My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria

by Codex92

Frenemies

At the hidden lair of villains in Equestria, Grogar sat in front of his crystal ball, concentrating on locating something within the world. The rectangular-slit iris within the orb began to transition into darkness, which suddenly flashed brightly and revealed an enchanted-looking bell, coated in blue gems and runic etchings on the metal it was made from.

"...Soon," Grogar muttered to himself, staring longingly at the uniquely crafted bell.

"Grogar!" The powerful goat grimaced, his crystal ball shifting back as he looked toward the stairway. Cozy Glow hovered down, looking annoyed, as she always had been since he brought her to his lair. "Tirek's been leaving food out and bringing all sorts of critters in here. Again."

"I'll deal with it once I am finished," Grogar grumbled.

He went back to focusing as Cozy Glow flew off, only to lose it again when he heard a set of heavy hooves stepping down the same steps Cozy hovered from. "Don't listen to a single thing that wannabe brat tells you!" Tirek exclaimed. "Her word is not to be trusted!"

"I don't trust anything EITHER of you say!" Grogar argued, watching Tirek storm off like a little child with a temper tantrum.

Groaning in annoyance, Grogar continued to focus, but he was interrupted once again, this time by a hole-filled chitin hoof slamming down between him and his crystal ball. "Are you planning on attacking anypony anytime soon?" Chrysalis questioned impatiently. "If not, I don't know why I'm wasting my time sitting down here. I AM a queen, you know."

Chrysalis buzzed off after Tirek and Cozy Glow, frustrating Grogar as his concentration was always constantly being interrupted by these three adult children. He even wanted to knock down Chrysalis a peg or ten, questioning her title as queen when she has absolutely nothing to rule over anymore. Dismissing his crystal ball, he stomped after the trio of villains he enlisted in the makeshift living area, Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis making themselves anxiously comfortable as they leered at one another.

"I'm leaving, since it's impossible to accomplish the work I need to do here," Grogar announced bitterly. "I suggest the three of you come to some kind of accord while I'm gone." Immediately, all three of his subordinates began arguing simultaneously. Having enough of their nonsense, Grogar blasted them with magic, aiming at their mouths and binding them with his powerful aura. "I grow tired of your constant bickering! I don't care how you do it, but you must learn to work together! Only then can we accomplish what you all so greatly desire; the defeat of Twilight Sparkle, the Elements of Harmony, AND Sora and his meddlesome Keyblade wielding friends!"

Their muffled grunts were quickly silenced by the fury in Grogar's eyes. The goat turned and took his leave to get some peace and quiet so he could concentrate. As soon as he was gone, the spell around their mouths faded, freeing them from their forced silence. It was clear neither of them were able to work together. They each had their own different reasons for getting back at their enemies, managing to do well enough by themselves up until their own hubris or some mysterious force of Harmony dropped them to the earth like a sack of anvils. They couldn't get along normally with each other as housemates, let alone allies.

The trio separated themselves, left to their own devices, barely doing what Grogar ordered them to do. They were all brought here with the same goals, but working together was a much bigger ask than Grogar thought would be. Cozy Glow used Tirek's idea to drain all the magic in Equestria into the heart of the world, and she could trust Chrysalis as far as her solitary insanity skyrockets. The stunted mare leered at her Keyblade, still sore from her defeat and the humiliation of being spared by Sora after he unleashed the power of darkness within him in a blind rage against her betrayal. That power was right in her grasp, but it keeps getting taken from her, and she despised those who thwarted her.

But the more she loathed Sora, the more she looked back at all his successes as a wielder of the realm of light. He never fought alone, even when he faced his enemies solo. As much as she hated the idea, Grogar did have a point. With their powers, there wouldn't be a chance Sora or either of his companions would beat them. Cozy Glow had to suck it up and deal with Chrysalis and Tirek and figure out how they can work together. She was stronger than either of them, and when she got her revenge, she could stab both of them in the back.

With her plan in motion, Cozy Glow set up the meeting room to emphasize their need to work together to finally beat their enemies and take over Equestria. She even baked some cupcakes to add a little sweetness to their unity, both literal and figurative. While waiting for her sweets to cool down, she flew to where Tirek was hiding away in his room. The centaur was lifting weights, regaining his lost muscles from the magic he stole from Equestria. Even though Grogar gave him some magic to beef him up, he wanted that behemoth-sized physique more than anything.

"You know, you're not gonna get all big like you want to by working out and drinking your milk like a big boy," Cozy mocked. Tirek grunted, ignoring the tiny pegasus as he focused on his reps. "Anyway, since Grogar wants us to work together, I'm setting up a team meeting between the three of us. Plus, as the actual strongest of us, he obviously sees me as his second-in-command and left me in charge while he's away."

"No he didn't," Tirek grunted.

Cozy growled, but she put on her cutest face, getting up in his as he set his weight bar on the rack. "I'm baking some cupcakes, and if you're a good centaur, maybe I'll leave the yummiest ones for-"

"Alright, fine! I'll go to the meeting!" Tirek exclaimed angrily. "Just leave!"

"Goodie! We'll start in a few minutes!" Cozy flittered off, successfully getting Tirek and headed off to Chrysalis's room.

The moment she reached the changeling's room, Cozy could already hear Chrysalis talking to herself. "It's been weeks, and Grogar's done nothing!" Peeking inside, Cozy spotted Chrysalis pacing around, huffing and puffing as she spoke to an oddly purple-colored log sitting on the ground. "It's not healthy to hold onto all this RAGE! I could lash out at any moment."

Entering the room without Chrysalis's permission, Cozy suppressed her malicious grin, knowing how easy Chrysalis would be to take down with her deteriorated mental state. "If you want, I could use a sparring partner. That might unleash your 'rage'." Chrysalis scowled at the pegasus, she huddled around her log protectively. "Can't very well coop yourself up forever without getting all restless."

"I will unleash my rage when I get my revenge!" Chrysalis barked. "And I'm not stupid. You want to use me as a practice dummy for your Keyblade. I've dealt with enough of them overpowering me. Especially that traitor who failed me last time; Vantias."

"Huh? Vanitas?" Cozy questioned. "Who the hay is Vanitas?"

"One of them," Chrysalis grumbled. "Only he was against them. He wanted Sora and his half-brother or something, which just so happens to be the little runt who helped Starlight Glimmer destroy my kingdom, Ventus."

"...Huh. I didn't know he had a brother..." Though the news was intriguing, Cozy didn't care about the situations going on with the other wielders anymore. "Well, if a little sparring won't do, then maybe a team meeting would get you loosened up? Grogar would appreciate that since he put me in charge."

"No, he didn't," Chrysalis grunted, clearly not fooled by Cozy's made up authority like Tirek was. "Even if he did, which I doubt he would leave a runt like you in charge out of desperation, Chrysalis obeys no one."

Her frustration bubbled, but Cozy wasn't going to explode in anger. She had to get on their good graces, as well as they with each other, and find some sort of compromise to achieve their major goal of world domination.

"I made cupcakes~," Cozy said as sweetly as she looked.

Chrysalis leered at her, not fooled by the innocent face on the conniving mare she was, though the temptation of food intrigued her. "...I'm only going for the cupcakes."

Satisfied with the answer, Cozy flew out to prepare for their meeting. She put the icing on her cupcakes just in time as both her companions walked in. Chrysalis and Tirek glared at each other before sitting down at the table, helping themselves to some cupcakes while Cozy Glow finished setting up a childish banner hanging above them. It showed all of them and Grogar, looking happy to emphasize their teamwork and cooperation with stars and fireworks around them. She stacked a few crates in front of the table, making herself look taller as she stood on the stack as the pseudo leader.

