Games Ponies Play
Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood by the train station to wait for the others to join them. Princess Celestia had sent out a letter to them a couple days ago, through Spike's fire and Sora's Keyblade. The Equestria Games were going to be held in spring next year, and she was hoping to have the Crystal Empire host the games after being out of touch with the world for the last one thousand years. But, the deciding town/city who will host the event would have to go through the Games Inspector, the identity of the pony unknown to everyone so they don't try to brown-nose them into getting a surefire shot at their home hosting the Equestria Games.
"Boy, the girls sure are taking a while," Riku said, his slightly chipper attitude a bit disturbing to Sora after the white pegasus and Twilight got back from their camping field trip.
"I know. The Games Inspector will show up in the Crystal Empire before us, and they might not have a chance to host it in spring," Kairi said. "At least the empire's gotten some tourists after they built a train station close by. Plus, it's a lot easier for everyone to walk right up into the protective barrier out of the snow in the north. And we can't forget about the adoring fans who will jump at Sora as soon as they see him, huh, Sora?" Kairi looked at her boyfriend, only to find him still staring at Riku as if he wasn't the same friend he's had in years. "...Uhh, Sora? You ok?"
"...You think there's something wrong with Riku?" he asked. "He's never been this happy after we all got back together again. You sure you're not a fake?"
"Doubting me like that?" Riku asked with a leer. "I thought you were better than that, Sora."
"Yup. That's Riku. Just checking," Sora said, leaning over to his friend with a stern glare. "For now..."
"...You've been hanging out with Donald, Goofy, and Pinkie Pie for too long." The tan stallion just stuck his tongue out and continued standing straight.
Up ahead, they spotted the Mane Six approaching the station in a hurry. "Sorry we're late, guys. We had to take make sure our pets were in good hooves."
"Luckily, you three don't have any extra pets for Spike to take care of," Twilight said, feeling a little nervous as she looked down the road to where the Golden Oak Library was. "I think he's just doing this for us to get more gems for his jewel cake after devouring the gems before making the cake."
"I didn't know all of you had pets," Riku said.
"Of course we do!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing in front of the stallion. "Twilight has an owl named Owlowiscious, I have a pet toothless alligator named Gummy, Dashie has Tank the turtle-"
"Tortoise," Rainbow Dash corrected, which was an odd pet to have in Riku's opinion with her being all about speed.
"-Fluttershy has Angel, you met him when Discord came back, Rarity has her cat Opal, and Applejack has Winona!" Pinkie ceased her bouncing, deep in thought with a hoof against her chin as she looked at the Keyblade wielders. "You know, you three should have pets too! That way we can all have fun on our Pet Play Dates! Riku's could be a wolf, Kairi a phoenix, definitely, and Sora's can be a monkey!"
"Wait, Ah thought that blue dog of his was his pet," Applejack said. "He's able to call Stitch whenever he wants, though he seems to get what he pleases sometime."
"Stitch is actually a helpful friend I can call at anytime when in a fight, or to get back at your sister for trying to out-prank me. And why am I the one who thinks a pet monkey would be perfect for me while Riku and Kairi get the cooler animals?" he asked as he looked at Pinkie.
"I think it makes perfect sense," Riku said, quickly catching Sora into a headlock and giving him a hard noogie. "You act like a monkey!"
"AHH! OW! HEY!" The white pegasus chuckled, finally letting go as the tan stallion straightened out his spiky hair.
"All aboard for the Crystal Empire!" the conductor shouted, signalling embarking passengers to board now or be left behind for the next scheduled train.
"Let's hurry on the train and tease Sora more before we miss it," Kairi said as she gently pushed Sora into the nearest train car.
"Hey! Why do you all like to pick on me!?" Sora asked as everyone laughed, making him pout as his rump slid along the platform. "You guys are the worst friends ever!"
As soon as they all got on board, the train began chugging along and off to the north. "It's gonna be real excitin'. It's amazin' to know that the crystal ponies are just as anxious about havin' the Games in the Crystal Empire."
"Well, of course it is!" Rainbow exclaimed. "It's the biggest sporting event in all of Equestria! Nopony wants to lose the chance to have their hometown not be picked for the Equestria Games!"
"Didn't Cloudsdale host the Games for one year?" Rarity asked.
"No, they didn't," she sadly said. "And I was hoping that they would that one year when my dad took me when I was a filly. I was so disappointed, too hyped to hear the good news, and it ended up turning sour."
"Aren't the events mainly on the ground, like races or archery?" Kairi questioned.
"There are several different events, both on the ground and aerial," Twilight answered. "And the princess is even adding in an extra event that's actually something held in another world. It's kind of like swordplay, but...with strange winning conditions that don't include knocking your opponent out."
