.

The Storm King turned around with a sneer, but just as he was about to exclaim his dislike for getting surprise attacked, he was shocked to see Sora with a giant hammer in his mouth and Tempest fighting alongside him. "Tempest? What do you think you're doing?"

"Did you forget that you just fired me and tried to get rid of me!?" Tempest said. "Don't try to backpedal from what you just did after you broke our deal! I gave you what you wanted, and you lied to me and used me to get this power! I'm helping take it away from you, and when we do, you're going to die by your own power!"

The Storm King groaned like a whiny brat being told off by their parent, and purposefully ignoring them. "Blah, blah, blah. All I'm hearing is nonsense. Do I need to remind you what I have that you don't!?" The Storm King pointed at his staff, then let out another irritated huff. "I'm invincible! I can control the elements! You have no magic with that worthless horn of yours, and neither you or that skeleton of a pegasus can't even touch me!"

Sora looked at Tempest in disbelief. "Wow. He really doesn't listen to anyone but himself, does he?" Sora asked, then looked back at the Storm King. "Maybe a good hard bonk on the head will teach him he's in for a world of hurt."

"I couldn't agree more," Tempest said.

The two ponies dashed off simultaneously, splitting up as the Storm King went back to casting random spells at them as they got closer. Tempest reached the Storm King first, distracting him as she got in close, giving his barrier a few good slashes with Twilight's Keyblade. She leapt back as Sora lunged at the king's backside, swinging hard and sent him flying toward Tempest. She turned around and bucked the Storm King right back at Sora, who quickly slammed the hammer down on the Storm King. The Storm King let out a wheeze as he hit the floor, only getting the wind knocked out of him, but there were telltale signs from the barrier that it was starting to crack. Sora was about to make another hard slam, but the Storm King fired several streams of lightning bolts at the stallion, forcing him to jump out of the way.

The lightning struck the clouds, causing another volley of raining lightning bolts to strike the earth. "Tempest, meet up with me!" Sora quickly said. The mare quickly ran toward him, dodging lightning bolts until she regrouped with him. "Reflega!" the wielder shouted, casting a reflective shield over them.

As lightning bolts struck them, the barrier absorbed the lightning, creating a powerful shockwave of energy that felt just as powerful as Sora's hammer swings. The beam reached the Storm King as he stood up, sending him flying across the balcony. Tempest stared in awe at the magic spell, a bit of jealousy washing over her after witnessing the different spells someone like Sora could pull off.

"Ahh! What was that!?" the Storm King exclaimed. Getting back to his feet, getting frustrated, he swirled the Staff of Sacanas around, creating a powerful wind spell, Sora and Tempest's hooves sliding back as they were getting pushed by the slowly growing force. "I don't know where you got that dumb hammer from, but I'm gonna blow you two into my storm!"

Sora and Tempest grunted, struggling to push forward. Tempest felt her hooves getting swept off, but she didn't fly off the balcony again as Sora quickly grasped her hoof, using his hammer as an anchor with its heavy weight. She was surprised by just how strong he was, glad to not be on the receiving end of his full power. He looked back at her, seeing what he had in mind as she nodded to him. Casting Aeroga, his magic countered the Storm King's gale force, Sora's magic creating a small tornado barrier, sweeping him off his feet as he and Tempest began to spin rapidly around the hilt of Honesty's hammer form. After gaining enough speed, Sora timed his throw, tossing Tempest toward the Storm King, barely slowing down from the Storm King's magic.

Tempest tackled the Strom King hard, cracking the barrier more as she sent him slamming to the ground, then leapt up in the air away from her former employer. Making her horn spark, she sent the electric surges into Harmony, electrifying the Keyblade, then dove back down to thrust the blade onto the Storm King. Just as the Keyblade was about to pierce through the barrier and shock him, the Storm King flicked his staff, freezing the unicorn in time by a few inches. Intrigued by this new spell, the Storm King laughed as he stood back up, completely forgetting about Sora as he aimed his staff at Tempest, charging it up with a powerful lightning spell.

When the spell wore off, Tempest struck the ground, confused, then looked up in shock at the sparking crystal aimed at her. Unable to get away in time, the Storm King unleashed his spell, shocking Tempest as she cried out in pain before she was sent hurtling inside the throne room. She tumbled along the floor, dropping Twilight's Keyblade as she came to a stop. Her body twitched in paralysis, unable to stand back up as she grunted in pain.

"Tempest!" Twilight cried out.

"So! Much! POWER!!!!!" the Storm King laughed as he raised his arms in triumph.

Sora growled, planting his hooves on the ground, but kept spinning as he wound his hammer up for a hard throw. "Hey, Storm King!" he shouted. "Don't keep your eyes off ALL your opponents!"

He threw his hammer just as he got the Storm King's attention, smacking the Storm King right in the face. He staggered backward, the barrier cracking even more as Sora's hammer bounced off in the sky and shifted to its gauntlets form. The Storm King shook the ringing out of his ears, his blurry vision beginning to clear as Sora ran at him. Sora leapt into a flip, Honesty's gauntlet form connecting to his hind legs, then his forelegs, then continued flipping as he fell back down. With a yell, Sora slammed his forehooves down on the Storm King's head, smacking him face first onto the balcony, leaving him in a daze.

Sora dragged the Storm King off the floor, forced him back on his feet, then went all out with swift, powerful jabs and wide kicks, breaking through the barrier until the fractures threatened to shatter at any moment. The Storm King tried to fight back with his staff, but any time he aimed and fired a spell, Sora smacked it aside and evaded the elemental energy expelled from the crystal with each cast. The Storm King roared in fury, swinging the staff to try to hit the stallion instead of using magic. Sora leapt over the low swipe, flipping over the Storm King, then bucked him hard in the back. As soon as he landed, he quickly turned and was about to shatter the barrier, but the Storm King cast another Stop spell, freezing Sora in place.

"I'm getting sick and tired of bouncing around like a ping pong ball in a rubber maze!" the Storm King shouted. In his mad frenzy, he unleashed every kind of spell he could think of while swinging his staff like a toddler throwing a tantrum: fireballs, ice shards, lots of lightning bolts, and sharp air blades. After he was done stomping around, the Storm King panted, confused when there wasn't a scratch on the stallion, even when the fireballs blew up in his face. "...Ok, he's frozen in time! How is he still-!?" Sora was finally able to move, but the aftereffects of each spell suddenly struck him within seconds, flinching and yelling out in pain before he was flung back with the combined magic power inflicted on him. Sora crashed into the railing, smacking his head hard and left in a daze. "...Ah. It caught up with him...Weirdly, that makes sense."

Sora grunted, rubbing his head as he sat up. He was suddenly slammed back down to the ground with the staff's telekinetic power, the Storm King slowly approaching him with a cocky smirk.

"Y-You...won't win," Sora uttered, collapsing on his back while the Storm King aimed the staff at his chest.

"Don't try to press your luck," the Storm King said. "I have all this power, and not even you and your...weird...weapon changing stuff can't save you now. And maybe if I kill you, I can take that dumb-looking sword of yours and use its power, making me even more unstoppable than I already am!"

"Not...for sale," Sora grunted. His ears perked up when he thought he heard a dull boom from outside the storm. Glancing out to the city, he looked back at the Storm King as he began charging more electricity in the staff to end the stallion. "I do know one thing I can give you."

"And just what would that be exactly?" the Storm King questioned.

They soon heard several screams, one of them cheering, starting out faint until it could be heard within the storm. The Storm King looked up, startled to see Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike hurtling down toward the balcony. Completely distracted, Sora took his chance, vault-kicking the Storm King hard in the gut, sending him straight toward his friends' flight path. They rammed into him, shattering the barrier, and sent him crashing into the throne room as he lost his grip on the Staff of Sacanas, which embedded itself into the stained glass window above the balcony entrance.

"A one way ticket to Snoozeville," Sora finally answered.

As he got up with a wince, dismissing his Formchange, he limped inside, Twilight already running after the others as they all tumbled across the floor, the Storm King knocked out cold from the impact. "Bulls-eye!" Pinkie slurred dizzily.

Jiminy stumbled off Spike's ear, his legs wobbling as he staggered forward. "I've been on wilder rides before, but getting shot out of a cannon was far more than my poor heart can take."

Twilight ran up to the mares and baby dragon as they stood up, some still shaken up from Pinkie's cannon blasting them a breakneck speeds. "Guys, I can't believe you came back to save me!" Twilight said. As grateful as she was for their rescue, she still felt terrible for what she said to them and Sora. Speaking of him, she looked back at the pegasus stallion, looking just as bad as he did when she knocked him unconscious earlier. Twilight's ears drooped as he gave her a stern gaze. "...Sora...I-I'm sorry. I...I didn't mean-"

"Twilight, I don't want to hear it," Sora interrupted. Twilight winced, looking away from him as he lost all of his trust. Just as she was about to cry, she didn't see him approach her, and catch her by surprise in a tight hug. "I'm sorry, too...I don't know what came over us, but I'm just glad you're alright." Snapping out of her shocked daze, Twilight hugged Sora back, relieved to know their friendship wasn't forever gone. They pulled away, Sora's expression softened despite holding back the grimace of pain he was in. "We both got worried about finding help, but we had different ideas of coping with what we did to keep us focused."

"It's all my fault, not yours," Twilight uttered. "You were more focused than I was...All I did was doubt everything you all did, and I took it too far when I..." Her voice caught in her throat, regretting spouting all the negative things she said about Sora and his credibility as a Keyblade wielder, a hero, and a friend. Even when she looked back at the pain she inflicted on him with Harmony "granting" her his strength, she felt more unworthy as a wielder for lashing out at him when she was far from being innocent after the stunt she pulled in the seaponies'/hippogriffs' kingdom. "...You're much more stronger than I am...I needed you...I needed everypony. I just keep making mistakes when I think on my own..."

"You had your own points to make after the 'choices' we made in seeking help to get to the hippogriffs," Sora said. "But...no journey ever does go perfectly. Fights between friends were bound to happen over disagreements, and ours was the worst I've had with anyone. Even with Riku." Sora chuckled a little, though Twilight still felt awful for battering Sora and insulting his expertise over both his choices in his expansive list of friends/allies and skills as a wielder. "I'm just relieved Xigbar didn't take you away after they watched us-"

"Uhh, guys!? Maybe we can pick the apologizing up later!?" Rainbow interrupted. "We got bigger problems right now!"

She pointed to the staff sticking out through the window, which began sparking uncontrollably with magical energy. It unleashed a bolt of lightning in the room, breaking the ceiling as rubble began falling down around them. Everyone panicked and got out of the way, even Tempest when she was able to feel her limbs function properly again, splitting her from the Mane Six, Spike, and Sora. The storm outside began to get worse as the wind began picking up, slowly shifting into a tornado with lightning streaking dangerously through the sky.

Sora winced, his injuries from before and now catching up to him as he nearly collapsed. "We need to get that staff," he grunted. "Canterlot's gonna be destroyed soon."

Twilight looked back at her friends, then to Sora with a confident gaze. "We'll get the staff, Sora. We've got this," she said. Sora nodded, but he could barely stand. Twilight shook her head and forced him to stay sitting. "You just rest. You've done more than enough for us."