"Grogar wants us to work together," Cozy stated. "Which means, in order to defeat our enemies, we need to trust each other."

Chrysalis took a bite of a cupcake, unamused, though she glanced at Tirek when she felt the centaur's aura latch to her horn and "stealthily" stealing her magic. "If we are to trust one another, perhaps inform Lord Tirek to STOP TRYING TO ABSORB MY ESSENCE!"

Tirek wasn't even sorry he got caught. He ceased his magic absorbing, snatching a cupcake, and spat out the magic he was able to steal, leaving a solid orange glob of magical energy over the frosting.

"I wasn't doing anything of the sort!" Tirek exclaimed, aghast at the claim and feigning innocence. "How dare you accuse me!"

"'How dare I!?'" Chrysalis repeated bitterly. "Do you know to whom you are speaking!?"

Chrysalis snatched the cupcake, stuffing it in her mouth. Cozy stuck out her tongue in disgust, but the changeling regained her stolen magic with bits of orange clinging to her muzzle.

"How could I not?" Tirek questioned, pointing to the queen. "You tell your log every five minutes."

Chrysalis grasped her log she brought with her, being weirdly overprotective of it. "You leave Barky out of this!"

"You named it 'Barky'? I think you really have gone insane," Tirek said.

"See? This is why Grogar left me in charge!" Cozy said.

"NO! HE! DIDN'T!" Chrysalis and Tirek shouted at the stunted mare.

Cozy was beginning to lose her patience. She could blast these two with magic if she wanted to, suspend them in the air or crush them into the ground with a Gravity spell, or smack them around the hideout to show them she's not to be looked down upon. She could probably best Grogar if she knew what kind of weaknesses he had. Just as she was about to summon her Keyblade and end this soiled meeting with a bang, she glanced up at the banner. An idea brewed in her head that would get the three of them to get along as a musical tango began to echo in the hideout.

[Cozy Glow]
I think I know a way that we can grow
Time to try something new, something better

Tirek and Chrysalis glanced at Cozy as she hovered down to the table, taking the tray of cupcakes and stacking them to emphasize her plan that would make them stronger.

No more solo, trust is the way to go
And all we need to do is work together

Cozy brought both TIrek's hand and Chrysalis' hoof to the center of the table, bringing them closer, but not touching. Immediately, they were both in disagreement with her idea, and Tirek was the first to pull his hand away.

"Oh, please," he scoffed, backing away from the two.

[Tirek]
No thanks, no way, I feel the need to say
I'm smarter, stronger, and I don't need you two

He pointed at both mares, but Chrysalis scoffed at Tirek's boasting.

[Chrysalis]
Stronger? Ok, I guess we'll downplay
How bad you got your rear end handed to you

Chrysalis floated Tirek around in her green aura, smirking impishly at him as she reminded him how he failed to stop their foes while he was at his strongest. She dropped him, getting him to turn around and scowl at the changeling queen mocking him when she had her own failures to look back on. Cozy hopped back on her perch, getting both the villains' attention.

[Cozy Glow]
It's time to try a better way to be bad

[Tirek and Chrysalis]
Do we really need a better way to be bad?

[Cozy Glow]
United as one

[Chrysalis]
Teamwork? Please, what a fad

[Cozy Glow]
Combine all our strength, we'll go to any length
Once we have a better way to be bad

Cozy began a series of different trust exercises for Tirek and Chrysalis. If it works at the School of Friendship, it was sure to work with them and improve their trust and synergy. Being the designated ringleader, Cozy had Tirek and Chrysalis blindfolded and assure them their partner would guide them or catch them from falling. Sadly, it worked as well as a team of villains sounded; lacking any teamwork and relishing their "partner's" pain after missing or misleading them on purpose.

Let's go begin, this time we're gonna win

[Chrysalis]
The ice you're on is thin, so watch what YOU say

[Cozy Glow]
I know you're in, I think I see a grin

[Tirek]
For all this pain and torture, I swear you'll pay

[Cozy Glow]
This time, we've got a better way to be bad

[Tirek and Chrysalis]
Sounds like a long shot, this "better way" to be bad

[Cozy Glow]
United as one, we'll make those heroes so sad

[Tirek]
If we say "ok", would you just go away?

[Cozy Glow]
Once we have a better way to be bad

Even though the exercises didn't work out exactly as intended, Cozy had to step it up a notch. Knowing they all have a vendetta against the Elements of Harmony and the Keyblade wielders, reminding them of what they can do together to really get their revenge should motivate them enough to start trusting one another.

We want to break their friendship
We want to make them weak

Cozy carried a hoofmade doll of Starlight Glimmer to Chrysalis, who immediately snatched it and tore it apart with glee.

You want revenge on Starlight

She then brought a mirror toward Tirek, his reflection showing him his fully powered form with all his muscular glower and overwhelming power, flexing his biceps and watching the frame of the mirror bend from his reflection's hulking mass threatening to break out.

You want that huge physique

So let's increase our chances
By working as a team
To crush our enemies to dust
And laugh as they all scream!

Tirek and Chrysalis were getting the idea now, warming up to it as the trio stomped several dolls of the heroes who ended their conquest multiple times over. They didn't notice the insane look on Cozy's face as she smashed her hooves in the head of a doll that resembled Sora as the trio laughed maniacally.

[Tirek]
I think I see a better way to be bad

[Chrysalis]
Just put me in charge, make me queen, you'll be glad

[Cozy Glow]
No! Listen to me, I'm the best of us three

[All]
Then you'll see a better way to be bad

The tempo of their song picked up as Cozy was pushed out of their circle, which angered her as the two were planning to take Cozy's idea as their own.

[Cozy Glow]
Wait! This is my thing, a better way to be bad

[Chrysalis]
You shall do as I command, I will rule this triad!

Chrysalis forced TIrek and Cozy to bow at her hooves, still acting her arrogant, egotistical royal self, seeing herself better than the other two.

[Cozy Glow]
Hey! This is MY song

[Tirek and Chrysalis]
Sorry, not any longer!

[All]
A better way to be bad

The trio scrambled and fought for dominance over who was the better of them. Cozy got stuck on the bottom, being crushed by Tirek, while Chrysalis somehow managed to pin the both of them beneath her.

[Cozy Glow]
Now you're making me mad

[Tirek]
Won't the ponies be sad?

[Chrysalis]
That would make me so glad

[All]
Now we've got a better way to be baaaaaad!

Even while against each other in the moment, they finished their number striking different poses, Cozy "tangoing" with the Sora doll she crushed under her hooves. The head fell off and rolled toward a corner of main living area where their meeting was held. Slow clapping echoed in the cave, startling Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis. They thought it was Grogar, but as they stepped out of the shadows, it was someone in a black coat, concealing their identity from head to hoof.

"Bravo," the intruder complimented. "I would ask for an encore, but I've seen enough of you three to judge you."

"Who are you?" Tirek questioned, he and Chrysalis wary of the mysterious stallion.

Cozy Glow recognized the coat from Aqua's little obstacle course she ran, cheaply hiding the last one to try to fool her, summoning her Keyblade. "Organization XIII," she uttered, confusing the centaur and changeling.

"What?" Chrysalis questioned.

"So the little girl knows about us," the figure said, barely surprised or amused by her guess. "Though you're not with Sora or his friends."

"I'm not, but I pretended to," Cozy said. "I almost erased all of Equestria's magic, but Sora..."

"He outmatched you with his power." Cozy growled, aiming her Keyblade at him. "I have no means of quarreling with the likes of you. If Sora bested you, neither of you will stand a chance against me."

"I'll show you I'm not one to be messed with!" Cozy Glow dashed forward and swung her Keyblade at the figure.