"Does this event have the use of specifically crafted weapons and the way to win is by collecting orbs you and your opponent have?" The unicorn nodded her head, Sora leaping out of his seat as he grew excited, knowing exactly what it was. "Whoo hoo! Celestia's allowing a Struggle Competition as an event! Sign me up!"
"'Struggle'?" Fluttershy asked. "It sounds...strange for an event for fighting."
"Who cares how strange it is!? We can't let the ponies in the Crystal Empire feel let down when they don't host the Equestria games!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Just like I was.
"Cloudsdale is a city of clouds," Riku said. "Maybe the reason Cloudsdale doesn't host the games because there are those who aren't pegasi who attend the events or watch them from the stands."
"Cloudsdale hasn't ever hosted the Equestria Games at all since they first began many years ago, Rainbow Dash." The cyan pegasus looked at Twilight, having brought a book on the major sporting event with her. "There are a lot of ponies who come to compete, even those from different kingdoms like the griffons and minotaurs. And having to cast a cloud walking spell while lifting possibly thousands of non-flying guests in hot air balloons would end up costing a lot of bits. So, maybe you're taking things a bit out of proportion, not realizing now from back then just how much of a liability it could be for anypony without wings who might accidentally fall off a cloud."
"...Oh," Rainbow said, now understanding how serious it would have been if the Games were in Cloudsdale and the spell had worn off or someone ran off the side of the stadium. "...That makes sense...But I was still disappointed, and so was every other pegasus at home."
"But we sure won't let everyone in the Crystal Empire be disappointed," Sora said. "We'll make sure the Games Inspector picks the empire and we won't let them, Cadence, and Shining Armor down. Right, guys?"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pinkie dramatically shouted, earning odd looks from the rest of her friends. "...What? I was just answering Sora's question."
"Just a simple 'no' would have been fine," Riku said as he shook his head.
After a long ride over, the girls excluding Kairi practicing their routine welcome for the Games Inspector for the umpteenth time ending in pain as the train began to stop, having arrived in the shimmering kingdom of the Crystal Empire. The crystal ponies were busy cleaning their crystal home, making it shine brighter in the light of the sun, making sure everything looked perfect for the inspector to see. As the group arrived in the square of one of the marketplaces, standing in the center of the area was something none of them would have ever expected.
There were two statues made out of aquamarine crystals, carved out to represent two different figures with a plaque depicting them. One of them was Spike, holding the Crystal Heart in his claw in a triumphant pose, the ponies in the kingdom naming him "Spike: The Brave and Glorious". The other was of Sora, standing on his hind legs with his wings spread out, his signature Keyblade in the ground in front of him with his forehooves resting on the guard, and circling the pegasus were the seven Keyblades he used in his Harmony Form. Each Keyblade was perfectly designed as if they were the real deal, only about five times as big to match Sora's statue's height.
"Oh wow," Sora said in shock and awe. "Spike and I are the empire's national heroes. Whoever sculpted these deserve a huge raise for getting the Keyblades exactly right."
Kairi approached the plaque in front of Sora's statue and read it out loud. "'Sora: The Warrior of Light' How interesting."
"Where's our statues?" Riku asked with a smirk. "We did some of the hard work too with those Heartless."
"Maybe they're being built?" Sora shrugged his shoulders, bumping his friend's side with his elbow. "Spike and I seem to be more important and had ours done first. But I think yours will be a lot smaller than mine, by about-" Sora stretched his hooves out wide, only to bring them closer together until they were mere centimeters apart. "-this size."
"Funny." Riku punched Sora hard in the shoulder, the teen wincing as he rubbed his sore arm.
"And you say I'm a sore loser. Thankfully Spike isn't here, otherwise he'd be trying to eat himself." They continued on their way through the city after seeing the added statues of the empire's two greatest heroes, meeting up with Cadence down at the spa where she told them she would meet them.
Inside the luxurious spa, the pink alicorn princess of love was there waiting for them, being prepared for a Crystal Empire style pampering. "You all made it!"
"Cadence!" Twilight ran up to her sister-in-law while the others were amazed at the differently designed establishment compared to the spa in Ponyville.
"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" the two chanted their childish greeting and hugged each other tightly.
"Oh my," Rarity gasped, her eyes trailing all over this spa had to offer over her usual spa back home. "This spa is absolutely spectacular...Somepony pinch me."
The unicorn yelped as Pinkie gave her a pinch on the shoulder. "You're welcome!"
"Everypony, go ahead and try anything you'd like in the spa," Cadence offered. "A little complimentary gift for the welcoming committee."
"Thanks, but I'll pass on taking a spa day," Riku said. "Not for me."
"You'd be surprised to see just how many stallions come around to enjoy what spas have to offer. Even Shining Armor began to like it after I 'persuaded' him to join me," Cadence giggled, swaying her hips a little as her incentive to her husband. She approached the uninterested teen and leaned her head up to his ear. "Maybe I should ask Twilight to try to persuade you to join, Riku."