Sora looked at the out of control staff, then back to Twilight with a small grin. "Go for it, Your Highness," he said.

Twilight nodded, and with the rest of their friends, they grouped up to reach the staff. Applejack tied her lasso around a heavy enough rock, then tied it around her barrel as the others lined up and grabbed hold of each other so no one got swept up in the storm. Applejack was the anchor, followed by Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and finally Twilight. When she made sure her friends were ready, Twilight opened her wings, letting the wind catch them, Rainbow and Fluttershy following suit as they took off and reached for the Staff of Sacanas. Lightning still struck from the staff as the ponies and baby dragon avoided its random casting of spells, Applejack slowly inching them closer until her rope couldn't carry them any further.

While Sora watched with bated breath, the rubble behind him shifted. Tempest, who had been trying to find a safe way through the fallen debris, gasped when she saw the Storm King emerge, glaring angrily at the ponies going for his staff.

"Sora, look out!" Tempest warned.

Sora turned too late as the Storm King leapt forward, smacking the stallion hard in the face, sending him crashing into a pillar. "That staff belongs to me!" he yelled out.

Twilight looked back when she heard the Storm King, watching him leaping away from the bolts of lightning and climb up the wall to get to the staff. The alicorn reached out as far as she could, just mere inches away from taking it, panicking when she heard the Storm King get closer. Sora groaned, shaking his head as he got back up. Looking up, he saw the Storm King climbing the walls and tower of debris from the staff's misfires. He wasn't going to let him get that staff again. Fighting through the pain, the Keyblade wielder stood up, bounded across the walls of the throne room, and tackled the Storm King.

"No you don't!" Sora shouted, ramming the Storm King just as he and Twilight were about to reach the staff.

The stallion and primate creature smashed through the window, both them and the Staff of Sacanas getting sucked into the powerful storm with a scream as they were launched higher into the air. "SORA!!!!" Twilight cried out, Pinkie clutching her hind legs for dear life as the kite of ponies and baby dragon lurched when the wind began to catch them too. Twilight could only watch as her friend disappeared in the swirling clouds destroying the castle, a huge chunk of the ceiling getting torn away from above her. "SORAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"

---

Sora flailed about in the cyclone, trying to right himself up while his body was getting pulled about by the powerful winds of the storm that would eventually destroy all of Canterlot and the mountain it sat on. He avoided random bits of debris as he managed to gain control of his unstable flight in the storm, searching around for where the staff was if it got swept away with him and the Storm King. As he looked behind him, he yelped as the torn bit of the castle came after him, quickly planting his hooves on it as it leveled itself into a wobbly, jagged platform.

"Damn it, the storm's going to destroy everything at this rate!" he said to himself. Looking around now that he was on some solid ground, he saw the staff twirling away several hundred yards above the eye of the storm. "There you are!"

Just as Sora was about to leap up the floating debris to get to the staff, the Storm King landed behind the pegasus, letting out a roar as he grabbed the jumping pony's tail. "Get away from my staff!" he said as he slammed Sora back down on the platform. "I'm definitely going to kill you when I get it back!"

The Storm King made a jump for it, but Sora quickly grabbed one of the Storm King's legs, getting dragged along. "No you're not!" Sora yelled out. The Storm King looked down, kicking his leg as he latched onto a large piece of debris to get the stallion to let go. He managed to fling Sora off into the dangerous winds outside the eye, but Sora quickly landed on another floating piece of the castle, then bounded up as high as he could. He got in the Storm King's path, landing on the next piece he jumped to, trying to shove the primate back. "This storm's going to kill all of us!"

"It's MY storm!" the Storm King shouted, then grabbed Sora's neck and slammed his head onto the debris they stood on. "I control it, and you will not get in my way!"

The Storm King flung Sora back down to the platform beneath them and continued climbing. Sora winced, summoning his Keyblade, then flung it hard at the Storm King before he landed hard on his back. His aim was off, missing the Storm King by mere inches. As Sora tried to stand, the Storm King already jumped off the highest piece of floating debris and got his staff back, hearing him cackling in triumph as he fell back down.

"Damn it," Sora grumbled.

The Storm King slammed his staff down onto the platform as he landed, electrifying the ground and shocking Sora. The pegasus yelled in pain, then got blasted with a bolt fired from the Storm King, sending him sprawling across the floating platform, nearly rolling over the edge.

The Storm King chuckled darkly, his protective barrier back to perfect condition, then kissed the Staff of Sacanas. "I love this thing," he said to himself. Looking back at Sora, his grin dropped when he saw the stallion slowly get back up, calling back his Keyblade to use as a crutch. "Oh, come on already. Why is it that the dumb heroes have to keep fighting when they're beaten?"

Sora ignored his comment, panting heavily as his body was wracked with pain. "I'm...not going to...let you win," he said.

The Storm King rolled his eyes, pointing at the staff while waving it around just in case Sora couldn't clearly see it from how far apart they were. "Hello!? Staff of magic power in my hand! I'm obviously going to win! Or did I knock your head so hard that you completely forgot about what it can do!?"

"I wish I did," Sora mumbled. "But I'm not going to give up now...And I'm not letting you keep that staff. That magic doesn't belong to you!"

"Well, it IS mine, and no one is taking it away!" the Storm King exclaimed. "This world is mine to rule, and I did it all on my own!"

"You used others to get that staff and the power to use it!" Sora argued. "Is that the only reason why you want to take over the world!? Just to be powerful!?"

The Storm King's glare turned to confusion, then amusement as he shook his head and laughed. "Oh no. No, no, no, no. PLEASE don't tell me you're pulling THIS kind of cliche. Are you...Do you seriously want to know what else is there, about me, that compels me to do what I do?" he questioned rhetorically. Sora actually didn't, barely even caring to know about the Storm King's backstory after seeing and hearing of his other takeovers of other kingdoms, influencing cities like Kludgetown to be corrupted with greed, and even force other civilizations into hiding to avoid having their most powerful magic taken from him. He was willing to indulge, if only to hear more about how arrogant and egotistical the Storm King was so he didn't feel too bad about one-upping the mad tyrant down several pegs. "Well, if you really are that curious, there are no other reasons. I just do it because I want to. No sob story to feel pity, not harsh parents making my childhood a nightmare to turn me into such a monster, not even a terrible upbringing! And you know what the best part is? I don't care what any creature thinks of me, because I know I deserve to be the king of this world, and I have the power to do that!"

"So...you did all this...because you wanted to?" Sora stated. "Then what about your own kingdom? Your own subjects? Those who followed you out of loyalty?"

"Who cares?" the Storm King shrugged. "Disposable; every last one! Sure, they bow to my every whim, but I never let ANYONE get close to me. They're sure to betray me with all the power I have, so I play them like puppets, be all chummy with them, maybe throw a little pizza party, but NEVER will I ever make them my friends. Allies at best, but NEVER friends. Soldiers do my bidding, and when they served their purpose to me, I get rid of them before they try to get rid of me. Having friends is a weakness: they'll drag you down, wear and tear at your nerves until you're beating each other up, and you never know when they'll move past you if you don't live up to their expectations as a 'true buddy'. I may have followers, but everything I do and plan, it's all because of me."

Sora grit his teeth in anger after hearing the Storm King's beliefs on friendship being a weakness. "Well...you're wrong about that," he said, confusing the Storm King as he tilted his head. "Having friends doesn't make you weak. I have lots of friends, and right now, they're all depending on me to take back that staff and put an end to you." Sora lifted his Keyblade, pointing it at the now bored Storm King, flapping his mouth while using his other hand to mimic babbled mouthing, refusing to listen to anything the stallion had to say. "You're a heartless king who only cares about himself, with an inflated ego and a superiority complex that other villains I've ever faced don't have, yet are FAR more threatening than the overgrown royal brat you are. Maybe the reason why you think everyone is out to get you is BECAUSE of how you are, and they don't want anything to do with you...It would be pretty sad if you didn't succeed and died, because no one would mourn for your loss.

"And if you really think making friends is a weakness, you have no idea just how powerful friendship can be." Sora placed a hoof over his heart, continuing his speech even if the Storm King wasn't listening. He was definitely going to learn the hard way, and Sora would relish the expression on the Storm King's face when he see's just how much he's been holding back on him. "I swore I will protect the ones I love, even if it costs me my life! I promised my master and Princess Celestia that I would not let this world fall to darkness and evildoers like you! And no matter what you throw at me, no matter how strong you believe you are, I'm far stronger than you'll ever be!"

"Ugh. Bored now!" the Storm King groaned. "Hey, do me a favor and...oh, I don't know? SHUT UP AND DIE!!!!!!" The Storm King thrust his staff forward, electrical energy charged into the crystal as it unleashed a powerful streak of lightning heading straight for Sora. Sora only scoffed, closing his eyes as he kept his hoof over his heart. The lightning bolts struck, creating an explosion of smoke and trails of electric sparks around where the stallion stood. The Storm King cackled, jumping and dancing victoriously, completely oblivious to the sound of glass shattering when the explosion went off. "I win! I win I win I win! Nothing will stand in my way now!"

"Think again." The Storm King froze in midair, quickly facing the cloud of smoke in shock after hearing Sora's voice. When the smoke cleared, the horned primate's jaw dropped when he saw the pegasus still standing, black and white streaks running down his mane, tail, and wings, and his clothes shimmered brightly in the colors of the rainbow. And standing around him, protecting the stallion with a barrier of light surrounding them, were the ethereal images of the Mane Six in the respective colors of their Elements. Sora opened his eyes as the ethereal mares separated, splitting up into groups of three and stood at the Keyblade wielder's sides. "This is far from over."

Baffled, the Storm King stammered, which began to turn into bewildered and frustrated growls. "How did you survive that!? Just what kind of power is that!?"

"Something you and many other villains in this world just can't seem to grasp," Sora said. "It's the Magic of Friendship!"

"Oh, I think I'm gonna hurl," the Storm King grumbled, retching at response he was given. "Not sure if you heard the memo, but I! Don't! Do! Cute! PONY STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The Storm King tried to blast Sora with more lightning bolts with his staff. The mares quickly faded into colorful orbs, floating to their respective positions around the stallion. Sora raised his hoof and swung it down, summoning three of the Keyblades of Harmony as they smacked away the stream of lightning into the storm. He swung his other hoof down, summoning the remaining three Keyblades. Sora then raised both his hooves above him, the Keyblades of Harmony spinning as they rose up, all six clashing together over his head as he summoned his Ultima Keyblade in a colorful array of sparks. The Keyblades of Harmony floated back to their respective positions as Sora lowered his Ultima Keyblade, pointing it at the astounded Storm King.

"This ends here," Sora said as he slowly approached the Storm King. "Give me the staff."

"S-Seven!? Where did those even come from!?" the Storm King exclaimed. He began backing away, aiming the staff at the pegasus once more. "Bah! It doesn't matter! I'll just blast you to kingdom come and take ALL of them!" He launched another stream of lightning, only for the Keyblades of Harmony to fly forward and smack them aside. Stunned, the Storm King looked at his staff, starting to get desperate as he fired several more bolts and random spells. Each one was constantly smacked away by the Keyblades of Harmony as Sora kept moving closer. "Cut it out! Get blown up! Freeze! Shocked! ANYTHING!"