Smirking, he spun around, missing Cozy's blade by mere inches as time around them slowed to a crawl. From his movements, his hood fell off to reveal his face while also summoning a Keyblade in his hoof. Grabbing Cozy in his free hoof, he spun her around, hovering in front of her, then held his blade up to the pegasus's neck. Time resumed, leaving Cozy gasping as she rammed into the blade, held captive as she, Tirek, and Chrysalis gawked at his speed. Seeing his face, Cozy had also glanced up to look at him, which happened to be Young Xehanort as an earth pony: his fur a dark tan, his silver mane slightly spiked and hanging past his shoulders, four bangs framing the sides of his face, and gold-yellow eyes.

"I warned you," Young Xehanort said.

"...H-How?" Cozy uttered.

"There's no way he moved that fast," Chrysalis muttered nervously.

Young Xehanort moved his blade aside, seeing Cozy was no longer itching for a fight, then flicked her back toward Tirek, who quickly caught her. "Care to try this again without conflict?" he questioned. "The little one is correct, however. I am from Organization XIII, and I am its leader: Xehanort."

"Xehanort?" Tirek repeated.

"Wait! Xehanort!?" Cozy exclaimed, recovering from the startling shock and being knocked back without warning. "You're Xehanort!? The others told me he was old! You don't even look like you're past fifty!"

"I suppose they kept you out of the loop for being so small," Young Xehanort said. "But you're no ordinary filly; you're older than your appearance seems." Cozy was astonished to hear someone recognized that she wasn't really young, which unnerved her. He only just met them, yet he seemed to know more about them than they thought. "You three want to get revenge on the bearers who thwarted your plans. I am here to extend an invitation to all of you to join the Organization. By joining us, you will attain much more power than you could ever think possible; more than enough to just simply rule over one tiny world like this one."

"More power?" Tirek uttered curiously.

"You mean Kingdom Hearts," Cozy Glow clarified.

"What in Equestria is 'Kingdom Hearts'?" Chrysalis questioned.

"Vanitas withheld that information from you when he thought teaming up with a washed out changeling queen was a good idea," Young Xehanort said, shocking Chrysalis to hear Vanitas was a part of the Organization. "But it was for a good reason. Outsiders in any world cannot meddle in the other worlds, nor reveal anything that's beyond their comprehension. Including a selfish queen who only cares about herself and not her soldiers' or drones' wellbeing. It's no wonder they disposed you as their leader."

"Why, you..." Chrysalis snarled, wanting nothing more than to wipe the smirk off Young Xehanort's face, but after seeing how easily he avoided Cozy Glow, she refused to be humiliated again by someone else.

"And the centaur with a hunger for power, both literally and figuratively," Young Xehanort said, addressing Tirek. "You may have the might, but all that power means nothing when you underestimated your foes. You should have learned your lesson the first time when your brother chose to betray you and help the equines warn them of your plans. They clearly have more power than you think, magic or no."

Tirek grunted bitterly, keeping his cool unlike Cozy or Chrysalis, though the reminder of Scorpan going against his back was still a low blow. "So you know our failures. Why should we accept this invitation?" Tirek questioned. "There has to be a catch."

"No catch. No deals. Nothing to make you doubt I or the others would betray or use you as pawns," Young Xehanort assured.

"Well, I outright refuse," Chrysalis said. "I am a queen! I take orders from no one! Especially not the likes of you! And you tell your lackey, Vanitas, I still have a grudge against him for his false promise of making me rule all of Equestria!"

"Count me out as well," Tirek agreed. "This offer sounds too good to be true. I'm not risking losing the little power I regained from Grogar for more that won't even be mine alone."

"Suit yourselves," Young Xehanort said with a shrug, not even bothered by their dismissal. He then looked at Cozy Glow, who was still stunned, but he could see her thinking it over. He let the pegasus mull it over, summoning a portal of darkness behind him. "If you decide to change your minds, I'll know where to find you."

He turned and walked through the portal, leaving the villainous trio be as it disappeared. "Hmph. Good riddance," Chrysalis muttered.

"We may need to warn Grogar his hideout was compromised," Tirek said. "This Organization XIII might come for us if they believe we're against them."

Cozy was still quiet, her mind still reeling over the offer. She heard how notorious the Organization was, and they were tougher than any villain in this world alone. Their goal was to take Kingdom Hearts, a power she knew was unfathomable from what she learned, and was known as the heart of all worlds for a reason. She may not know what they want that power for, but if they could use Kingdom Hearts' power to defeat Sora and his friends, she might take up that offer.

Grogar returned to his lair, surprised not to hear his underlings yelling or arguing with each other like they usually do. "...For once, I'm impressed that you three aren't trying to kill each other," he said. "Not gonna hold my breath, though."

"And where do you keep going off to?" Chrysalis demanded. "Perhaps if you told us what your plan is, we'd be better prepared for whatever it is you're thinking of!"

"Assuming he has a plan," Tirek muttered under his breath.

"Of course I have a plan!" Grogar exclaimed. "I have located an object of great power, which I believe is the perfect test for you three. You three are going to work together as a team to retrieve it. With it, none of them will stand a chance."

"Since I had almost succeeded in ruling Equestria several times, I should be the leader," Chrysalis said, boasting her snarky ego.

"I nearly drained all the magic of Equestria!" Tirek argued. "You were defeated by the power of love and friendship! You don't deserve to be a leader, let alone a queen!"

"You didn't drain ALL the magic! You were still bested by the Elements of Harmony!" Chrysalis argued.

Tirek and Chrysalis were back to their spiteful bickering, which frustrated Grogar to no end. "ENOUGH!" he shouted, blasting both the centaur and changeling with his magic, slamming them into the wall and binding their limbs. Cozy was wise to keep her mouth shut, stepping away as Grogar approached the two villains who were testing his patience more and more. "Both of you failed because you cannot keep your egos in check! Tirek, you were blinded by a greed for power because of your upbringing with your father and thought you could thwart a bunch of ponies!" The centaur snarled at the mention of his father, but no matter how hard he tried to break out of the magical bonds, Grogar's magic was far stronger than his muscle. "And Chrysalis, your selfishness led to the downfall of your rule to your hive! You thought the new king was a weak link, but YOU were that weak link, and you were meant to hold it all together! Clearly, he mended it and has it kept it firmly attached to make a kingdom far better than you hope to have."

"I am NOT weak! Thorax was weak! As were the rest of my subjects!" Chrysalis shouted.

Grogar muzzled Chrysalis again to silence her, tightening her bonds to hopefully get her to learn not to speak out of turn to a superior warlock like him. "My power surpasses the lot of you," he reminded the two. "Even Cozy Glow pales in comparison to my power, and her abilities as a Key Bearer far outweigh your own by a huge margin. But what you are all witnessing is merely a fraction of my power, and you three are going to retrieve the rest of it. Understood?"

Tirek and Chrysalis glowered at Cozy Glow, the pegasus a little perturbed being complimented by the evil goat. Reluctantly, Tirek and Chrysalis nodded their heads, keeping their mouths shut to avoid more of his wrath. If Grogar was strong enough to do all this, they couldn't imagine what he could do with his full power. Grogar released them, dropping them to the floor.

"So...what do you want us to find?" Cozy asked.