The stallion's face lit up brightly, though everyone else was thankfully too absorbed in the six out of five stars spa, even the small pool of green goop that was a crystal mud bath, which Pinkie leapt in and sank into the clear muck. "H-How did you-?...Did she write a letter to you?"
"You're talking to the alicorn princess who specializes in love. L-O-V-E. And I can see it in both your eyes." Riku blushed harder, his eyes darting back and forth to the others to make sure they weren't looking his way, though they always stopped on Twilight, facehooving at Pinkie's wild dive into the mud bath. "And it doesn't help that your eyes subtly glance over at Twilight every now and then. But I promise I'll keep my lips sealed, until you and Twilight tell us yourselves."
Riku relaxed a little, though after promising himself to wait until he was actually ready to tell anyone, he accidentally confirmed it to Cadence of her suspicions. "...Maybe I'll...try the massage?"
"Wonderful. You'll love the girls. Their hooves are like magic." They looked over at the crystal mud bath, Sora now floating around in the mud with Pinkie, making Twilight more stressed out while the employees didn't seem to mind. "I better go help Twilight. Always stressing about anything, and I hope the little technique I've been telling her through our letters will help her a little bit."
"R-Right...She gets more stressed than anyone else I've known." Cadence walked off to help Twilight control her panicking, Riku sighing as he approached one of the employees of the spa. "So, stallions come to these spas too?"
"Plenty," she said. "They stop by for the more relaxing treatments, like the mud bath, hot tub, steam room, or even a massage. And just from looking at you, you look like you desperately need one and relief of all that tension in your bones."
"Might as well try it," he said.
Before Riku could follow the crystal pony to the massage tables, one of the ponies barged into the spa and ran up to Cadence, bowing to her before catching her breath. "Princess, if I could have a moment of your time. There's...a couple bits of news I need to tell you."
"Are they bad?" Cadence asked. "You don't think it's too much to clean all of the empire and make it blindingly bright, is it?"
"No, your highness. It's not that bad...though, it is about your mane stylist for the ceremonial headdress." The messenger fidgeted a little before speaking. "She's come down with a flu and can barely move."
"Oh, that's just awful," the alicorn said. "I hope she feels better. Are there any other stylists who know how to do the traditional ceremonial headdress?" She looked around at the other workers in the spa, though all of them seemed to have no clue how to do the style perfectly. Cadence took in a deep breath, motioning her hoof as she breathed in and out, her little technique she showed Twilight earlier to keep her calm. "It's no problem. Just a small little detail."
"A small detail!?" Rainbow flew up to Cadence, accidentally knocking the messenger aside. "This is for the Crystal Empire's shot at hosting the Equestria Games! If nothing's perfect, then there's no chance!"
"I think I can pull it off," Rarity said.
"Really, Rarity!? Thank you so much! And luckily, I have the precise instructions all down here." Cadence took out a scroll and unrolled it. The paper landed and rolled across the floor and nearly out the door, an incredibly long list of instructions for a traditional Crystal Empire royal hairdo. Everyone was a little disturbed by the long list, even Rarity as she skimmed through the numbered steps. "You sure you can handle it?"
"Working on anything for royalty is such an occasion anypony would die for! And I have plenty of time to figure out how to do this..." The fashionista looked at the instructions, unsure of herself if she can even attempt make something never done after over a thousand years. "At least...I hope so."
"Thanks again, Rarity." The alicorn looked at her messenger, slowly getting back up after Rainbow knocked her over. "What's the second news?"
"Oh. Yes. The Games Inspector, Ms. Harshwhinny, will be arriving soon." The description the mare gave was really vague, seeing she was hiding the worst of the news on the Games Inspector. "...And by soon, I mean...on the next train."
"WHAT!?" everyone shouted.
"Why didn't you tell us that first!? The next train arrives in fifteen minutes!" Rainbow said.
"Rarity, do you think you can get Cadence ready before Ms. Harshwhinny arrives?" Twilight asked as Rarity looked over the instructions.
"...I think so, but I'll have to cut some corners if necessary," she said, trying to roll the long list back up.
"Great," Twilight said. "Now, Princess Celestia hinted to me and Sora that Ms. Harshwhinny will be carrying flower print luggage. As soon as we find her, we'll bring her to the castle, perform our welcoming routine, and show her around what the Crystal Empire has to offer."
"And we have to be prepared for anything she dishes out at us," Rainbow added. "Like arriving super early to try and psych us out. As long as we stay one step ahead of her, then she won't be able to catch us off-guard. Now let's get to the station before we miss her!"
Everyone quickly headed out of the spa except for Rarity to meet up with the Games Inspector. As soon as Sora ran out behind the others, some of the crystal ponies spotted him and rushed him.
"There he is!" one of them shouted, a young mare around his age. "It's the Warrior of Light himself!"