Sora stopped as another fireball headed toward him, but he yelled and slashed his own Keyblade down, slamming it to the platform. It blew up and spread a cloud of smoke around them. As the Storm King coughed, unable to see, Sora aimed all seven Keyblades at him, their tips glowing brightly before unleashing seven beams of light, connecting together to create a stream of rainbow light. It flew out of the cloud, startling the Storm King as it circled him, dispelling his barrier and temporarily discharging the crystal on the staff. Sora teleported in front of the shocked Storm King, who tried to use magic on the stallion at point blank range to no avail.

"I'm done playing games with you," Sora said. The Storm King growled, then decided to swing the staff at the pegasus to beat him up. Sora quickly grabbed the staff, yanking it out of the Storm King's hand, then headbutted the mad king as he stumbled forward. Sora embedded the staff in the ground, dashed toward the staggered primate, then launched him up in the air with all seven Keyblades swinging upward. Sora chased after the Storm King, hovering alongside him and began to give the tyrant his just desserts. "You toy with the lives of others for your own amusement,-" Grasping Laughter in his free hoof, he swung wildly with both Ultima and Laughter, their swing arcs appearing ethereally behind the Storm King after each strike to send him flying back toward the stallion. "-barely showing or giving any respect to those who willingly give their lives to serve you,-" Switching his blades with Kindness and Loyalty, Sora zipped past the Storm King at mach speeds, slashing away faster than he could blink and rose them higher and higher into the sky. "-LIE to them after making a promise you refuse to keep by hovering their 'rewards' over their heads, only to destroy it in front of their eyes,-" Honesty and Generosity appeared in his hooves next, each swing upward launching the Storm King more with powerful, explosive elemental strikes from Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Aero, Gravity, and Water enchantments to make them both physically and magically painful. Sora warped up to the top of the swirling storm clouds, directly over the eye as he watched the Storm King rising up to meet him. Taking back his Ultima Keyblade and wielding the Keyblade of Magic in his left hoof, staring at the Element of Harmony Keyblade for a brief moment before shifting his gaze back to the dazed, battered Storm King as he began to fall back down into the eye with a scream. "-and all the kingdoms you've overtaken, through fear and manipulation, you left some in poverty, corrupted them with your own selfish influence, and forced many into hiding, all because you wanted all the power they had to yourself!"

Diving down after the Storm King, Sora pointed both Keyblades in his hooves at the falling Storm King, creating a powerful Megaflare sphere directly below them. The Storm King disappeared into the ball of non-elemental energy as Sora hovered above it, launching spells into the Megaflare along with the remaining five Keyblades orbiting the sphere, making it shine and powerfully unstable. The spell imploded in on itself, then exploded in a burst of sparks, ice, lightning, water, and wind, launching the Storm King back up toward the stallion with his body charred, still conscious as he cried out in agony. Gathering all seven Keyblades, Sora dove back down toward the Storm King, ramming him back down to earth as the Keyblades fell after her, surrounded the Storm King, then dashed away and pierced through him as Sora pummeled with his hooves.

They plummeted back down to the platform as Sora finally relented his bashing, calling back his Keyblades, and with a powerful swing, slashed the Storm King down hard. The Storm King crashed onto the platform like a meteor breaching the atmosphere of a planet, leaving an indent with his body landing a couple inches away from the Staff of Sacanas, whose power returned as it glowed, and just out of reach from him. Sora hovered down beside him, watching his hand struggling to take the staff back while trying to pull himself out of the Storm King-sized crater. Just as he was about to touch it, Sora stomped down on the Storm King's hand, making him grimace, then pulled the staff out with his own hoof, but remained stoic, finding it not worth it to stoop to his level and mock him for taking back what he stole.

"N-No," the Storm King grunted, peeling his other arm out of the body-sized crater he made, weakly grasping Sora's hoof to pull it off his stomped hand. "That...belongs...to me..."

"...Why is it that the dumb villains have to keep fighting when they're beaten?" Sora questioned, throwing his own comment back at him. The Keyblades of Harmony aimed at the Storm King, using their magic to pull him out of the crater after Sora finally released his hand, and levitate him toward the closest edge of the platform. Unable to move from their magic hold, the Storm King sneered at Sora as he hovered up to the primate's face. "I'm stronger than you will ever be, and it shows. Do you know why?"

"Y-You...got...lucky," the Storm King groaned.

Sora shook his head, then placed his hoof over his heart. "Because I fight for all of my friends. They give me the strength to beat people like you. And when I'm down, they'll be there to pick me back up and give me the strength to keep fighting. For them!" Sora's Ultima Keyblade began to glow, as well as the Keyblades of Harmony, flinging the Storm King off the edge. Sora flew after him, raised his Keyblade, letting the other six fire their beams of colorful light at it to increase its power while making it shine like a rainbow in the eye of the destructive storm around them. "Because my friends are my power!"

With one downward slash, Sora unleashed an airslash of rainbow light, striking the Storm King and sent him plummeting back down to the earth. Sora watched him disappear through the clouds, his screams fading out as he lost sight of the tyrannical monkey with horns and cloven hooves. Glancing down at the Staff of Sacanas, he grabbed it with both hooves, then raised it to the sky, slowly putting an end to the magic storm and clearing the gloomy clouds away.

---

Applejack managed to pull everyone else back down before the uncontrollable storm got worse. They hid deeper in the throne room to avoid the winds from snatching them away, looking anywhere desperately for Sora. Down below, Kaito and Xigbar took their fight into the foyer, not willing to risk getting caught in the ever increasing storm, though Xigbar was at his limit after getting a beatdown from the Storm King. The other wielders, Donald, and Goofy were also there, but were safely far away from the small battlefield between the two Nobodies.

Xigbar's arrows would just get reflected by the skilled Nobody's cutlass, even as he teleported around to disorient him. He was still incredibly power after he escaped from the old Organization, and Kaito far outmatched the sniper both in close quarters and ranged combat. Kaito had enough of the warping stallion, thrusting his hoof and unleashing a barrage of watery tendrils to lunge at the unicorn. One managed to smack his horn, preventing him from using his Equestrian magic to teleport away, then constricted it and sent him slamming to the floor face first. Kaito let out a grunt and slashed up with his blade, sending a geyser up underneath Xigbar, then slammed his hooves down to send his opponent back down to the ground, drenching him in magic sea water. Lifting his hooves again, Kaito swirled them, trapping the sniper's body in a sphere of water, increasing the pressure to force Xigbar's arrowguns out of his hooves, containing him while leaving his head exposed to breathe.

"You're done, Xigbar," Kaito said as he approached the trapped stallion.

Xigbar chuckled, his amusement confusing Kaito. "Should have known you wouldn't slouch around after you got out," he said. "And now you're working for that kid. How low can a Nobody go?"

"I'm working WITH Sora," Kaito corrected. "You and the rest of the Organization were blinded by Xemnas' beliefs, and now with Xehanort, you'll all get what's coming to you."

"Oh, I'm not interested in what random nonsense Master Xehanort says," Xigbar said. "I'll get what I was promised sooner or later. And even if Sora can't be caught now or in the future, Xehanort's always got a contingency plan for his contingency plans." Kaito silently glared at Xigbar, but as Xigbar looked at Kaito, his smirk suddenly turned into a curious frown. "Hold on a second...Why does your face...?" This strange feeling of familiarity was just like when he went to hunt Xion when she left the Organization for the umpteenth time. The only difference was that he didn't see Ventus taking her place; he noticed strange similarities between the Nobody holding him hostage and a certain Keyblade wielder he's taunted and been hunting all day. The way his blue eyes glinted with a determined resolve and distaste for evildoers, his facial features, his fur and species as a pony, even his battle stance and fighting style, albeit unique with the ocean-formed cutlass in the stallion's hoof. "...Why...do you look like...Sora?"

Kaito's lips twitched into a frown as his eyes widened slightly. "...What are you talking about?" Kaito questioned.

"Maybe a better question is...why do you care THAT much about protecting him?" Xigbar asked.

"...Because I know he's strong enough to tear your new Organization down," Kaito answered, but from his nervous expression and gritted teeth, Xigbar grinned as he began to put the pieces together. Thankfully, Kaito was distracted when he saw the storm outside begin to clear up, dragging Xigbar outside with him while keeping his body contained in the aquatic sphere. They both looked up, watched the swirling clouds slow down as the opened funnel that was the eye began to shine rays of light from the sun down inside. "Looks like he stopped the Storm King. Looks like your plan to kidnap Sora ended in failure, Xigbar."

Back in the throne room, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Spike, and Jiminy stepped closer to the balcony entrance, watching the storm die down. They searched desperately for any sign of Sora, but there was nothing but the sky slowly clearing up.

"...No," Twilight uttered. "...Sora..."

Twilight's ears drooped as tears flowed down her cheeks. She sobbed and lowered her head, the other mares crying along with her as they feared they lost Sora to the storm after he finally put an end to the Storm King. Behind the rubble, Tempest couldn't believe that Sora was gone. He was a tough warrior, and even with his injuries, he fought the Storm King for the staff, but even she knew his body had its limits after witnessing the battle between him and Twilight. She was about to lower her head and silently pay her respects to the fallen stallion, but up in the sky, she thought she saw a light blinking the colors of the rainbow gently fall through the gaping hole in the clouds.

"What is that?" she uttered.

Jiminy looked up and saw the same light, jumping onto Twilight's head, gently tugging her ear to get her attention. "Everyone, look," he said as he pointed to the sky.

The mares and Spike looked up, spotting the rainbow light with a gasp as they watched it float down to the earth. Through the sunlight, a silhouette gently fell closer for them all to see, along with six colorful Keyblades orbiting around it and one bright white and blue one held in one hoof. To their surprise and relief, Sora was battered and wounded, but he was alive, and held the Staff of Sacanas in his left hoof.

"Sora!" they all cheered.

Sora landed on the balcony, dismissing his Harmony Form, using the staff as a crutch as he looked at the mares with a weak grin. "Forecast calls for sunny skies...with a zero percent chance of deadly thunder storms," he said.

"He's alive!" Pinkie cheered, bouncing over the others and nearly bowled Sora over, squeezing him in a tight hug that made him wince in agony.

"Ow! Pinkie! Still in pain!" he whined.

The others joined Pinkie and gathered around Sora in a group hug. "Ya dumb colt! Don't ever scare us like that again!" Applejack scolded.

"Well, you girls crushing me while my whole body aches feels like a fair punishment to me," Sora chuckled. He felt Twilight hug him even tighter, feeling her tears matting his neck. Jiminy hopped onto the stallion's muzzle, seeing he was just as relieved as the others. "I sure do like cutting it close recently, don't I?"

"We're just glad that you're still in one piece," Jiminy sighed. "Broken and falling apart, but still in one piece."