"Something that I've never ventured without thousands of moons ago." With his magic, Grogar formed a dark cloud above him, showing them a little history involving his biggest failure with the ones who thwarted him and took away his power: Gusty the Great. "In that time, the self-righteous Gusty the Great, unable to best me face-to-face, stole my Bewitching Bell with the help of an outsider with a Keyblade." In the retold vision, the silhouette of Gusty the Great faced a massive form of Grogar, and hovering between them was the Bewitching Bell. Though it wasn't easy to tell by her fur color, Gusty was shown to be a unicorn with her mane and tail as wispy as the wind, and her cutie mark was a group of leaves floating underneath a breeze. Gusty was about to be outmatched by Grogar's power, but out of nowhere, also as a mysterious silhouette, was a pony who bared a Keyblade with the teeth in the shape of a star. The wielder was young, but was powerful as he smacked Grogar's face, giving Gusty the chance to take the bell and flee with her new ally hot on her tail. "Caught off guard by the outsider, Gusty succeeded, and they escaped. My Bewitching Bell is a talisman that contains much of my magic, and it cannot be destroyed. Not even by something as powerful as a Keyblade."

As the pair escaped, Gusty and the young wielder talked about what the bell was, and the wielder tried to bash it with his Keyblade, hoping to destroy it and Grogar's magic. It was of no use, so they instead took the bell and hid it away from the goat. Up the tallest mountain in the world, Gusty placed the bell in a cave, then they both used their magic to seal the cave before parting.

"They hid my bell in a place that took me a millennia to discover: an enchanted cave high atop Mt. Everhoof," Grogar continued. "With steep and jagged cliffs and an enchanted wind that prevents anypony from reaching its peak, it has remained there. Until now." Grogar dismissed his spell, leering down at his subordinates. "Scale Mt. Everhoof. And bring back my bell."

"Pth. The ease of this task is laughable," Chrysalis scoffed, emphasizing how simple of a task it was with a laugh.

---

The moment the three arrived at Mt. Everhoof, Chrysalis retracted her boastful claim when they saw just how far away the peak of the mountain range was from where they stood. They could see the treacherous mountain path, the peak separated by several dozen yards from the other smaller mountains nearby, the wind could visibly be seen around the upper half of the range, and there was a huge stretch of forest to trek through just to reach the mountain's base.

"...Well, it was easier said than done," Chrysalis rephrased, feeling bitter about her claim to Grogar.

"So, we need to scale this mountain...and retrieve that bell," Tirek said.

"Together," Cozy added. She had prepped herself for the trek, wearing a purple snow jacket and ski cap to keep herself warm. "Luckily, I drew up a detailed plan with several visual aids to show how we can-" As she pulled out her written plan, Tirek and Chrysalis were already walking ahead, starting their climb up the mountain and taking different directions through the woods. "-...ditch each other and do it alone..." She wasn't too disappointed. Rolling up her plans and stuffing them in her coat's pocket, she flew into the woods, going in another direction forward to go it alone as well. "They wouldn't make it halfway without me. When I reach the top before them, THEN they'll learn to appreciate me."

---

Chrysalis wandered through the trees, hearing the many sounds of dangerous predators looming around. With the enchanted winds making it hard to fly above the canopy, she had no choice but to walk on hoof and make the slower climb, along with dealing with whatever animals resided in the region. They were surrounding her, but she was barely phased by their intimidation and stalking. She found it amusing such creatures thought they could frighten her and be their next prey. One was bold enough to loom behind her, which she could see a mile away. Just as it opened its maw, she turned around, glared menacingly at it and hissed violently, startling and terrifying the creatures hunting her into fleeing.

"Hah! As if anything on this mountain is scarier than I," Chrysalis gloated to herself.

Chrysalis felt like she had the upper hand and could reach the mountaintop alone. She didn't need Tirek or Cozy Glow to make it or help her. The trek was a little rocky with the frozen lake she crossed and the steep cliffs on the route she took. Luckily, as a changeling, the ability to shapeshift into anything to aide in her progress was very useful. Instead of crossing the frozen lake and slipping constantly, she dove into the ice as a cragodile, smashing through and swimming across to the other end, and shifting her appearance into a mountain goat to leap up the cliff bound by bound.

Already halfway there, and she was confident in her skills to make it without fail. She was soon met with an obstacle that looked quite deadly. The path was gone and the only thing separating the cliff she was on with the tallest mountain before her was a very wide gap and harsh magical winds blowing toward her. Transforming into a smaller version of a roc, Chrysalis flapped her wings and dashed into the wind. She only made it across halfway when the winds suddenly began to blow harder, forcing her to flap harder to fight back. Her stamina ran out and the wind won the battle, blowing her back to the cliff and slamming her into a nearby boulder. Grunting in frustration, Chrysalis wasn't going to attempt that again as she changed back to normal. There was no other way across, and no way to form a bridge with the vines that grew down in the forest's branches with how harsh the wind was blowing. If she couldn't make it, then Tirek and Cozy Glow wouldn't either. Grimacing, Chrysalis had to turn around, and, begrudgingly, seek aid from her teammates.

---

Tirek eyed the mountain as he reached the base. Curious, he scooped up some dirt below him, blew it hard in the direction of the mountain, only to have the enchanted wind blow it right back into his face. Sputtering and wiping his face, it was clear to Tirek that he wasn't going to make that climb by himself. If he was bigger with all the magic in Equestria inside him, he could tower the mountain and not be affected by the wind. Instead, he was going to play it smart and leave the exploration attempts to Chrysalis and Cozy Glow.

While waiting on his teammates to return, Tirek gathered some materials around the woods to set up a campsite. He tested out the vines, feeling how sturdy they were, and were able to easily handle his weight without issue. They could come in handy should they need to cross a chasm that was buffeted with the magical winds blowing everything away. And the information he got from the other two would help them better succeed in their climb by tomorrow.

---

Cozy grunted, forced to walk on hoof after feeling the wind start to throw her back in the trees. She despised her pint-sized condition, making it far too easy for the enchanted breeze to blow her around and push her back. Taking a pathway she spotted in the forest, she climbed up it to find a cabin sitting out here of all places. The front door opened as an elder stallion walked out wearing some makeshift armor and a red cloak to keep him warm, his helmet an old, rusty bucket with portions bent and folded back to look like one. His fur was a brownish-orange with his mane, tail, and goatee graying out from his old age.

"Halt, who goes there!?" he called out as he spotted Cozy Glow. Squinting his eyes, he let out a gasp when the traveler approaching his cabin was just a filly. "A pony? There ain't been any ponies around here in I-don't-know-how-many moons."

The old stallion clearly knows the location well if he's been "stationed" here for years. Cozy suppressed a grin, finding another easy victim to her small stature and innocent face. She pretended to be upset, putting on the big, puppy dog eyes and added tears as she approached the stallion, whimpering and crying like the lost little filly he thought she was.

"Oh, golly, mister. I'm just a poor lost pony looking for help," Cozy said, laying on the cute charm heavily.

"Aw, don't fret, little filly," the stallion assured. "Ol' Rusty Bucket here, at your service."

"I'm so glad I found you," Cozy said, sounding and looking relieved to find some help. "I need help getting to the top of the mountain."

"Oh. No can do, little missy," Rusty said with a shake of his head.

Immediately, Cozy's facade broke, growing frustrated as the innocent face turned into bratty, selfish, temper tantrum levels of annoyed. "WHY NOT!?" she shouted.

The mountain began to rumble as her echo reverberated around them. "Shhh! Not so loud!" Rusty Bucket hushed, panicked. "This here's avalanche territory. I'm the guardian of this here mountain. It's my job to keep ponies from heading up. Nothing at the top but dangerous snow, dangerous ice, and dangerous wind. Basically, it's dangerous."

Despite Rusty's failure to be a reliable tour guide was a bust, but maybe she could convince him if he had been residing here for years on his lonesome. "It must get lonely all by yourself. Maybe I could be your friend?" Cozy offered sweetly.