The pegasus was suddenly crowded by crystal ponies that idolized him. Mares squealed and tried to pull him toward them, while fillies and colts leapt up at his hooves, asking for autographs or showing them any spells and abilities in battle. Riku and Kairi stopped as they heard the crowd around him, having no time for Sora to get mobbed by fans.
"Of all the worst days for someone to get mobbed by adoring fans," Riku grumbled.
"Uhh, I might be stuck for a while, guys!" Sora shouted over the screaming crystal mares around him. "Don't worry! I'll catch up! You got this covered! AH! Hey, who touched me there!?"
"I touched his cutie mark! I'm never washing this hoof again!" Riku rolled his eyes, both he and Kairi watching the stallion being dragged off by his excited young fans and admirers.
"I think Sora can handle himself," Kairi said. "As long as none of those mares go too far touching him."
"You're jealous," Riku said, earning a glare from the unicorn. "You are if you're giving me that look."
"Just shut up and keep moving," she warned. "And Sora is right. What's up with you?"
"Blame this world," he simply said. "It's finally getting to me."
They reached the station a minute before the next train had arrived, growing nervous as they were about to meet the Games Inspector and hope that they can impress her. The locomotive finally appeared in the distance, slowing to a halt as it hissed out steam. Ponies began to disembark, and lucky for them, they found the mare they were looking for. Walking out of one of the cars was a pale gold earth pony wearing a pink and white blouse, her hair striped light and dark green, a pair of red glasses resting on her nose, and her cutie mark was a chicken. She was also carrying a flower printed bag, though it appeared to be scratched a little bit.
"Excuse us, miss!" Twilight called out, the mare turning her head to face the welcoming committee with a stern gaze.
"Yes, what is it?" she asked.
"Oh boy..." Twilight took a deep breath, trying to calm herself for everyone else's sake. "I know you're not exactly expecting anypony, but my friends and I are here to personally welcome you to the Crystal Empire."
"...And you all came to do that? For me?" Everyone nodded nervously as her gaze hardened. Then, completely out of nowhere, her demeanor flipped around and her glasses flew off, landing right in her bag she put down. "Well, darn tootin'! Ain't that just the cat's meow! Y'all didn't have to go and do all that for me!"
While the mares seemed relieved, Riku and Kairi looked at each other, not expecting the inspector to act like an excited tourist being treated as a guest of honor. "Well, the princess herself had decided it would be a wonderful idea to welcome someone to the recently returned Crystal Empire."
"The princess!?" the mare gasped. "Princess Cadence!?"
"Yes," Twilight said, starting to get confused, but not willing to show it to the Games Inspector.
"Well, tie me up and throw me down! This is gonna be such an amazing day today!" She followed after the others, skipping along as Applejack carried her bag.
"Heh. This is gonna be a piece of cake," Rainbow said to Twilight.
"Cake!? Where's the cake!? I want that cake!" Pinkie exclaimed as she sniffed around for the cake Rainbow Dash mentioned.
While the mares and pegasus stallion headed down toward the castle to officially welcome their guest, Sora had managed to slip away from his fans, his shirt a slight mess along with his already messy hair. He made himself look somewhat presentable as he stepped up onto the platform, but as he looked around, there was no sign of his friends anywhere.
"That's weird," he said. "Did they already get lost or something?" Sora turned back to the train as more passengers stepped off of the train. One of them was an orange mare with light gold hair, wearing a purple dress suit and a pink ascot, her cutie mark a gold trophy, lowering her luggage that had the flower print they were told to look for. She looked like a very serious business pony, a perfect description of a professional pony as an inspector for an important event. "Excuse me, ma'am?"
"Yes?" she said. "I assume you are Sora, correct?"
"Uhh, yes. Yes, I am," he said. "...What gave it away?"
"It is clearly obvious who you are by the way you are described in the news and memorabilia in the form of toys for the children to collect." As she said that, a pair of fillies came running up to Sora, both carrying flags for the Equestria Games. Their eyes begged for an autograph, making the teen chuckle nervously as the mare grinned, though it looked more sinister than amusing with her serious expression. "And they all look up to you whenever I see any stare at figurines or even posters of you."
"Heh. There are posters now?" Sora signed the fillies' flags and patted their heads, the two running off to tell their friends while the Keyblade wielder tried to hide his amusement at how much merchandise of him was made. "That's news to me. I'm probably in a very heroic pose, standing on top of a pile of defeated monsters."
"Not too far off," she said. "More like those black shadow things that had recently appeared. Quite an honor to be meeting a legendary young hero with extraordinary power such as yours."
"Need me to sign anything? I'm apparently going to get a cramp at some point with all of the autographs I had to give today." He chuckled as he waved his hoof around, the mare smirking at his misfortune as a famous celebrity. "So, I take it you're not just here in the Crystal Empire for a vacation by the way you're dressed."