Sora laughed, accepting the bone-crushing group hug from the Mane Six, even with Spike joining in as he wedged his way between them all. Tempest was in awe after witnessing his Harmony Form, along with the ability to wield seven Keyblades at once with some of them the same weapons he used before. She was glad to see he was alright, but seeing them together and happy made her feel lonely. Tempest had given up something like that, and she didn't deserve redemption after causing all this trouble. Sighing, she began to turn around to make her leave, to go off on her lonesome to repent for the atrocities she committed as the Storm King's commander.

From her peripheral vision, she looked back at the balcony when she saw something trying to climb onto the railing. Tempest gasped when she saw the Storm King pulling himself up with one hand, one of his horns broken while his body was covered in wounds, bruises, and scorch marks. He glared at the ponies, too distracted by their group hug to notice him, nor the petrifying orb he had in his other hand. Leaping down from the rubble, she ran toward the balcony, refusing to let the Storm King turn these ponies, these heroes, to stone. The mares heard her hoofsteps, quickly breaking away from Sora as they blocked her from getting to either him or Twilight. Tempest leapt over them right as the Storm King threw the enchanted bomb, startling the others as they watched her NOT attack them.

"NOOOO!!!!" Tempest shouted, making one last leap toward the railing as she took the orb to her chest, saving the Mane Six, Sora, Spike, and Jiminy, and spread the petrification dust onto the surprised Storm King.

The Storm King reared back with a yell, both him and Tempest beginning to turn to stone and fall to the ground below. Hearing the Storm King, Kaito and Xigbar looked up, the former's concentration breaking enough for the latter to light up his horn and teleport away. Kaito quickly rolled out of the way while Xigbar reappeared several yards away, both stallions quickly covering their faces when the Storm King's petrified body crashed and broke apart into many pieces on the ground between them. They saw the remains of the Storm King lying between them, Kaito's stomach dropping at the gruesome end while Xigbar stared blankly at what was left of the Storm King's head.

"...Jeeze," Kaito uttered. "I'm so glad we didn't have a stray attack go for the others..."

Xigbar let out a grunt, then stomped down on the petrified head, crushing it to pieces. "His Heartless and Nobody would have been useless anyway," he uttered. Summoning a portal of darkness behind him, he looked back at Kaito, who quickly summoned his cutlass. Xigbar smirked and backed away as the pegasus chased after him. "We'll meet again soon."

"Come back here, you coward!" Kaito yelled, but he was too late. The portal faded away, along with Xigbar. "Damn...At least he didn't take Sora...But I didn't like that look on his face when he questioned me about Sora..."

Back on the balcony, Tempest, now fully petrified mid jump, didn't suffer the same fate as the Storm King. Sora quickly used the magic in the staff to catch her in its telekinetic aura, then carefully set her back down on the balcony. The others were shocked after seeing Tempest make a sacrifice like that, but Sora and Twilight understood why she saved them.

"Did she...save us?" Fluttershy asked.

"...Yes. Yes, she did," Sora said. "I guess...I didn't get rid of the Storm King well enough if he survived that fall."

"But she worked for him," Rarity said. "Why would she do that?"

"The Storm King used her to get this staff," Twilight said. "He promised to get her horn back, but it was all a lie."

"Wow. What a jerk," Spike uttered. "...He's...not 'alive' anymore...is he?"

Sora gently pushed himself through his friends, limping over to the rail. He looked down, finding Kaito alone as the Nobody looked up, and he assumed the pieces of rubble around him were the remains of the petrified Storm King. Grimacing at the gruesome death, Sora shook his head in pity, even though the Storm King deserved it for his heartless ways.

"Nope. He's gone," Sora said. "And so's Xigbar...He must have fled." Glancing back at Tempest, he looked at the staff he still carried, then pointed it at Tempest. Using its magic, he released a stream of mana, letting it surround Tempest to reverse the petrification enchantment from the orb. To his relief, it worked as the hornless mare returned to normal, letting out a gasp after being freed. Confused, she looked around, surprised to still be alive as she stared at the Mane Six, then to Sora. She looked away in shame, despite being grateful for them giving her a second chance, however brief it would be. "Tempest...You didn't have to take a hit for us, but thanks."

Shocked, Tempest stared at Sora in befuddlement, the stallion giving her a smile with barely any animosity in his tone or expression. "I-I...You're...welcome...?" she stammered. "But...how can you forgive me so quickly? What I did to you? To them?"

"One thing to know about Sora, Tempest," Twilight said as she approached the baffled unicorn mare. "He's really quick to forgive anypony once he gets to know them and why they did the awful things they did." She looked at Sora, who let out a sheepish giggle. "He never lets go of his true friends. Even when he fights with them in both verbal or physical arguments."

Tempest was astounded by Twilight's answer, and by Sora's bashful expression, he didn't deny it. "Many may say the heart is weak, but even if it is, it's also my biggest strength," Sora added. "It can give in when worse comes to worst, but deep inside, there's a light that can never be snuffed out." He held his hoof out to Tempest, still reeling in what incredible wisdom that came out of this young stallion's mouth. "I think helping me against the Storm King and saving us from turning to stone gives me enough faith for me to call you my friend, Tempest." Tempest stared at Sora's hoof for a moment, still in shock to be even called a friend by Twilight, and now by Sora. She shifted her eyes back up to him, and with a faint smile, she reached her hoof to Sora's, and grasped it, both ponies giving a light shake before letting go. Sora looked at the castle, seeing all the collateral damage that was done from the storm and the Storm King abusing the Staff of Sacanas' power. "Wow...What to do about all this?"

"...We fix everything," Tempest said.

"It's gonna take months to repair the castle," Sora said. "Even the city if any debris was flung toward the buildings."

"The Staff of Sacanas will undo everything if we give the magic it stole back to the princesses," Tempest explained.

Trusting Tempest, Sora nodded and gave her the staff. Everyone followed the unicorn back inside the throne room as Tempest brushed away the debris covering the indent in the middle of the floral design on the floor, then set the staff inside it. The magic flowed out from the staff, returning it to its rightful owners as bright and colorful lights shimmered around them. And just as Tempest promised, the magic began to automatically restore the castle as the debris floated back to where they once belonged, all while being mended like nothing was ever done to the palace. Twilight even felt her magic return, and her Keyblade appeared in her hoof after getting lost in the rubble.

Down in the foyer, Kaito wondered what was happening as the balcony began to shine brightly, followed by the rest of the castle as it repaired itself by some magical force. He ran inside and watched the colorful aura wash over the petrified princesses, Keyblade wielders, duck mage, and dog guard captain. They were all able to move again, letting out gasps as they looked around, swearing they were elsewhere when they were turned to stone.

"W-What happened?" Luna asked.

Lea looked at himself, feeling his face to make sure he was still squishy. "Uhh...We're still alive? Or are we dead?" he asked. "I hope it's the former."

"Hey! Good to see you back to normal!" Kaito called out.

"Kaito's here?" Aqua uttered. "How did you free us?"

"It wasn't me, but I think Sora and the gang must have figured it out in the throne room!" Kaito said.

The freed ponies, diamond dog, and griffon quickly made their way up to the throne room to meet up with the others. After reaching the throne room, the Mane Six, Sora, and Spike heard them enter, the magic's return working as it had really freed them all from the stone imprisonment.

"Twilight!" Celestia said, relieved to see her former student was ok as she, Luna, and Cadence approached her.

They hugged the Princess of Friendship, Twilight hugging them back now that everything was returning to normal. "You're all ok," Twilight mumbled.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy cried out, running past the princesses and tackled the stallion to the ground, hugging the injured wielder tightly in relief as the trio laughed joyously.

"D-Donald! Goofy!" Sora hugged his two friends back, gritting through the pain as they were reunited like they've been apart for centuries.

After Twilight was finished hugging the other princesses, she saw Riku and ran to him. "Riku!"

She nearly bowled him over, wrapping her forelegs around his neck and kissed him deeply, overjoyed to have him back. Riku didn't hold back as he returned the kiss, holding her tightly as the couple nuzzled each other.

"I'm so glad you're alright, Twilight," Riku uttered.

"Me too," Twilight said, kissing him again. "I missed you so much...I thought I would never bring you back."

Aqua, Terra, Ventus, and Lea were glad this ordeal was all over, though the left out one thing that bothered them. "What happened to Xigbar?" Terra asked Kaito.

"He got away," the Nobody said. "His bright idea to take Sora away failed thanks to the Storm King."

"And the Storm King?" Ventus asked.

"Ehh...he's a broken lawn ornament sitting outside the castle," Kaito said with a grimace.

The four wielders blanched, Lea quickly looked down at himself and felt to make sure he wasn't missing anything important on him. "I'm still in one piece, right?" he asked.

"From what I can see, unfortunately, you are," Aqua muttered.

Kairi walked over to Sora as he was getting comically hugged by Donald and Goofy. It was just like what happened when Sora and Riku managed to return after defeating Xemnas when they got split up, which only made her envious that SHE wasn't the one to jump him first again. Sora sat up, wincing in pain, but when he looked at Kairi, seeing her face made the pain feel nonexistent.

"Kairi..." He stood up, his legs wobbling as he limped to her.

He stumbled and fell, but Kairi caught him, helping him up while he wrapped his hooves around her. "You shouldn't be moving. You're hurt," she said. "But I knew you could-"

Before Kairi could praise him for his heroics, Sora quickly lifted his head, grabbed the back of hers, then smashed their lips together in a heated kiss. Kairi squeaked in surprise, completely caught off guard. He pulled away, leaving her in a daze as tears streamed down the stallion's cheeks, his face scrunching between joy and anger.

"Don't you ever do that again," Sora scolded. He kissed her again, then pressed his forehead against hers. "That's my job. I'm supposed to be protecting you, and sacrifice myself to keep you safe..." Kairi gave him a sheepish grin as she saw the worry in his eyes. Sora kissed her again, this time more softly and passionate, which Kairi was able to return this time. "If you're worried about me, I'll worry about you ten times as much."

Kairi let out a small giggle and shook her head before giving Sora a small peck on the nose. "I guess that sounds a bit fair," she said, then yelped when Sora flicked her horn. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For permanently grounding me after pushing me off the bridge," Sora said.

"Permanent? I thought that spell was supposed to last for a couple hours," Kairi uttered. Sora shook his head, pointing to his wings, still unable to get them open. "...Oh. I guess getting turned to stone must stopped it before I specified how long. Oops." She giggled again with an embarrassed blush, then lit her horn and dispelled her seal. Sora finally stretched out his wings, grunting in discomfort from his injuries and how cramped his limbs were. "Better?"

"No. But...I'm just happy to have you all back." Kairi laughed and nuzzled Sora.

Behind him, she noticed Tempest watching them all from the other side of the room. The others did, too, Riku getting in front of Twilight and summoned his Keyblade.

"Why's she still here?" he questioned.

Aqua, Terra, Ventus, and Lea were about to summon their Keyblades as well, but Twilight lowered her coltfriend's hoof. "No, she's not with the Storm King," she said, shocking the white pegasus stallion. "Not anymore."

"Umm...What?" Riku asked.

"It's...quite a long story," Sora said.