"Aw, I'd love a friend," Rusty said, earning the pegasus some points at the very least.

"Great! So, now that we're friends, you could help me up the mountain," Cozy said.

Rusty's grin faltered as he felt uncertain about Cozy's plea. "Hmm...Well, a real friend wouldn't ask me to do something I'm not supposed to," he said. He then pulled out a copy of Twilight's friendship journal, unaware that these books were actually destroyed no thanks to the masses making a big deal of them without understanding the important lessons around friendship each story expressed. "Says so right here in the Journal of Friendship, written by Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

Cozy snapped as Twilight's lessons, partly and helped by Sora and his friends' influences in the journal as well, spread so far to someone as isolated as Rusty Bucket. "Are. You. KIDDING ME!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" Cozy's screeching disturbed the nearby birds and caused the mountain the shake some more, threatening to cause an avalanche. Rusty tried to shush her, but she turned and walked away, too peeved to continue her innocent charade. "I didn't want to be friends anyway."

She should have relished disappointing Rusty Bucket, but the constant reminders of Twilight's and Sora's teachings in friendship irked her to no end. She didn't need the old stallion's help anyway. She would find a way herself, on her own, like she always had since she became a Keyblade wielder.

Her alternate paths to get around the cabin and find a way forward were halted by her diminutive size and sheer bad luck. She tried to fly over the cabin, the wind thankfully blocked by the structure, but as she stepped on the roof, the snow piled on top gave way and slid her back down in front of Rusty Bucket. She ignored his comments and watching her failing and tried to sneak around the building to another path. As she sidled around the wall, Rusty sat at his front door keeping watch. He stretched his limbs, knocking his staff against the roof edging, causing some snow to fall on top of Cozy Glow. Her rage boiled over, her face turning bright red as her anger melted the snow covering her.

"That's it!" she shouted, summoning her Keyblade and flew back over to Rusty Bucket. "I tried being nice! Now I'm gonna use force!"

Rusty completely ignored the fact she had a Keyblade and tried to shush her again to keep her voice down. "Now, just calm down there, little filly."

"YOU CALM DOWN!" Cozy shouted. "Ponies are supposed to do what I ask them to! I'm no ordinary filly! And I'm going to have you take me to the top of this mountain! And you aren't telling me no ever again if you don't want to-!"

Her shouting made the rumbling worse, causing the avalanche Rusty warned her about. The snow fell and tumbled into a snowball, rolling and growing bigger as it headed down toward them. Cozy looked up, spotting it too late as it slammed down on her, catching her, and rolled off all the way back down to the bottom of the mountain. Rusty was spared, watching Cozy roll away, shrugging his shoulders and headed back inside his cabin.

Cozy screamed as she was spiraling in the massive snowball. It crashed into a tree, slamming her back into the bark as the snowball burst apart. She slid down, completely soaked and freezing cold, her eye twitching in frustration. She clearly wasn't going to make it no matter how hard she tried. Getting up, she marched back into the woods, wondering if Tirek or Chrysalis made it farther than she did. She couldn't even intimidate Rusty Bucket to doing what she wanted and looked like a fool by having the mountain personally escort her back to the start for him.

It was already getting late as she found what looked like a campsite in the middle of the forest. Grunting bitterly and shivering, she found Tirek lounging around on a makeshift loungechair made from the vines and trees around the area. He didn't even make an attempt, and here he was being lazy while he let two mares do the job for him.

"Didn't make it to the top?" Tirek laughed mockingly. "Surprise, surprise."

"What the hay were YOU doing!?" Cozy demanded. "Were you just camping out here this whole time!?"

"Yes, I was," Tirek admitted. "I wasn't going to try knowing it would only end up in failure."

"...You...didn't...try?" Cozy snarled, gritting her teeth angrily.

"It only took me a few minutes to see Grogar's point; none of us can make it up there alone," Tirek stated. "So, rather than subject myself to the elements, I decided to let you two face the danger, take what you learned, and use it to my advantage."

Cozy lost it. She screamed, blasting the campfire with Firaga, knocking Tirek off his chair.

"I've had it with you!" she screeched. "I've put up with your smart-alecky attitude! No one manipulates me; I MANIPULATE EVERYONE!"

Tirek scoffed, getting back up and brushing off his chest. "You barely did that as pen pals, and you're manipulative tactics only work on those who think you're sweet and innocent. We're seeing the real you when you don't get your way; whiny, screaming and hollering, and throwing a tantrum like a real filly. For a mature mare, you sure have regressed back to a toddler who was told no for the first time."

"This is NOT the real me!" Cozy argued.

"Oh, yes it is," Tirek calmly replied back. "You showed your true nature to Sora when you thought you had him."

"If you didn't tell those idiots who was stealing all the magic, I WOULD have gotten away with it!" Cozy shrieked.

Their yelling brought the attention of a dangerous creature as it slithered into their camp. Standing taller than Tirek, the predator was a mix between a bull and a serpent. Its shadow loomed over them under the light of the full moon, startling them when they looked at it, which roared at them to intimidate them.

"An ophiotaurus!?" Tirek exclaimed, then leered at Cozy Glow, who did the same to him.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" they both shouted, though their anger toward each other was distracted by the ophiotaurus lunging down to bite at them with its sharp fangs.

They leapt away, focusing on the wild animal attacking them, but just as they were about to defend themselves, they heard another, more higher-pitched roar coming from the other side of the campsite. Slithering out of the brush was another ophiotaurus, but it was female. The female ignored the prey and focused on the male, fluttering her lashes and enticing it. The male mooed, entranced by his future mate's beauty, completely ignoring Tirek and Cozy Glow and slithered toward the female.

"Uhh, you think we should run or take them out?" Cozy asked.

Tirek shushed Cozy Glow, finding the female ophiotaurus acting a little strangely. If two of the same type of predator cornered their prey, they wouldn't just ignore a free meal they can share before becoming mates. His suspicion was right when the female's eyes flashed green, then hissed as a green aura washed over it, revealing Chrysalis as the female ophiotaurus. With the real one too lovestruck to notice, Chrysalis began sucking love energy from its chest, weakening it while she filled her stomach of its love. Gulping the energy down, the changeling queen licked her lips as the ophiotaurus flopped to the ground unconscious.

"So much love," Chrysalis said. "I haven't eaten this well in ages. Not as delicious as Sora's, but I'll take what I can get."

"You two are so gross with magic absorbing," Cozy gagged.

"Just to be clear, I didn't save you two because I like you," Chrysalis clarified. "I did it because...because I..." She grimaced, her lips pursed while her cheeks puffed out, finding it hard to use the words she wanted to say. Tirek and Cozy Glow knew, but they wanted to hear it from her mouth, amused by her struggling to ask for help. "...I...need...your help."

"Was that so hard?" Tirek teased.

"Oh, shut up," Chrysalis grumbled. "I guess neither of you had much luck."

"Tirek didn't even do anything," Cozy mentioned.

"He did WHAT!?" Chrysalis shrieked.

"It was a lost cause the moment I saw how powerful the wind was just from down here," Tirek explained. "And I was right to wait while you two gathered information. So, don't spill any details."

As furious as Chrysalis was, she could see Tirek's point. As she and Cozy Glow told Tirek the obstacles they bumped into, Chrysalis cocooned her prey and hung it in a tree near their camp. Cozy was disturbed by how Chrysalis stored her food, watching it was still semi-conscious through the translucent green "silk" she spat from her mouth.

"Why are you doing that?" Cozy questioned. "Didn't you already drain it of its love?"

"I always save a little for the next day," Chrysalis explained, giving the cocoon a light pat before sitting around the fire with her allies.