"Not entirely. I do have important business to do here, but it'd kept confidential from those outside of my place of work." She held her hoof out to him to shake it. "Harshwhinny. Pleasure to meet one of Equestria's saviors."
He shook the mare's hoof, finding the right mare to judge the Crystal Empire on being picked by her for the Equestria Games. "Ms. Harshwhinny. Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Would you like a tour of the empire?"
"I think I have some time to spare before meeting with my business associates." The teen lifted Ms. Harshwhinny's bag onto his back and lead her off the platform and into the city. "For being somepony who looks like a miscreant waiting to cause trouble, you actually fit the role of an honorable warrior with a likable personality."
"Well, I can't blame you for that, but how I look...Ms. Harshwhinny, you have no idea what messes I've gotten into." As Sora lead the Games Inspector down the road, he began to wonder where everyone else ran off to. "Don't tell me those guys planned on me to be the welcoming committee while they decide to poke fun at me again."
As the actual welcoming committee guided the mare they escorted into the castle, she stared in awe at the shimmering glory that was the building's crystalline structure. "I can't believe I'm inside of the crystal palace. I've seen pictures, but never thought I'd be getting a tour of the inside!" She suddenly gulped and looked around out of fear instead of awe. "Though...sometimes the outside is always enough of a sight to see..."
"This is one of the oddest inspectors I've met," Riku whispered to Twilight. "You think we should check her for some sort of inspection badge or something?"
"She's trying to mess with our heads," Rainbow answered. "It's like this with any kind of inspector or critic. They pose as a tourist, look at everything instead of what they want to see, and as soon as it ends and we slip up, she won't allow the Crystal Empire to host the Equestria Games. So don't fall for her acting and lower your defenses, otherwise you'll end up making the biggest mistake of your life." The stallion glared at the cyan mare spitefully, reminding him of his mistake when he sided with Maleficent. "...What?"
"Just focus on making her happy and stop talking. Preferably the latter." Riku grumbled and walked away from Rainbow Dash before he would regret permanently silencing the pegasus with a spell.
"What's gotten into him?" she asked, oblivious to his anger.
"Rainbow Dash, just stop trying to make things worse," Twilight scolded. "You just reminded him of his own mistakes, siding with Maleficent after she convinced him to fight with her and against Sora, 'falling for her acting and lowering his defenses, making the biggest mistake of his life.'"
"...Oh. Oops." Before Rainbow could apologize, they heard the "inspector" mumbling to herself, stretching out her legs and was prepared to bolt out of the foyer of the castle.
"Uhh, does anypony mind if I go outside?" she asked. "It's been a long ride over and I could use a quick stretch."
"But we were just about to officially welcome you to the Crystal Empire," Kairi said, guiding the fidgeting earth pony over to a nearby sofa. "It's quite an opportunity to welcome you, and since all of us aren't from here as well, who better than to let us welcome you to this glorious kingdom!"
"Yeah. It's pretty exciting," Riku said unenthusiastically, still sour from Rainbow's advice unintentionally bringing him back to his darkest of moments. "And our friends have even made a little cheer to make your stay more enjoyable."
"...Right! What Riku said!" Kairi chuckled nervously, signalling the girls to begin their cheer, taking Rarity's place as she too busy with Cadence's hair.
The girls began to form a pyramid, the earth ponies at the base, the unicorns held up by them in the middle, and the pegasi at the top. "Two, four, six, eight! Name a place that's really great!" Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Kairi leapt off their positions as they started the next verse of the welcome chant. "One, two, three, four! Keeps you coming back for more!" They began to create another tower, though Fluttershy hovered up to the top while Rainbow Dash flew around and made a heart shaped streak of rainbow around the others at an incredibly quick pace. Pinkie and Applejack were the base again, though where the pink earth pony held Twilight and Kairi up, the pink unicorn performing a handstand on the lavender unicorn's back, the farm pony held Twilight up with just her tail. "Two, seven, nine, three! The place that we all wanna be! Four, three, two, one! The Crystal Empire, that's the one!"
The "inspector" was immediately amazed by the spectacle, though the tower tumbled over when Pinkie thought it was a good idea to shoot off her party cannon, the blast of confetti knocking the earth ponies over along with the unicorns.
"That was amazing!" she said, clapping her hooves while the mares that fell got up after Pinkie's addition to the routine. "I have been to a lot of places in my life, but I have never been welcomed like this at all!"
"That's good to hear," Twilight said, ignoring the pain of the fall. "Princess Cadence will be glad to hear this."
"I'm a little surprised she knows anything about me at all!" That statement confused the mares and pegasus stallion, but it was cast aside, thinking that she was still acting to hide her identity as the Games Inspector.
"This is gonna be a long day," Riku grumbled, wishing he had taken a little break with a massage at the spa before they knew Ms. Harshwhinny arrived so soon. "And where the heck is Sora at? Don't tell me he's showing off to the other ponies..."