As the group was told of the heroes' long journey across the continent, the magic continued to spread out and repair the city and other locations the Storm King's army attacked. Outside of the castle, sitting on one of the posts near the entrance gates was Derpy, the only one of the petrified ponies who were used as a lawn ornament. She was freed, letting out a gasp as she looked at the castle, then the city.

"Oh my goodness...I did it!" she cheered. "I saved the world! Wait til I tell Dinky Do!" The ditsy pegasus flew off into the city, unaware of the defeated Storm Guards scattered around Canterlot. "Dinky!? Muffin!? Your mommy's a big hero!"

---

After Canterlot was completely restored and everyone was updated on the adventure Sora and the Mane Six embarked on, the Festival of Friendship was back on track as evening set in. Despite Tempest's former employment as the Storm King's commander, she was still willing to accept any punishment for assisting the now deceased tyrant for overtaking Equestria and several other kingdoms. Considering what the Storm King tried to do to her, along with her explaining her reasons for working with him and the false promise he gave her after losing her horn and her friends as a filly because of her lost appendage. Sora and Twilight vouched for her when she fought back, and to Tempest's surprise, the others gave her the benefit of the doubt and spared her from serving a life sentence in the dungeon. They figured a life alone, left with no stable magic, and almost killed by the madmonkey she served seemed enough of a life-changing experience.

But when it came to Sora and Twilight's fight, everyone was shocked. It was true that it was an exhausting, stressful journey they were on, and push was going to come to shove, but they really shouldn't have made their argument escalate so far. And Twilight defeating Sora was much more of a surprise. She even showed everyone the addition to her chain on her Keyblade, giving her the same strength and skills Sora has in a Harmony Link. But now that Xigbar knows, she was now just as strong as Sora, maybe even more, and even if Xigbar told her she wasn't going to take Sora's spot for the New Organization, there was still a chance that Xehanort might change his interest. Aqua thought about punishing the two for fighting with each other, but with Sora's injuries and the Storm King almost killing the two of them, she let them off as well, but fight like that again, and they won't get off so easy.

Thanks to the alicorn magic returning, everything for the festival was restored as well. Everyone gathered toward the stage as the main event of the night was about to begin. Up on the DJ booth on the upper rafters of the stage with Vinyl Scratch ready to start, Spike, with a pair of sunglasses on, picked up a mic to announce the star of the show.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, get ready for a little-" The spotlights shined down on the singer, her wings covering her face while crouched down, taking her cue as she stood up and slowly spread her wings to greet her fans with her special entrance. "-Songbird Serenade!"

The crowd cheered in excitement, even the main heroes who saved Equestria as they stood out in the middle of the crowd. Even though Sora should be resting, he wasn't going to miss out on the festival after all the hard work everyone, including himself, put into making this happen.

"And now, to celebrate the fact that we're all still here in one piece, give it up for Princess Twilight, Sora, and their friends!" Songbird Serenade announced.

The ponies all congratulated and cheered for the Mane Six, Sora, Capper, Calaeno and her crew, and Princess Skystar. "Well, almost everyone came out in one piece," Riku teased, giving his friend a light punch on the shoulder.

"You talking about me or the Storm King?" Sora asked.

"Alright, Riku, give Sora a break," Terra chided. "Goad him into a fight, and he'll end up in the hospital."

"Terra's right," Aqua agreed. "After this crazy adventure, I think we all deserve to just relax and have some fun."

"Until the next villain comes," Lea mumbled. "Next thing you know, we're going to turn into frogs and be caught in a glass cage by a weird creature who eats frogs as a delicacy." Everyone gave Lea an odd look, finding his description vague and unbelievable, along with the "evil" scheme said creature will do. "...What? It could happen."

"In what world?" Ventus questioned.

Lea only shrugged, which made everyone laugh as he failed to come up with an answer. The lights began to dim around the area as the performance was about to begin. Spotlights lit up Songbird Serenade as music started to play, the singer turned away from the audience before she slowly turned to face them.

[Songbird Serenade]
I know you, you're a special one
Some see crazy where I see love
You fall so low but shoot so high
Big dreamers shoot for open sky

The low and somber tune soon became more upbeat, backup dancers behind the mare spread out on the stage to join Songbird Serenade in the performance, the mares and stallions dancing with matching hairstyles to the singer's, the mares' bows on their tails while the stallions' were around their neck. The crowd went wild as colorful lights flashed to make the performance more exciting.

So much life in those open eyes
So much depth, you look for the light
But when your wounds open, you will cry
You'll cry out now and you'll question why

In the middle of the performance, in the crowd, the friends the gang met along their way to the hippogriffs enjoyed their time with their new friends. Celaeno and her crew got along well with Rainbow, Sora, and even Kaito. The Swashbucklers that aided them even took part in the festivities, though it was a strange sight to see these Nobodies having fun enjoying themselves with the parrot sky pirates. Rarity gave Capper a bit more of an added touch to his red coat, working on a cloak and top hat as the festival was getting set back up again. He looked a lot more sophisticated, and the added accessories fit him perfectly. Since he wasn't going to be returning to Kludgetown, he'd be better off living in Canterlot with his new clothes, fitting in perfectly with the noble elite with his suave personality.

While Pinkie and Skystar were laughing and enjoying the fun, Queen Novo arrived with several of her subjects, all of them hippogriffs as they flew in on the party. Skystar spotted her mother and ran up to meet her.

"Skystar, there you are!" Novo said, quickly pulling her into a hug. "I was so worried! You completely disobeyed me!"

"Sorry, mom," Skystar apologized. "But I had to help. At least there's good news: the Storm King's gone!"

"...Yes. I couldn't tell by all the ponies having the time of their lives," Novo uttered dully. "Little missy, you are going to be grounded for running off like that."

Skystar grimaced, even though she knew she was going to get punished. "Well, well, well. Queen Novo." Celestia approached the hippogriff queen with Luna and Cadence by her side. "It's been quite a long while."

"Princess Celestia," Novo greeted. "Has the Storm King truly been defeated?"

"Smashed to pieces," Celestia said. "Fell and broke apart when those petrifying orbs backfired on him."

Novo grimaced at the thought, but shook the thought away. "Well, as relieved as we are to hear the good news, we need to have a little talk with one of your subjects," she said. "They came to our underwater kingdom in search for our help, and just as I was going to consider helping, one of them tried to take our enchanted pearl."

"Ah...Twilight told us about what she did," Celestia said. "She regrets trying to take it, but if you understood what was happening outside of the safety of your second kingdom, you would be just as desperate to save your loved ones if the help you sought refused to help. Even I was going to fly to Mount Aris myself to find you and ask for your help, or my sister if I was caught, but instead, you forced yourself and your subjects to hide rather than join forces to fight back."

"...W-Well, I WAS going to change my mind thanks to Sora and the other ponies before Twilight tried to steal the pearl," Novo argued, but the judgmental expressions on the three alicorn princesses' faces made the queen's glare soften. "...I hid like a coward. After learning of what the Storm King did to the other kingdoms outside ours, I worried about my people and forced us to live underwater to avoid losing our kingdom and magic." She looked at her daughter, letting out a sigh in shame. "I only focused on myself and refused to trust anyone else...My own daughter has more of an open mind than I do, and I should have stopped sitting on my underwater throne and did something to help after all the trouble your subjects went through to find us..."

"At least the threat is finally over," Cadence reassured the apologetic hippogriff queen.

"Yes. Even if your daughter did not do as much as Sora or Twilight, her aide did help the others breach the castle to defeat the Storm King," Luna added.

"And since you're finally out of that bubble of safety-" Celestia approached Novo as she giggled at her pun, giving the queen a friendly nuzzle. "-every creature should celebrate this momentous occasion. Even the hippogriffs."

Novo smiled, accepting Celestia's invitation, then looked back at Skystar. "You're still grounded, though, Skystar," she said, making the hippogriff princess grimace and wilt slightly. Novo chuckled and pulled Skystar close to her with her wing. "For a week. While we're 'visiting' Canterlot. I think I still need to stretch my wings after swimming for so long."

Skystar gasped in delight and hugged her mom tightly, her punishment reduced to a reward, and a chance for the mother and daughter to rekindle their broken relationship after living underwater in one place for so long.

I can see a rainbow
In your tears as they fall on down
I can see your soul grow
Through the pain as they hit the ground
I can see a rainbow
In your tears as the sun comes out
As the sun comes out

As Songbird sang the chorus of her song, a platform in the stage rose up, along with a wooden perch she stood on that came up with said platform. She then flew up and soared over her audience, ponies trying to reach up and touch the pop singer's hooves. She hovered over to where Twilight stood with her friends, giving the princess a nod before resuming her flight over her adoring fans. As Twilight watched Songbird fly off, she noticed Tempest far beyond the crowd, remaining by herself and no joining in the party. Seeing she still felt guilty, Twilight made her way through the other ponies to see if she could help raise the unicorn's spirits.

Tempest looked out at the twilit sky, her ear twitching as she heard Twilight approach her. "Well, that's one thing that never changes around here; the party," she muttered.

"Well, I hope that you'll stay," Twilight said. "More friends are definitely merrier."

Tempest's eyes widened, but she winced. "But, um...my horn," she said, looking up at the jagged base of her broken horn.

"You know, your horn is pretty powerful, just like the pony it belongs to," Twilight said.

"And you've got some pretty good skills with a sword." Tempest's ears perked up, she and Twilight turning around to see Sora limp over to them. "Don't let the guilt from your past mistakes get in the way of the present. Hakuna matata."

"...Hakuna...what?" Tempest questioned with a quirked brow.

"It means no worries," Sora explained with a wide grin.

"In other words, ignore him," Twilight paraphrased.

"Hey!" Sora complained.

Twilight laughed at his response, which made Tempest smile a little. She looked at the crowd enjoying Songbird Serenade's performance, though the two ponies' friends dispersed from the other ponies to watch them, then to Twilight.

"Twilight, I did tell you I wanted to show everypony in Equestria what I could do, right?" Tempest asked.

"Huh? Show everyone what?" Sora asked curiously.

Tempest looked out to the view from the mountainside, lowered her head, and let her horn spark. They all wondered what she was doing when she launched a stream of lightning up into the sky. After reaching its highest peak, the bolt of lightning suddenly turned into a magical firework, releasing colorful sparks in a massive orb of energy. The magic swiftly zipped across the sky and created many more colorful fireworks, adding more flair to the festival and the performance from Songbird Serenade.

I can see a rainbow
In your tears as they fall on down
I can see your soul grow
Through the pain as they hit the ground

Sora's jaw dropped at the light show Tempest created, and with a broken horn that made her magic unstable. "...Wow! Where was THAT when you and Xigbar took me on!?" he exclaimed. "Unable to do magic all that well, my Keyblade!"

Tempest grinned as she glanced at Sora and Twilight, taking it as a compliment than a complaint. "Nice tough, Tempest!" Pinkie said.

Tempest looked a bit sheepish as she, Twilight, and Sora walked back to the others. "Actually...Tempest isn't my real name," she admitted.

"It's not?" Jiminy asked as he perched himself on Goofy's shoulder.

"Then, uhh, what IS your real name?" Goofy asked curiously.

"Yeah! What is it!?" Pinkie begged as she bounded up to the mare.