"You cocoon all your meals?" Cozy asked. "Even when you kidnapped Twilight, Sora, and the others?"

"Yes. But out of all my prey, Sora's love was incredibly addictive," Chrysalis chuckled. "His heart had so much to give, I wished I used him as my puppet long before Shining Armor during the wedding. But my plans were always foiled by his friends. And Starlight Glimmer and Ventus destroyed my kingdom and corrupted my subjects."

"Well, while I was at the school, one of them was taking lessons and didn't have any issues eating," Cozy explained. "She's also a Key Bearer, along with a few other dumb kids known as their best students. Ocellus doesn't even have the backbone to be a warrior."

"Ocellus?" Chrysalis burst out laughing in disbelief. "Please! The runt who's more timid and weak than Thorax!? She was one of the chosen few 'lucky' drones to be picked as a future queen in her brood, and she has no leadership qualities in that frail body of hers!"

"You'd be surprised," Cozy said. "She used her shapeshifting powers to turn into me, and she matched my skills and style. Too bad she's still a novice compared to me."

"There's always a weakness to extort from those 'heroes'," Tirek added. "I used Discord to help me regain my strength, tricking him and betraying his 'friends' in the process."

"Yes. Discord was something before friendship ruined him," Chrysalis agreed.

"You should have seen the looks on their faces when Discord showed his alliance with me," Tirek laughed. "And Princess Twilight was so broken when all her friends appeared in bubbles around me. But what really tickled my fancy was that one pegasus who she loves. He was so distraught thinking I blew her up along with that library tree house, he went from mad to blubbering like a little baby after I swatted him in the air like a gnat!"

Cozy and Chrysalis laughed as they imagined Riku breaking down in tears, looking miserable and depressed at the loss of his girlfriend. Throughout the night, the trio regaled how they managed to do some harm to their foes before their defeat. It was an odd bonding experience, making fun of the heroes who thwarted them and knowing how easily they could break emotionally. Sora may not have taken down Chrysalis or Tirek, but how Cozy managed to play with his heart and easily swayed him with her small size and cute affections told them how fragile his heart is despite how strong it was.

For once, the three of them didn't pick a fight with each other. It was almost cathartic. Their own triumphs, what little they had, brought them some inspiration to get their revenge on their enemies, and properly succeed this time with Grogar's plans involving his bell. Together, in the morning, they'll start their trek back up the mountain and get that Bewitching Bell.

---

Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow stepped through the forest, back on the path Cozy found leading up to Rusty Bucket's cabin. She wanted to get a little revenge for the old stallion refusing to do as she demanded, and having a couple of more menacing companions might be enough to show her she's not one to be trifled with. As the old stallion went outside to go about his rounds, he was startled to see Tirek and Chrysalis with the little filly who wasn't as sweet as she seemed yesterday. Chrysalis transformed into an ophiotaurus and roared at Rusty, making the mountain shake and send an avalanche of snow down on him. They continued on, laughing at the stallion's predicament, but Rusty Bucket was physically unharmed, just baffled, cold, and worried what they planned on doing climbing Mt. Everhoof.

Navigating more of the woods, they reached the cliffs Chrysalis climbed up yesterday. They ascended the mountain, Chrysalis hopping up with ease as a mountain goat, Tirek and his muscles able to lift himself up onto the next platforms, but Cozy Glow and her small size made it hard for her to leap up without slipping. She did once and nearly fell back, but to her surprise, Chrysalis caught her hoof in one of the holes in her legs, helping pull the pegasus up onto the ledge above her. The treacherous climb was even less so with their cooperation, until they reached the obstacle that thwarted Chrysalis yesterday; the wide gap between the cliff edge and the tallest mountain in the range where the Bewitching Bell was held.

Tirek uncoiled the length of vine he discovered, estimating the distance the gap was from what Chrysalis told him. With one end tied around a sturdy rock, Cozy took the remainder in her hooves. Chrysalis transformed into a roc again, grabbing Cozy in her claws, then flapped to the air, fighting back against the wind and get far enough out before flinging the pegasus the rest of the way. While Chrysalis was flung back by the wind again, this time caught by Tirek instead of a solid wall. Cozy flapped her wings hard, managing to fight back against the wind long enough to reach the other side. She tied the other end to another sturdy rock nearby, keeping the vine taut.

Chrysalis turned into a monkey, going first and clambering across from beneath the vine. Tirek followed, mimicking Chrysalis as the vine was able to sustain his bigger height and weight compared to the transformed changeling's. Once they all reached the other side, they climbed up the taller mountain, finally reaching the cave holding Grogar's Bewitching Bell. Nothing was guarding it aside from the impossible trek. Chrysalis got a bit greedy and flew toward the entrance, only to smack into the protective barrier Grogar mentioned as it shocked her and sent her flying back.

"Of course it wouldn't be that simple," Chrysalis grumbled. "A barrier that's still functionable after a millennia."

Tirek and Cozy Glow stepped closer, the former touching it, only to grunt as he got zapped. "Pretty powerful magic between Gusty the Great and a Key Bearer to protect this bell."

"Can't you absorb it?" Cozy asked Tirek.

"I can only absorb magic from living beings, not lingering spells," Tirek stated.

"...Like Chrysalis?" Cozy asked as a thought began to brew in her mind.

Chrysalis balked, glaring menacingly at the two. "Betrayal!" she accused.

"It's not betrayal. Teamwork," Cozy emphasized. "If Tirek absorbs your energy, he might be strong enough to break through it."

"Why doesn't he take your magic instead!?" Chrysalis barked. "You have more than a natural pegasus does!"

"If I work with him, we might be able to create an opening if the past Keyblade wielder's magic is still active," Cozy explained. "After we get that bell, Tirek will give back your magic."

"I do?" Tirek questioned, almost liking Cozy's plan until she mentioned giving back Chrysalis's absorbed magical energy. Cozy leered at the centaur, having just explained what they had been doing on this hike. Chrysalis seemed skeptical, knowing all three of them were backstabbing villains, and they had it out for each other since Grogar recruited them. They got this far and they didn't want to go back empty-handed. Letting out an annoyed sigh, Tirek put aside his gripes with either mare. "I will give your magic back. You have my word."

"Really?" Chrysalis grumbled. Seeing there was no choice, she sighed, willing to lose her power for this plan to work. "...Fine. Do it."

Chrysalis braced herself as Tirek began to absorb her magic. The changeling queen grunted in pain, feeling herself grow weaker, her legs buckling before she collapsed once every ounce of magic was drained from her. Tirek inhaled Chrysalis's magic, growing bigger as his muscles and horns grew more. Feeling one hundred percent again, Tirek cackled as he flexed his biceps.

"Oh yeah! It's good to be back!" Tirek cheered.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," Cozy reminded the centaur. She summoned her Keyblade, hovering beside Tirek and aimed for the cave entrance. "Let's breach this barrier!"

"With pleasure!" Tirek gathered magic between his longer, curved horns while Cozy gathered her light to her Keyblade. Together, they both fired their respective beams at the barrier, Cozy's power weakening it slightly while Tirek's tore a hole open. He grunted, continuing to pour magic into it, but he was only able to leave a small opening that was far too big for him or Chrysalis to squeeze through. "Ugh! I...can't...open it further! This barrier's...too powerful!"

"I can get through it!" Cozy flew through, grateful her stunted growth was useful for something aside from pretending to look cute and adorable. "Keep it open or I'll be trapped forever!"

She hurried inside while Tirek strained to keep the hole opened. "Would it really be a bad thing?" Chrysalis asked, making Tirek laugh, slightly agreeing, but not at the expense of having the bell remain behind the powerful barrier.