"This crystal corn is delicious," Ms. Harshwhinny said, daintily munching on her food.
Sora gave the Games Inspector a little tour around the town until she had gotten a little hungry from the train ride over. They stopped at a little eatery, selling a variety of their fruits and vegetables only available in the Crystal Empire, a delight any newcomer would be dying to try. The teen had already finished his order, looking around to see he wasn't that far away from the spa. He had to make sure to avoid bringing Harshwhinny around there until Cadence was ready to be presented with her new traditional hairstyle of the Crystal Empire's royalty.
"Yeah. As odd as the crystal produce sounds, it's a lot softer than eating actual food made of crystal," he said, the mare agreeing with him as she dabbed her lips with a napkin. "Uhh, sorry to be a bit rude, but I kind of need to check where my friends are. They were supposed to be helping me guide new ponies to the kingdom, but I have no clue where they went. Would you mind if I left you to your food while I go and search around a little?"
"Oh, not at all. Seems there's plenty of samples for me to try," Ms. Harshwhinny said. "The best way to learn a culture is by their food, and it certainly shows."
"Ok, good. Try the cinnamon buns! They're incredible!" Sora excused himself and walked down the road. He made sure the mare wasn't watching him as he rounded the corner where the spa was located. As he entered the spa, Sora spotted Cadence behind a screen in a lounge chair, Rarity working into a frenzy as he heard her whimpering in a panic. "Hey, Rarity. Cadence. Have you two seen-"
"Sora!? What are you doing here!?" Rarity screamed, running out from behind the screen and trying to push the stallion back out the door.
"Well, I found the Games Inspector, but I haven't seen-" He didn't have a chance to explain as the fashionista grabbed his cheeks tightly.
"You brought the inspector here!?" she asked. "Cadence is not ready to even be seen in public let alone in this spa!"
Sighing in annoyance, Sora pulled Rarity's hooves off his face. "What's been going on?"
"I ended up skipping so many steps in that long list, and the pressure and time restraint is driving me mad," the unicorn whimpered. "Right now, she's in the middle of a delicate conditioning cycle if there is any hope of saving her hair!"
"...May I ask how bad it is?" he asked, trying to peek over to see through the screen, only for Rarity to keep blocking his view.
"Imagine her mane into the quills of a porcupine." Sora blankly stared at the fashionista, brushing a hoof over his own mane to remind her of his spiky hairstyle. "Ten times worse than your hair! Caught in a hurricane, blended in a twister, and so badly split up that I think her being bald would look better than what her hair looks like now!"
"Ew...That actually does sound bad." He was then dragged out of the spa by the unicorn's magic. "Ok, I'll make sure to keep Ms. Harshwhinny far from the spa, but do you have any idea where-"
"I need to get back to work!" Rarity interrupted again. "I need more time!"
"But-!" She slammed the door on him, making him groan in frustration as his question was left unanswered. "...Alright. Guess I have no clue of finding out where the others are. Might as well keep stalling her until Cadence is actually ready."
"Sora! There you are!" He turned around and saw Twilight running up to him. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to find you guys when you left the Games Inspector at the station," he said.
"No, we found the Games Inspector. She's being guided through the castle, even though we've only been through a small portion of the massive castle." Twilight groaned, still feeling sore from falling after their welcoming cheer. "I just hope they don't mess this up. I came to see how Cadence was doing, and now I see you sitting here."
"Rarity needs more time with Cadence's hair. It's a bit of a mess, but the Games Inspector is actually-" Again, Sora couldn't finish his sentence as Twilight levitated him in the air and carried him back toward the castle.
"I knew I should have left one of us behind with you after we found her," she said. "She needs to see you, being the Crystal Empire's national hero."
"Can I please finish my sentences without being interrupted or being dragged off somewhere!?" Unable to do anything under Twilight's lavender aura, Sora just pouted and crossed his hooves as he was lead back to the castle.
While being dragged off along a different road, Ms. Harshwhinny began waiting impatiently after nearly ten minutes, having finished tasting the food the Crystal Empire was famous for. He wasn't supposed to be gone long and search around for his friends, but either they were on the other side of the city or he wound up getting lost.
"I don't think it should take somepony this long, being a pegasus," she uttered to herself. "Might as well see more of the empire while I try to find Equestria's youngest swordspony." Ms. Harshwhinny got up from her seat after leaving some bits for her meal, but as she reached the edge of the sidewalk, a cart went by and splashed her with a puddle of water. She groaned in annoyance, now soaking wet and irritated. "...Well, this day went from good to bad very quickly..."
"And, here we have a big...round room, known for its roundness and bigness." Pinkie began giving the tour of the castle for the "Games Inspector", even though none of them have had that much time to know the layout of the crystal palace. And having Pinkie start the tour was a bad idea as she explained the current room they were in, and quite poorly. "Did I also mention that it's round?"