Tempest's eyes shifted around nervously, but she leaned closer so none of the other ponies in the crowd far from them could hear. "...It's Fizzlepop Berrytwist," she said quietly.

While Pinkie let out a loud gasp in awe, all the Keyblade wielders, Donald, and Goofy let out exasperated noises, staring at the broken horned mare in disbelief. "Y-You're name's...HUH!?" Ventus exclaimed.

"Ok, that is the most awesome name EVER!!!!" Pinkie squealed.

Riku's eye twitched, letting out a heavy sigh as he slumped his shoulders. "I got turned to stone...by a pony who's named 'Fizzlepop Berrytwist'," he mumbled. Riku facehooved and let out an embarrassed groan. "...Please keep the name 'Tempest'. I feel so humiliated knowing your real name now."

Sora snorted, stifling his giggles as he pointed to his friend. "Should I not mention that, out of all of us, YOU'RE the only one who was turned to stone by-" He let out another hilarious snort. "-'Fizzlepop Berrytwist'?"

A vein in Riku's head bulged as he glared daggers at Sora. "Oh, cracking jokes are you? That must mean you're feeling a lot better!"

Sora burst out laughing, pushing the last of Riku's buttons as he dove at Sora. Sora yelled in pain as he hit the ground, even as he still laughed at Riku's misfortune. Donald, Goofy, Ventus, and Terra rushed over to them and pulled Riku away before he tried to hurt Sora more than he already was.

"Well, Tempest- er, Fizzlepop DID throw the orb at Twilight, but he deflected it to knock back at her, only for Xigbar to shoot it and turn him to stone," Aqua corrected.

"So, in other words, she DID turn him to stone," Lea paraphrased. "Heheh! Wow. Riku really did get his butt whooped by Fizzlepop Berrytwist!"

Riku turned his attention to Lea, then looked at the ponies, griffon, and diamond dog holding him back. "Uhh, Lea, I think you'd better run," Twilight advised.

"Why?" Lea asked. He got his answer when he watched Terra, Ventus, Donald, and Goofy let go of the enraged pegasus stallion, gulping nervously as HE was Riku's next target. "Why can't I shut my mouth?"

Lea screamed and ran away as Riku flew after the red unicorn. "Uhh, is he going to be ok?" Tempest asked with concern for the red-haired stallion.

"He'll live," Aqua brushed off. "Let's just continue enjoying the show."

"Ok then," Tempest said.

I can see a rainbow
In your tears as they fall on down
I can see your soul grow
Through the pain as they hit the ground
I can see a rainbow
In your tears as the sun comes out
As the sun comes out

I am here and I see your pain
Through the storms, through the clouds, the rain
I'm telling you you can not escape
You can do it, just feel, baby

I can see a rainbow
In your tears as they fall on down
I can see your soul grow
Through the pain as they hit the ground
I can see a rainbow
In your tears as they fall on down
I can see your soul grow
Through the pain as they hit the ground
I can see a rainbow
In your tears as the sun comes out
As the sun comes out

Here comes the sun smiling down
Here comes the sun smiling down
Here comes the sun smiling down
Smiling down

I can see a rainbow
In your tears as they fall on down
I can see your soul grow
Through the pain as they hit the ground
I can see a rainbow
In your tears as the sun comes out
As the sun comes out

For the rest of the evening, Tempest joined her new friends in the Festival of Friendship. Her inhibitions quickly faded as she partook in the other performances after Songbird's was done, ate some of the delicious sweets made for the party, feeling a lot more welcome than she ever did after her menacing presence since her arrival. The fun lasted all through the night, almost like the Storm King and his army's invasion never even happened, even though there were still several Storm Guards that were around. Thankfully, they were harmless now that they had no king to follow, much less menacing without the Storm King ordering them to do his bidding. Peace had returned to Equestria and the many kingdoms terrorized by the Storm King, but there were still far more threats out there and beyond the world. For now, everyone's going to enjoy the moment and rest before needing to face the next villain who would try to disrupt that peace, whether it be another mad, world-conquering tyrant, the Heartless, or Xehanort and his New Organization XIII.

---

In the abandoned world the Organization made as their hidden base, Xigbar walked out of an appearing portal of darkness inside the castle. He let out an exhausted sigh, his body sore as he was dying to rest. Instead of going to his room, he wandered through the halls, only to bump into a certain someone.

"And just where have you been?" Saïx gave Xigbar a skeptical sneer, noticing how tired the sniper looked.

"I went out for a walk. It gets a bit dull sitting around waiting for orders, you know?" Xigbar said.

"Then why do you look so injured?" Saïx questioned. "I doubt a simple walk would leave you to trip over so much to get so hurt." Xigbar shrugged, being vague with his response while giving the stoic, blue-haired man a cocky smirk. "Don't tell me you tried to do what the others had by capturing Sora on your own."

"...So what if I did?" Xigbar asked. "I gave it my shot, but I knew it wasn't going to work."

"Because Sora or his companions managed to overpower you," Saïx guessed.

"Actually, it was an 'ally' who refused to heed my warnings about Sora," Xigbar corrected. "I also ran into an old coworker of ours. You remember the Nobody Xemnas found: reeked like the ocean, shaggy brown hair, used a cutlass?"

"Yes. Marluxia mentioned him months ago," Saïx grumbled. "What about that traitor?"

"Oh, I think I have a little theory about who he is; who he used to be," Xigbar said. Saïx raised a brow curiously, wondering what it was the sniper knew about Kaito that he didn't. Xigbar walked past Saïx, patting his shoulder as he continued on his way. "Still need some more clues, but I think my hunch is gonna be spot on."

"Just because Master Xehanort made you his second in command, that does not mean you have the right to go off without informing him of your plans," Saïx scolded.

Xigbar just waved the blue-haired Nobody off, letting out a small chuckle. "Don't worry. I'll let the old man know. Just gonna pop over somewhere, then tell Xehanort, and hit the sack. I'm pretty bushed." Saïx just scoffed, then continued with his own errands. Xigbar walked down several more halls before he reached the room he was searching for. Making his way inside, he found Vexen going through a few of his notes, along with someone else in a black coat. They stood in front of a table, working on a secret experiment aside from the vessels to form the rest of the New Organization. "How's it going on the new project?"

"Improper timing for you to barge in, Xigbar," Vexen grumbled, barely looking away from his studies to address the sniper. "The Equestrian research I managed to dig up before Sora caught us is incredibly astounding. Along with our bodies turning to the equines of that world, our magical potential increases to grant us much more power. It certainly showed with the others who dared to capture Sora for Master Xehanort."

The other hooded person clenched his fists, only to let them relax as he sighed heavily. "First these vessels for all of you, and now you're making us build more in these forms," the hooded man said with disdain.

"You've got no say on this," Xigbar said. "If we can't get Sora at all, then we'll need a different backup plan for our thirteenth member.

"But...are you certain you want to enlist...THIS!?" Vexen questioned. He held up a picture of a certain unicorn stallion, dark in appearance with a menacing aura billowing around him in the illustration of a book from the Crystal Empire. "Xigbar, this monstrosity had been imprisoned in darkness for over a thousand years in Equestria! Can you imagine the kind of power something like that in a world brimming with magic is capable of!? Sora could barely fend off the beast, and it could rival that of Master Xehanort's power!"

"And you think you or the musical mullet would be a better replacement?" Xigbar questioned. "As if. You two are going to stay benched IF we gather the last of our numbers. So quit your whining and keep working on that new vessel. We'll find a piece of him, bring him back, and make sure he behaves like a good boy." Vexen grumbled, the huffed in frustration as he wandered away to look through more of his research. Xigbar looked at the other person, standing beside him while the hooded man stared at the vessel before him. "Hey, why the long face? That research of yours is going to be of good use to us. And you're expanding it to something even more great. That should inspire that intellect of yours after you tried to stop us by destroying our own Kingdom Hearts...Ansem the Wise."

The man winced, slowly reaching his hands to pull down his hood and reveal his face. Long, slicked back blonde hair, short mustache, a goatee, and bright orange eyes: it was Ansem the Wise, the scientist who dedicated his life to studying the heart and the Heartless from Radiant Garden. He had a look of guilt and regret on his face as he looked down at the table, which was a vessel in the shape of a unicorn pony from Equestria.

"...I feel no enjoyment creating these puppets to increase your numbers," Ansem uttered. "And to bring back something like that unicorn..."

"You'll get over it," Xigbar said, patting the scientist's back. "Just keep working on it. And make sure it's perfect."

Xigbar exited the room, leaving Vexen and Ansem to themselves. Ansem sighed again, grabbing a seat and sat beside the work table and vessel with his head in his hands, both tired and remorseful. Vexen subtly glanced at his mentor for a brief moment before turning back to his notes.

"...If only I knew who I brought in to take under my wing for my research," Ansem mumbled to himself. He glanced at the pony vessel, his studies that were meant to be used for the greater good were being used to bring back those working for the real Xehanort to summon and control Kingdom Hearts. "I tried so hard to stop this madness...and now I'm forced to build these puppets for him...I'm so sorry, everyone..."

Comments

[JesusG0987]

Okay. That was an awesome chapter battle there! And man did you add in some extras inside. Looks like that staff works on Kairi after all. And man did Sora fight. And now what is the new Organization planning next? But for now, that was great. And now on to season 8!

[zachary12]

nice work

[HarryBuilder]

Xigbar finding out kaito is sora dad?

Sombra possible return?

Ansem the wise a slave to the organization?

Yeesh looks like things are getting serious.

[XLR8 Fox]

Holy crap! this was a awesome chapter! Loved the battle with Sora and the Storm King! I also loved the interactions of some of them

now that things have been sorted out, I can't wait to see what you have in store for Season 8! I know Ventus will be meeting Ocellus again! and I can't wait for the rest of the Student 6, or is it Young 6? to meet the Keyblade wielders, I have a feeling Some of the Student/Young 6 will take a liking to each Keyblade wielder, like Ventus and Ocellus

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Damn, that was friggin awesome!

[Kreotre]

Awesome movie chapter 😎

[shining paladin]

amazing chapter i cant wait for kairi and sora wedding and season 8 keep it up my friend

[Garuda IV]

Heading into Season 8, I can only imagine how interesting things are gonna be with the addition of the School of Friendship, and the Young 6. Not to mention all the potential comments/jokes about Riku being "hot for teacher".

On a different note, I know it's 5 days late, but Happy 4 Year Anniversary.

[MagicLover2128]

This was one amazing chapter; easily one of the top 5 chapters in this story so far.

The hints towards future events is even better plus I cannot wait for season 8 to be used for this story.

[MLPFanForever]

Awesome job, man! You made the climax a hundred times better than the actual movie! Keep up the great work!

[Sky Lemonade]

Great chapter, wrapped up the events of the movie nicely as well as introducing a few elements for the future. Looks like next we start season 8 unless we take a break for Equestria Girls Spring Break episode, the gang could use a “break” after the events of the storm king and that movie does tie in with the events of the movie.

[TheFVguy]

Well, that was something...