Inside the cave, Cozy found the Bewitching Bell sitting on a flat slab of rock in the middle of the cave. "Bingo! Come to mama, you magic bell!" As her hooves touched the bell, her body was struck by a small shock, but it wasn't as painful as the shocking defenses of the barrier. She fell back with a grunt, the bell in her hooves as it clanged slightly. "Ugh...What kind of trap was that meant to do?"

As she stood up and shook her head, when she looked up, she was no longer in the cave. She looked like she was in a castle, standing in the middle of a throne room. Before her, she saw Grogar staring down Gusty the Great, the unicorn who thwarted him and stole his enchanted bell. Cozy could see the mare more clearly, though the world seemed to be in sepia tone, so her fur and mane colors were hard to discern. The unicorn legend struggled to blast Grogar with her magic, but the old goat's magic was far powerful with his Bewitching Bell attached to his bell collar.

"Your power pales in comparison to mine, Gusty!" Grogar said. "You are foolish to think you can defeat the almighty Grogar on your own!"

Grogar unleashed a powerful blast of magic from his bell, striking Gusty's hooves and sending her flying across the throne room. She got to her hooves, but she wasn't going to back down. He began to cast another spell and fired, but as Gusty flinched, another figure rushed in, tackled her, just barely avoiding getting the two of them blasted. Her savior stood up as they hid behind a pillar while Cozy ran over to get a better look at this mysterious wielder. He was an earth pony, bearing the very same Keyblade Grogar depicted in his bell's backstory. Again, the colors he had were hard to discern, but she could see his hair was cut short, he wore a jacket that could resemble Sora's, though it seemed much more simple in its design, and the cutie mark on his flank showed his Keyblade, but behind it was an image of a fox inside of a circular frame.

"What? That's...Vulpeus?" Cozy gasped, recognizing symbol. "This guy was part of Foreteller Ava's union? But those unions were destroyed because of the Keyblade War thousands of years ago."

"That old goat's pretty strong," the wielder grumbled. "You good?"

"Y-Yes. I am fine," Gusty said, surprised to see someone else brave enough to face the likes of Grogar. "Who are you?"

"I'll introduce myself later. First, we need to stop this monster," he said.

"If we can get Grogar's Bewitching Bell, it should make his power much weaker," Gusty explained. "But I cannot get close to him with his magic protecting him."

"Then maybe I can." The wielder was confident as he and Gusty worked together.

"You can't hide from me forever, Gusty!" Grogar called out as his hooves clacked and echoed in the chamber. "When I'm done with you, I'll begin my conquest on your precious Equestria!"

"Then try me for size!" Dashing out from the pillar, the wielder startled Grogar as he rammed into the evil cloven sorcerer.

Cozy silently watched the Key bearer fighting off Grogar, evading his magic and getting a few good hits on him with his Keyblade. Though what Grogar showed them was a brief confrontation, she was surprised to see how skilled he was, despite his youth. With Grogar completely distracted, he didn't see Gusty sneaking around their battle, getting closer to the ram. She waited until he started pouring more of his power into the bell to unleash it all on the wielder who dared to defy him. Taking her chance, she rushed in, blasted him in the back of the head with a spell, distracting him for her new ally to rush in and smack his Keyblade right in Grogar's skull. Dazed and hitting the ground, Gusty ran up to Grogar and snatched his bell, then the two made a run for it as he snapped out of his daze.

"My bell!" he exclaimed. "You cowards! You can't keep it from me forever!"

The wielder turned around, aimed his Keyblade at the entrance to the throne room as Grogar began to chase after them. "Good luck finding it, then," he said, then unleashed a Firaga spell, blowing apart the archway and blocking Grogar's exit.

He turned and hurried after Gusty, hearing Grogar let out a menacing roar in rage at his defeat. The vision blurred and faded back in, bringing Cozy back to the cave, Gusty and the wielder coming in from the entrance with Grogar's bell still in the mare's magical hold.

"This place is perfect," Gusty said. "Mt. Everhoof is a dangerous mountain to climb. The magic winds in this land will keep any who dare to fly to this point to take Grogar's bell for their own. His magic is too dangerous for any creature to wield."

"No kidding. I felt like I was going to die from frostbite getting up here," the wielder commented.

"Thank you for coming to my aid," Gusty said. She placed the bell down on the slab where Cozy found it, then looked at her companion. "Are you...a warrior of sorts? Your sword is...oddly shaped. And yet you wield magic, but you are not a unicorn like me."

"I...guess you could say that," the Key Bearer mumbled nervously. "Sadly, I cannot say more. It would be impossible for you to grasp."

"I am not called Gusty the Great for nothing," Gusty giggled. "I think I can manage."

"Regardless, I can't," he said. "With what I do, it's against the rules to tell others of my prowess, or who I am."

"...Very well, then." As Gusty passed the young stallion, she surprised him with a kiss on the cheek. "For rescuing me in that last moment, hero."

Cozy grimaced, watching the wielder's cheeks darken with a blush as he bashfully grinned. "N-No thanks necessary," he assured. Gusty began to walk out, ready to seal away the cave should anyone adventurous dare to climb Mt. Everhoof's peak. The wielder lingered, looking back at the bell. He summoned his Keyblade, lifting it up as he eyed the chain. "...This...might get me in trouble with the others...But, for the sake of the world, and others beyond this one...No one must get this bell."

With his other hoof, he grabbed the keychain hanging off the pommel, then snapped it off. Breathing a heavy sigh, he followed Gusty as she waited for him, then with both of their magic powers, they formed the barrier to seal the Bewitching Bell forever. The wielder approached the barrier, holding the snapped keychain toward it, watching it vibrate as it hovered into the barrier. He let go, watching it sink in and disappear in a flash of light, strengthening the barrier to last for eons. Both Gusty and the Key Bearer then parted ways, ending the flash of memories Cozy witnessed.

"They sealed it so no one could take it. Not just Grogar." She looked down at the bell, wondering just how powerful it was. Though, something did bother her if the spell that was cast to prevent anyone and anything from breaching it. "How did Grogar know about a Keyblade chain's power when he mended my Keyblade if he barely knew what it could do in the past?"

"Can't...hold...on...much longer!" Tirek shouted. Snapping out of her thoughts, Cozy didn't know how much time had passed when the sudden flashback occurred, nor how long Tirek's been holding the hole open for. "COZY GLOW! HURRY!"

Clutching the bell tightly, Cozy flew back to the entrance as fast as her wings could carry her. She doubted casting Stopza would help her while inside the protective barrier made by the unknown wielder from many years ago. Pumping her wings harder, she picked up speed, spotting Tirek struggling as he began to lose his hold on his beam. She managed to slip out just in time, slamming into the snow and skidding to a halt. Tirek let out an exhausted groan, falling to his knees while sweat dripped down his face.

"That was close," Cozy uttered, breathing a sigh of relief. "How long was I in there for?"

"About two minutes," Tirek panted. "It shouldn't have been THAT long of a cave to explore. Unless there was a pit it fell in."

"Oh...Weird," Cozy mumbled, deciding to keep what she witnessed in the past to herself.

"M-My...magic," Chrysalis weakly uttered.

Tirek and Cozy Glow almost forgot about the powerless changeling queen. She could barely move, let alone stand, and with Tirek having absorbed her magic to regain his full strength, they could just leave her to the wilderness and no longer deal with her egotistical arrogance. The centaur looked at his biceps, knowing he was going to miss this power, at least for the time being. As he promised, he opened his mouth and gave back Chrysalis's magic and reverting back to his half-powered state. Feeling rejuvenated, Chrysalis flittered her wings and got back to her hooves, relieved, but also perturbed that Tirek actually did as he promised her.