"Yeah. Great plan to let Pinkie start giving the tour of a castle we barely know anything about," Riku whispered to the others, wanting to bang his head off the wall over the terrible description of the rotunda.
"I believe they call it a rotunda," the earth pony said, her eyes darting around while trying to control her breathing. "A very small...tightly confining...rotunda..."
Kairi dragged Pinkie away in her telekinetic grasp, noticing how odd their guest of honor was being. "Guys, I think we should move elsewhere."
"Yes!" the mare blurted out. "Somewhere else sounds good, like someplace where I can stretch out the ol' limbs from all this standing around."
"And I got just the place!" Rainbow said, hovering in front of the anxious pony. "Let's take a little walk over to the castle's gymnasium! That'll sure to get your legs going!"
Riku facehooved hard, leaving a big red hoof mark on his forehead. "A gymnasium!? Castle's don't have gymnasiums! This is getting absolutely ridiculous!"
"I don't think we even have a chance at this rate," Kairi whispered.
The group soon began to follow Rainbow Dash as she tried to figure out where the castle's gym was located, heading down a few hallways. A moment later, Twilight and Sora arrived in the rotunda, finding no sign of anyone, the teen floating upside down in the unicorn's aura.
"Oh great. Where did they go to?" Twilight asked. "I knew I should have learned every single corner of the castle."
"Can you please let me down? I can walk just fine on my own." She dropped her spell, letting Sora fall flat on his back. "Thank you." He stood back up and brushed off his shoulders. "Great. Thanks to you, I'm pretty sure I've completely lost the Games Inspector out in the city."
"Sora, the Games Inspector's in the castle," Twilight corrected. "We found the pony with flowers on her bag, and we just gave her the welcome cheer. Now we're going to have to give her a big tour of the empire before she meets Cadence."
"There's no way Ms. Harshwhinny is here!" Sora shouted. "I was just talking to her out by the cafe not too far from where the spa was, and you dragged me away from giving the actual tour to the ACTUAL Equestria Games Inspector!"
"There can't be two ponies investigating the empire to be chosen for the Equestria Games. We found the right pony, she's just pretending to act like a tourist to try and distract us, and we're doing good so far." The Keyblade wielder just sighed and shook his head.
"Did you even get 'The Inspector's' name at all when you picked her up?" he asked. Twilight was about to speak, but realized she, nor any of the others, had bothered to ask her name, even if it was an alias. "Mhmm. Thought so."
"W-Well, how are you sure who you were with the whole time isn't actually Ms. Harshwhinny!?" she asked.
"She told me her name at the station, and if she's anything I expected from someone who's in charge of planning a serious event known in Equestria, she would be professionally dressed and be one hundred percent serious about deciding the best city to host the games, acting or not." Both ponies grew silent, now completely unsure who the actual inspector is that they were guiding. "...We aren't going to find out until she announces the city to host the Equestria Games, aren't we?"
"I think so..." Twilight began to think, doing her breathing exercises to calm herself and lower her stress. "Ok. I'll keep tabs on who we picked up and you try to find your pony. I'll try and ask my brother if he might know something, and I hope one of us found the right mare."
"Good idea, provided I can find Harshwhinny if she hadn't left the cafe yet." Twilight and Sora split up, the former to find the rest of their friends and their "honored guest", while the later flew out to search for the actual Games Inspector, if it really was her.
After wandering around the castle for longer than she'd liked, Twilight gave up trying to find the others and the visiting mare to find her brother. She knew he was going to be busy coaching the crystal ponies, training them to compete in the events of the Equestria Games down at the stadium. Shining Armor was seen standing near the edge of the track overlooking the crystal ponies stretching before they began to do their warm-up laps. The former captain of the Royal Guard spotted his little sister coming down the steps, waving her over.
"Twily! Great seeing you again." The siblings hugged, both happy to see each other, but Twilight was still a little worried. "How's everything going?"
"Well...that depends on what your definition of 'ok' is." Shining Armor blew his whistle, his trainees beginning their run along the track. "You see, we have a little problem."
"With what?" he asked. "Is the inspector giving you any trouble?"
"That's the problem...You see, earlier at the station, we seemed to have picked up who we think is the actual Equestria Games Inspector, but Sora said he also picked up the inspector too after we got separated from him by his...adoring fans." As Twilight explained the situation, Shining Armor was listened, along with paying attention to the ponies who will represent the Crystal Empire. "The only thing we knew about who she was is her luggage with flower patterns on it, but it seems like both of them have that same pattern, and we don't know if the inspector will be herself or put on an act to try and trick us."
"...I see." The stallion took a moment to look back at the runners, blowing his whistle to make them move faster. "Come on, ponies! I want to see galloping, not cantering! My grandfather can run laps around you! With a broken leg!" He let out another shrill whistle, focusing back on his little sister. "So, where are the others and who's with whom?"