---

And so, after everything I said, I figured this formula would have continued and I'm not surprised it didn't go the way I predict. I will admit, my last analysis was overdramatic and it can come off as very irrational so I apologize for that. I still stand that the previous chapter's ending was horribly executed, but I should have presented in a more meaningful way. To all of that, I'm sorry.
Anyway, onto the final closure of the movie arc.

---

"...Wow...I thought Sora made that decision...You're dumber than him!" He began to laugh at the princess, slightly irritated, though it was replaced with sadness when the stallion called her dumber than Sora. "Even after we searched the ship and came up with nothing but that map, those birds would have tried to fight us off to keep their beaks sealed and reveal where you were."

Ok, this is something I sort of precited would have happened, where the rest of the story would treat and berate Twilight on her behavior, only further admitting how "Right Sora was." I hope that's not gonna be a running theme anymore.
It wasn't as huge as a "You Suck Speech" moment, but it was still bothersome, she gets it, what she did was wrong and she needs to be taught a lesson. Here's genuine criticism: the readers, such as I, don't need to be reminded constantly that what the characters did wrong, we can understand fully what the character's actions have done, and while it is interesting to see the insight and reaction of what the other characters feel, it doesn't have to be constant.

---

"It's not going to work!" Xigbar reiterated. The Storm King continued to glare at Xigbar, tapping his hoof impatiently against the floor. Seeing there was no point in trying to explain anything to this egotistical nutcase of a king, the assassin grumbled irritably, levitating Kairi with his magic, and set her down beside Twilight. "There. She's part of the group. Don't come crying to me when it doesn't work."

"Spare me your whining," the Storm King muttered. Xigbar heard him, grumbling himself as he tried to keep his composure, focusing on getting Sora when he made his return. "Now, there's a new problem I'm facing."

"Is it my patience not to kill you hanging by a thread?" Xigbar uttered.

"You know, there's a reason why I don't trust whoever works for me, and the double-crossing is the exact reason why," the Storm King explained, gently tapping the staff in his free hand. "So, I double-cross them first if they decide to get a bit too chummy with me. That's where I succeeded as the Storm King back then, and I will today with that very same philosophy."

I LOVE how you wrote the Strom King, he is honestly one of the best, if not the best element of this arc. He's a villain who's both funny and menacing, and you captured him perfectly. I loved his interactions with Xigbar and the moments where he's evil because he wants to be evil. Really simple, but really put together. For some, that may come off one-dimensional, but no, you actually gave him reasons behind his methods and way of thinking, you gave him a twisted ideology and for him to represent a force of distrust and seeing the weakness behind friendship. You gave him so much more character, it's great!
But then, we reach his final battle:

With one downward slash, Sora unleashed an airslash of rainbow light, striking the Storm King and sent him plummeting back down to the earth. Sora watched him disappear through the clouds, his screams fading out as he lost sight of the tyrannical monkey with horns and cloven hooves. Glancing down at the Staff of Sacanas, he grabbed it with both hooves, then raised it to the sky, slowly putting an end to the magic storm and clearing the gloomy clouds away.

This fight was incredibly shallow.
The fight is very well put together, like Sora quoting Strom King's taunts back to him was fun and clever, and while overall it was fun, the context feels out of place. We see that the Strom King doesn't believe in Friendship, because he believes anybody he gets close will betray him and take his power for his own, so he only cares about achieving his goals, even if it means by himself. Doesn't that sound familiar? That exactly what TWILIGHT went through! It would have been so much more amazing if it was Twilight and Storm King being the final fight, finally giving another character's, outside of Sora, moment to shine and feel closure. Twilight almost became the exact person the Storm King did, but she realized the cause of her actions and sees the true power behind friendship, and with that, she finally takes down the Storm King, representing that inner fear and distrust, and that she used to believe during this journey!
It would have been amazing character closure, but no, you got Sora. Why?
Sora didn't learn anything in this journey, sure, he got to say sorry to Twilight and probably think before saying things, but... How does that connect to the story?
Sora doesn't deserve this victory, Twilight does. As I said in earlier comments if Twilight's and Sora's roles might have been reversed than this story could have been possibly stronger and one of the best arcs you've written for this fic! But no, we didn't get it, instead, we got an undeserved and shallow victory for our super-duper, Sora. Heck, even Capper fighting Strom King has more meaning than Sora fighting him.
I really hope this changes, no characters are getting closure thanks to this, this is the same incident with Shadow Play. Starlight's moment to redeem herself and prove what she has learned? Nah, give it to Sora, again.
Come on man, this is a real problem with the story, let other characters to have closure or develop. I know Sora is the main protagonist, but out of everyone, he was the least developed in this arc, leading to such an undeserving victory.

---

the Nobody holding him hostage and a certain Keyblade wielder he's taunted and been hunting all day. The way his blue eyes glinted with a determined resolve and distaste for evildoers, his facial features, his fur and species as a pony, even his battle stance and fighting style, albeit unique with the ocean-formed cutlass in the stallion's hoof. "...Why...do you look like...Sora?"

Interestingly, I have no theories in my head right now, but, if he's another Sora.
I don't know, man, lol, but I'm very interested in this new plotline.

---

"He's really quick to forgive anypony once he gets to know them and why they did the awful things they did."

.......
.....
...
..
.

"S-Says...the prankster...who manipulates and tricks everyone,"

“It's bad enough that Xehanort and the rest of his seeds of darkness know where I am! I've already got one monster trying to get me, and Discord's only making it worse when he's nothing but a manipulative, immature, compulsively lying, traitorous freak of nature!"

"I'm not as happy as everyone else is about you, Thorax," Sora said.

Why the fuck you lying
Why you always lying
Hmmm, Oh my god
Stop fucking lying

---

"Oh my goodness...I did it!" she cheered. "I saved the world! Wait till I tell Dinky Do!" The ditsy pegasus flew off into the city, unaware of the defeated Storm Guards scattered around Canterlot. "Dinky!? Muffin!? Your mommy's a big hero!"

Yeah, this is the best moment of this entire arc, not gonna lie. lol

---

"Xigbar, this monstrosity had been imprisoned in darkness for over a thousand years in Equestria! Can you imagine the kind of power something like that in a world brimming with magic is capable of!? Sora could barely fend off the beast, and it could rival that of Master Xehanort's power!"

"...If only I knew who I brought in to take under my wing for my research," Ansem mumbled to himself. He glanced at the pony vessel, his studies that were meant to be used for the greater good were being used to bring back those working for the real Xehanort to summon and control Kingdom Hearts. "I tried so hard to stop this madness...and now I'm forced to build these puppets for him...I'm so sorry, everyone..."

Ok, for a second I thought this hinted at Grogar and I got so freaking hyped for a moment until I realized it's Sombra. Still cool though!
So instead of Xion, the organization is going to use Ansem The Wise to make a puppet for Sombra?! That is fascinating and I cannot wait for the character drama this can bring.
For the longest time, I was hoping that some sort of MLP character would join the Organization, at first, after finishing reading the Crustal Empire arc, I was expecting Sombra to return as a nobody with no memory of his past. Maybe the same will happen here? Although, that would cause some trouble considering that the real Sombra is currently a dream eater. I know that eventually, Sombra will become this puppet, and this "puppet body" will soon become a true body for his heart and so he can live a normal life.
Also, my boy, ANSEM THE WISE IS BACK! I don't remember if he showed up in previous chapters, but either way, it's great to finally see him in this story, and I'm interested to see what you will do with him.

---

And that's it, I have nothing more to say. Overall, this chapter, was good, but the entire arc, was ok. Just ok.
It could have been great, there was so much potential for this to be amazing even, but there was this great lack of focus which made this arc really weak, and suffered the same problem that Shadow Play had. I don't know what to expect after this.
Season 8 is next, and I don't know if the next chapter might be Forgotten Friendship or a completely new chapter, we'll wait and see.
I'll make another comment which is my hopes and prediction for Season 8, for now, good luck man, I hope the next is great.
I'll take back what I said, and have more optimism with the next arc.
Shine on. ✴

[everydaygamer]

10234161
Definitely agree on Sora taking over the story, the movie was supposed to be focused on Twilight and while I don't mind her sharing the spotlight with Sora it definitely irked me how he completely took over the story by the end. This really would have been a good time to have her shine as a key bearer.

And yeah I did find it weird how they say Sora easily makes friends with others after they make it clear they are willing to change, yeah he's that way in the games but in this story, he really tends to be a dick and hold people's past mistakes over their heads (along with the other key bearers).

Still despite the flaws, I did love this arc and can't wait to see how Season 8 is handled.

[iAml3g3nd]

I liked that you addressed the matter of the Organization's reserves and decided to make them focus on someone else besides Sora.

[everydaygamer]

10234420
Yeah I hope that's the end of it, it makes no sense for them to obsess over Sora so much especially after it was made clear in the games that they gave up on making him a vessel after they failed the first time.

[TheFVguy]