"...I did promise," Tirek said.

"I actually thought you weren't going to give it back," Chrysalis said.

"Neither did I," he agreed. "But working together was the smarter idea than just fighting each other."

"Yeah. When we helped each other, it felt...better, somehow," Cozy Glow said.

"I haven't felt like this since before I lost my hive," Chrysalis said. "Having others who will be there for you is...pleasing."

"All these years taking power from ponies..." Tirek trailed off as he realized just how horrible of a monster he became.

"When you use your power to help others..." Cozy trailed off as well, filled with regret for the pain she brought on Sora.

"...Yes...It feels..." Chrysalis felt something stir in her chest, feeling rather good with how well she worked together with Tirek and Cozy Glow. They had their rough moments, neither of them wanting to share the spotlight in their goals for world conquest, but they could be...friends. The thought snapped Chrysalis out of her senses when she felt that pleasant feeling start to wash over her; the very same feeling that sparked a revolution from her own subjects against her, led by a grub who barely had any backbone in his carapace. She snarled, pushing away that light and roared. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

Her outburst snapped Tirek and Cozy Glow out of their dazes, confusing them as they wondered where their thoughts had drifted. "W-What just...happened?" Tirek questioned.

"The Magic of Friendship is a disease!" Chrysalis shouted with fury. "It's an infection that spreads to those around you! I watched it infect my hive! I will NOT let it turn me into one of them!"

"Even if that means you don't have to starve from lack of love?" Cozy asked.

"I THRIVE off of love!" Chrysalis snarled, buzzing over to the pegasus runt and leered at her. "I'm not weak like them. I'm far stronger than either of them! I've been ruling them for many years, and I relish taking from my prey and showing them I'm something to be feared!"

"Right! Ever since I came to Equestria, I've yearned to take all their magic to be an unstoppable force!" Tirek agreed. "No thanks to my brother, he ruined everything and got me banished not only from my home, but also to Tartarus for a thousand years!"

"But Grogar said we have to work together," Cozy Glow reminded the two villains.

"And his idea almost turned me into a mutated butterfly that got barfed by a rainbow!" Chrysalis exclaimed. "I don't know what that old goat has planned, but he's wasting all of our time scheming when we could be attacking. He's too powerful right now. I say we let him believe we're his loyal servants, and we'll hatch our own plan."

"Ooh. Backstabbing Grogar," Cozy laughed with a sinister grin. "Not as good as backstabbing Sora, but I love it."

"And after we deal with him when the time comes, we can go back to trying to destroy each other," Tirek added, with both mares agreeing.

"So, in the meantime, what do we do with this?" Cozy asked, holding up Grogar's bell.

Tirek and Chyrsalis hummed in thought, curious about how the bell functions and what to do.

---

"YOU FAILED TO RETREIVE THE BELL!?" When Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis returned to Grogar's lair, they groveled at the ram's hooves as he was incredibly upset that they failed to bring back his bell.

"W-We're sorry, almighty Grogar," Cozy apologized.

"We worked together as you asked," Tirek said.

"We just aren't as powerful as you," Chrysalis added.

Grogar snorted angrily, his horns glowing ominously. He yelled and launched a powerful beam into the wall of his lair, creating another opening and causing his subordinates to flinch at his power.

"Obviously!" Grogar exclaimed, letting out an annoyed huff. "At least you finally did as you were told and worked together."

He began to storm off, his initial plans ruined and need to formulate a new one. "Of course," Cozy agreed.

"Whatever you command," Tirek said, the three smirking to each other as they watched Grogar retire to who knows where.

"Forget about that old bell. You were right," Chrysalis said. "We're so much more powerful...when we work as a team."

They glanced at a wide stalagmite in the corner of the room, where they hid the Bewitching Bell. It glowed behind its hiding spot, sensing its master nearby, but with how carefully hidden it was in the corner, Grogar wouldn't be able to spot it or its bluish glow within the room. Though Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis had no idea how the bell worked, they needed to find the time to search for the answers while also avoiding being spotted by their enemies. Neither of them knew they were free unlike King Sombra, so they had to continue playing the waiting game until the time was right.

---

Young Xehanort wandered around the Organization's hideout, feeling confident giving three of Equestria's major villains the opportunity of their lives. He knew one of them was sure to think it over. As he turned the corner, he spotted Kaito standing in the hall, leaning against the wall with a bored, solemn frown.

"If you'd like something to do, perhaps you can do some reconnaissance for Demyx," Young Xehanort offered. "He rarely does that well anyway."

"Aren't I under strict orders to make sure I don't escape?" Kaito questioned. "Or are you offering to escort me?"

"I've had my fun exploring for a bit," the young man said. "I thought of seeing if anyone else might be interested in joining."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Kaito questioned. "You've got your thirteen main members. I was the last one...Unless you think I really am plotting to escape again."

"Oh, I know you're going to stick around," Young Xehanort said. "It doesn't hurt to have a couple more backups. Just in case."

"Does the older you know about this?" Kaito asked. Young Xehanort didn't answer, but his grin gave him his answer. Kaito sometimes forgot that this young adult man was actually the older man leading this group, spanning up to seventy or eighty years between them. And the younger Xehanort had the ability to time travel. He watched the younger version of the madman leave, wondering why they were so dead set on this crazy plan with Kingdom Hearts. As he looked back down the hall, he was startled to see the pony that was recruited watching him a couple doors down. "...What are you looking at?"

He barely heard the mysterious Equestrian speak, nor even learned their name since he was forcefully enlisted. They always minded themselves, but they weren't lacking emotions considering it reacts with amusement or annoyance with some of the other members. Anytime Kaito was around them, they just stared at him in silence. They kept doing that ever since it was revealed to the whole group that he was the Nobody of Sora's father. He wondered if this pony may have known Sora and was curious about him, though with no verbal communication from them and their face always concealed under their hood, they were just left as a mystery.

Eventually, the pony turned and walked away, leaving Kaito more confused by their nature and intentions. "Just who is that pony?"

Comments

[Postwarmonkey50]

Oh boy, so the Organization is offering the Legion of Doom.

And Grogar did have a point, their egos were the reason why they kept losing. It's no wonder they kept losing. And I thought Rainbow had the ego.

[Flamewarrior02]

11798186
At least Rainbow will eventually realize when she’s in over her head

[Postwarmonkey50]

11798199
True that.

Though I can't tell who has the bigger ego, the pony rainbow dash or the human one.

[Flamewarrior02]

11798208
Imma say human

[Postwarmonkey50]

11798209
Hmmm, now that you mention it, she kinda does, as shown in Rainbow Rocks and Spring Breakdown.

[SoraFan23]

I am very curious to see what Master Xehanort's plan is that is involving with Equestria.

[BenictheHedgehog]

I am more curious on two things.

1. Why was Young Xehanort interested in recruiting the legion of doom?

&

2. Why was the mystery pony more so interested in Kaito and not say anything?

I feel like guessing that the first one be for Xehanort to have an answer to keep Twilight & her friends from interfering in his plans while seeing how strong they are. But I truly am curious if it’s that or something else.

[HarryBuilder]

11768554
All I’m saying is it feels to me that people say that Roxas is obligated to be with Namine simply because their human counterparts are a couple.

Whereas with Xion, Roxas knows her on a more personal level.

[Codex92]

11807085
Weirdly, I always did Aqua last for BBS because my usual playstyle in KH is to just be all slap happy swatting foes physically, and only using magic as a last resort, like healing. Kinda wished watching the cutscenes will allow you to see alternate scenes from the one you got to see the other two accepting that award without starting the entire game over and going through the stories in a different order.