Hopes for Season 8

• School Daze: Out of everything on this list, this might have so much potential. Now, in the chapter "To Change of Changeling," we see hints that Ventus senses a strange aura around Ocellus upon meeting her. With this in mind, will the school also function to find potential future keyblade wielders? That would be so fascinating, like holy shit, there so much potential in that story, especially for Ventus, Terra and Aqua. Those are characters who grew up in a world dedicated to training keyblade wielders, imagine them being very invested continuing their's master's legacy. It would be very wholesome to see.
  But what I'm most excited to see is the villain of this episode, Chancellor Neighsay is a very small villain compared to other ones. But he's a way of thinking is very down to earth, compared to the "world-dominating" villains we've seen throughout. Also, the character drama he can bring. Imagine a scene where Ocellus and Sora started to bond, it would be cute and maybe Sora sense that aura in ocellus as well, but than Neighsay points out Sora's previous hatred towards the changelings. How did he figure out? Word must have spread from that outburst he shouted in the Crystal Empire. I think this will FINALLY have Sora develop and realize that HIS ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. We also haven't seen Sora's thoughts on changelings, last we see him was him being surprised by the changeling's forms changeling, but aside from that, he has never seen how he truly feels about them now. I like to think he has forgiven them and doesn't hate them anymore, there was a time where he despised them, but not anymore. When this bit of his past emerges, he realizes that this way of thinking has come back to haunt him and that he possibly butchered the relationship we had with Ocellus, or heck, maybe it's just Ventus and Ocellus, and even then, those consequences and still come up, and Ocellus probably no longers wants to be friends with someone who used to and probably still hates her kind. So much potential for Sora's character growth and show he isn't the perfect hero he thought he was, and not everyone views him as so.
• The Maud Couple: Nothing much to say here other than I really think this episode could be very interesting if maybe Cheese Sandwich appears in this episode. I mean, wouldn't it be interesting to show how the Pie sisters react to Pinkie's boyfriend, he had not seen them what they think of it, it would also be funnier to see Limestone's reaction that two of her sisters are already dating.
• The Parent Trap: Yeah, no real words, just that this could be the final moment where they finally get together, it's been two season my dude. lol Jokes aside, this could be a very fun chapter and maybe explore more of Starlight and Sunburst's relationships as kids. Also, could this be the chapter where it's going to be revealed of Sunset's family? Are you going with the headcanon of Sunset being Sunburst's sister? Not sure, but
• Starlight Glimmer's moment: He have not seen her moment to shine, as it was taken away by Sora in Shadow Play, so I hope maybe in this season we finally see her character finally gain proper closure? Cause, there's really nothing that shows how much she has learned. She has berated by Ventus on her foolish behavior at the end of season 6 and didn't get to redeem Chrysalis. We know what happens in season 7. If this trend continues, then we will see Starlight be kidnapped by Cozy Glow in the end. I don't know if you have something against Starlight as a character, but you wrote as really pathetic, and that's kind of a shame. So hopefully we'll see it here, if not, hopefully in season 9, but we'll get to that when we do.
• Non-complete Clause: Ok, so, this episode is mostly seen as mediocre from what I hear, so I'm curious if you will reference or you might change this. In the finale and other media, it's implied that Rainbow and Applejack got together, could this episode that hints that? It's your choice, although it was a pretty solid coincidence that Pinkie Pie ended up with Cheese Sandwich in the official finale, so points to you for predicting that. Whether you want to follow the official canon or not, it's up to you.
• The Break Up Break Down: This would be a fun episode, also maybe something essential for Discord's character. At the start of the episode, Discord has this belief that love isn't real, and in this story, he's in love with Fluttershy. Maybe this could be a moment where he doubting anything can happen between the two simply because of the way he looks and what he is. Heck, this is could also help boost his relationship with Spike, and other people involved who knows his crush. This could be some good potential for Discord and trying to understand love, considering his feelings for Flutters. and eventually fix everything in the end, helping Big Mac be back with Suger Belle. It would be a very redeeming moment for him and shows how much he's really grown and that maybe love can happen. I don't think the relationship between Discord and Flutters should get a boost and this chapter, but slowly in time, we see the progress. I'll be honest, I can see characters like Sora and Riku being against it, lol, that would be a great chapter.
• Marks for Effort: Our introduction to the one and only Cozy Glow, what I really wish is for Sora to be involved in this ep, cause Sora could be Cozy Glow's ultimate victim. One thing is for sure is that Sora seems to have a weakness to things that are cute, and doesn't view any filly as threatening, or potentially threatening. I hope this chapter doesn't have Sora suspect Cozy Glow, that would be so disappointing and make the reveal so much less interesting.
• The Mean Six: Can't say much about what happens here, but I hope we get to see evil versions of the KH characters, which would be a lot of fun. I hope we don't get something like the KH characters realizing it was Chrysilis the whole time and capture. Maybe it could be them realizing it her, but she got away. Also, one thing to note is maybe the slight hint that Mean Twilight, as a piece of wood, is still held by Chrysalis, signifying the possible return of TWilight's darkness, AKA Midnight Sparkle. Having her in the Legion of Doom, which I will get to after the season is over, would be a blast to see.
• A Matter of Principals: I really do hope you change this episode, or pull a "What about Discord?" and don't include it in this canon. We probably know why this episode sucks, but there could be some potential here. What if Discord does send them in a fake friendship mission, and wishes to work together with Starlight. Discord wouldn't be purposefully destroying the school and causing chaos, he would instead actually try to teach kids and be teacher, maybe about how great chaos can be or redeeming villains, but he just isn't good at it. So Discord becomes frustrated and doesn't talk to Starlight about it, and causes chaos out of frustration, maybe the students making fun of him. Only causing Starlight to insist him to leave. It is then until the end where we realize that Discord just wanted to spend time with Starlight to learn why do the ponies seem to quickly forgive Starlight and enjoy her company, while he feels everyone else, minus Fluttershy, while everyone else loathes him. Here, the both of them can learn a lesson. Starlight realizes that she was wrong in quickly judging Discord and Discord learns to be more honest on how he feels, while also finding out that Starlight wasn't quickly forgiven and that she also suffered so much (because of Aqua *cough* *cough*). The two could get a boost in their friendship, and the students could apologize to him. In the end, we see the gang being mad at Discord for sending them at a fake mission, with everyone being a mess, except Fluttershy, who has a crown of flowers around her, realizing the mission was originally meant for her. It would be really in character and you could write something great with this episode.
• A Visit to Radiant Garden: One thing KH3 lacked was a visit to Radiant Garden, seeing the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee again. I think it would be amazing to see them again, and have the crew interact for a while, not to mention it's a chance for the MLP characters to interact with the other FF characters, also possibly hints that they may come in the final battle? But that's for another time. I think this would be a great chapter to have a breath of fresh air, to have the characters relax for a bit, no real conflicts, like the visit to Disney Town, just the characters talking, training, and overall interacting with one another. I think it could be great, seeing the FF7 crew once more.
• Road to Friendship: Ok, so I think this chapter could have some potential, maybe have Ventus come along with them. We could also learn more about Trixie's character, maybe the reason why that wagon means so much to her. Maybe it was a gift she and her mom built? We see her mom in the comics, but we don't much about them. We do know that Jackpot is Trixie's dad, and there are hints that he abandoned them and ran away. There's potential in this chapter, not a whole lot, but it's great insight in Trixie's character, as well as her relationship with Starlight, which also, possibly makes Starlight appreciate her father more.
• Going to the Olympus: I think this idea would be a lot of fun, I mean, you already did the plot of Twilight Town from KH3 into this story, so maybe something can come out of this. I would love to see the Mane Six interact with the Hercules World and also be interested in how different the cultures of many worlds are, this could also maybe inspire Twilight into maybe, one day, hoping she can spread Friendship to the wider universe. Fuck the world order, friendship baby! Jokes aside, there's a lot of potential for more KH related stories.
• The Return of the Sirens: I'm gonna keep asking this, I think they should return, not as villains, but as ponies simply trying to live their lives, heck, they have probably shown good behavior in prison and were released, and now trying to live simple lives. I mean, in this continuity, they're ponies now, so really, they probably just want to live regular lives with music. I wouldn't say to make them "redeemed," just simply trying to move on. I think the closure of that surprisingly beloved trio for the fandom to simply be locked in a dungeon forever is kind of sad and depressing. I think this would be a good closure for them, heck, maybe have Riku, Kairi, and Twilight be suspicious of them, Riku needs some development in forgiveness and not holding grudges, so this could be a great opportunity for that. Maybe they screwed something up and ruined something of the Sirens, maybe it was a special concert. I don't know if you're going with the headcanon of them being sisters, but either way, I feel like they would still be together even after that. I just want to see them get proper closure, and be a good lesson of just moving on. The Sirens probably still hate Sora and the gang, but they prefer to move on than to get revenge.
• School Raze: And here's one of the big ones, the big finale to this arc. One thing I hope that doesn't happen to GOD, is Sora finding out or saying something like "I knew it, I was right all along about Cozy Glow!" Or heck, having the final battle being Cozy Glow and whatever villain shes teams up with to be defeated by Sora.... again. This is something that we have seen so many times now, and I hope that it finally ends here. Have the Young SIx, or other KH characters take the spotlight. Heck, the young six are still teenagers and kind of immature sometimes, why not have Lea join them, alongside maybe Donald and Goofy! Have the main Mane six and KH gang trapped in Tartarus, while those seemingly minor and weaker characters save the day, it would be so much more interesting and a great way to end things! Also, I think the idea of Cozy GLow being such an evil villain will be such a shock to Sora, heck, he might even be in denial and think Tirek put a spell on her or something. Please don't make him have suspicious goggles, it would just add to the "Marty Sue" vibe. If you want to do something like that, maybe have a different character being skeptical, maybe someone like Ventus would make a little more sense. Also, will her fate be changed? Being sent to Tartarus might be too much in the eyes of Sora, so I don't know. Though, I just hope we might get more insight into Cozy's character. I don't know if you will follow a headcanon of some sort, or maybe just keep it a mystery? I'm honestly curious about what you will do with Cozy GLow, I wouldn't be surprised if she knows about the other worlds from Tirek. Screw it, what if her plan is to take all the magic from Equestria into a whole other world, and then potentially do the same to other worlds she wishes to conquer. It's childishly diabolical, it would fit her character so much.

And so, those are my hopes for season 8. This is your story, in the end, so do whatever you want with these episodes. I just hope they turn out greater than I would think. These are just possible ideas, in the end, you create the story you feel right. Good luck my dude.

[RainbowAnime]

I just realize something, Celestia, Luna and the six pillars didn't meet yet the Organization, right?

[branix]

Please tell me the wedding is next!

[Paulli]

Get your stinkin' paws off of Equestria, you damn dirty ape!

[JesusG0987]

10235989
That line reminds me of the Powerpuff Girls Movie. That was great

[Paulli]

10236564
Planet of the Apes. The line originated there.

[HarryBuilder]

10238669
It's called a hustle Sweetheart.

[Animation Crusader]

Great ending to the movie adaptation!

I liked how we got scenes of the CMC. I think the movie would've benefited from a side plot going on back in Canterlot while Twilight and the gang were on their adventure. So bravo on including them.

The big battle was amazing. Although, I agree with TheFVguy that the movie was Twilght's story for character growth and she should've been the one to battle the Storm King.

A little disappointed that Silverstream wasn't mentioned or didn't make a cameo during the Seaquestria visit. But she'll be here soon enough with season eight coming up.

I can't wait for season eight. Before season nine aired, I didn't think season eight was that great, but afterwards, I've come to appreciate it more. I look forward to the Young Six and Cozy Glow. I hope Cozy Glow gets some character depth added here because as much as I like her canon counterpart, she does have blank slates that need filling, and some of the less well-received episodes (Non-Compete Clause, Matter of Principals) get overhauled into something better.

Until next time.

[Echo Night]

i really think lea would have deadpaned and motioned to tbe world they where in, just for them to get that it could happen...

[Armyidiot]

10257282
Well what you don't know is that in the first Kingdom Hearts in the original Japanese version, instead of saying what they did in English, Sora says "I love you!" to which Kiara replies "I know!" so there's that. Shipped real hard.

[RainbowAnime]

The begining of season 8 is coming?

[Codex92]

10279899
Ironically, I'm about to start working on it now. I've kinda been busy for a while, or took a small "vacation" while trying to write a chapter for a collab I'm doing with a friend, and it was mostly procrastination and both our busy schedules at our workplaces.

[iAml3g3nd]

10165915

https://m.

The first part is the relevant part.

[Mpatton17]

10280158
Ok I’ll be waiting

[AetherToast]

Gotta love how even the magic staff was like "Ehhh, no. Not gonna unpatrify that mess down there". Think of the horror show that would have been.

[Kiosk79]

"You had your own points to make after the 'choices' we made in seeking help to get to the hippogriffs," Sora said. "But...no journey ever does go perfectly. Fights between friends were bound to happen over disagreements, and ours was the worst I've had with anyone. Even with Riku." Sora chuckled a little, though Twilight still felt awful for battering Sora and insulting his expertise over both his choices in his expansive list of friends/allies and skills as a wielder. "I'm just relieved Xigbar didn't take you away after they watched us-"

"Uhh, guys!? Maybe we can pick the apologizing up later!?" Rainbow interrupted. "We got bigger problems right now!"

This scene was perfect. You could have continued it at the end of the events of the film. Why didn't you do it?