"Sora's out looking for who he thinks is the real inspector in the city, and the others are in the castle giving the other mare a tour of the castle. I just hope we can figure this out before it's too late." Shining began to laugh, confusing Twilight. "What? Why are you laughing?"
"Usually, you'd be freaking out about something that's heavily important, though it's mostly when it comes to tests," he said. "You seem to be a bit more relaxed, and it sounded like you guys are going through a lot just to impress the Games Inspector...Hopefully the real one."
"...Huh. I guess I am a lot more calm," Twilight said. "Maybe those breathing exercises Cadence taught me is paying off. I feel like nothing can stop us from helping the Crystal Empire be picked to host the Equestria Games."
Suddenly, they heard someone hollering from the direction of the castle. Running down the stairs, laughing and panting crazily, the mare the rest of the group was supposed to be giving a tour to began running around on the track.
"Finally! Sweet, sweet freedom!" she cheered, running faster than the runners on the track and bowling them over. "Oh, it feels so good to be outside!"
"...Uhh, what the hay is happening?" Shining asked, having no clue what was wrong with this strange mare running around like a lunatic, shoving aside and possibly injuring his competing ponies.
"That's...who we were giving the tour to," Twilight said, the rest of her friends running into the stadium a moment later.
"Well, now we know there isn't a gym inside the castle," Rainbow said, only further irritating Riku.
"What castles have you gone to that actually have an indoor gym?" the pegasus stallion asked. Riku quickly flew down on the track in front of the mare's path to try and stop her. "Ma'am, I need you to quit freaking out and-"
She didn't pay attention, charging straight through Riku, sending him flying into one of the hurdles behind him. The impact caused him to break the posts, sending a flower pot flying into the air and landing on the mare's head.
"AHHHHHH! Where am I!? Who turned out the sun!?" She began to scream in panic, running even faster and out of control. "Get me out of here!!!!!"
She slammed through the wall and ran out into the city, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy quickly chasing after her before she hurt anyone else. Twilight ran over to Riku, helping him sit up after getting knocked back into the hurdles.
"Riku, are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah...just a broken back, a migraine...and I think a concussion?" Riku fell back, groaning in pain. "She's stronger than she looks..."
"Ms. Harshwhinny!?" Sora called out, having searched nearly every section of the empire to find the Games Inspector. She was nowhere near the cafe, having wandered off to look around for herself or try to find him. How he couldn't find a regular earth pony mare out of all the crystal ponies wandering around was beyond him. "Oh perfect. Where did she go to? How hard is it to find an orange mare wearing a purple dress jacket who always looks angry!?"
"AAAAAAH!" His ears perked up as he heard a scream, turning around and narrowly avoiding getting ran over by a pale gold mare with a flower pot firmly placed on her head.
"Whoa! I know sports can be fun and all, but some just take it way too seriously." Sora spotted Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in the air, chasing after the mare running wildly. He flew up and followed them, quickly catching up. "Hey, what's going on!?"
"The Games Inspector began running around like crazy down by the stadium and she has a flower pot stuck on her head!" Rainbow explained as she and Sora got closer. "Now she's freaking out for some reason, and I don't know how long we can keep this up and let her do whatever she wants!"
"THAT'S the inspector you guys brought!?" Sora questioned, but he would get his answers after stopping the madmare from causing more collateral damage from her blind fleeing. The teen quickly flew down and grabbed a hold of the pot and pulled hard. "Alright, come on! Pull...off!"
He managed to slip the pot off of her, but the speed he was going flung him off over the city.
"Ok. Looking a lot better," Rarity said, putting the finishing touches on Cadence's hair. "It didn't take that much time at all after getting a better look at that long list of instructions." Above the glass dome, Sora smacked into the roof of the spa, the dull thud spooking Rarity a little bit. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Cadence asked.
"I thought I heard something." While looking around, she didn't look up as Sora began to slide down the roof and disappear off the edge, falling to the ground outside. "Must have been my imagination. Back to working on finishing this overly complicated hairstyle."
While Rainbow and Fluttershy watched the mare cheering and jogging in place, being far too hyper after having a flower pot stuck on her head, the others caught up with them, just as confused as the pegasus mares were. "She is a hoof full."
"No kidding." Up ahead, Sora hovered up to them, weakly landing on the ground until he collapsed on the ground.
"The things...I do...to help others," he said, sighing heavily as he recovered from smacking into the roof. He looked up, spotting the mare he saved, also being the other inspector they were all expecting. "...Who are you?"
"Well, call me my Aunt Gertrude and smack me upside the head!" she said. "You're Sora, ain't ya!?"
"...Yes...Yes, I am," he said, slowly getting back up on his hooves. "And you are-?"
She quickly grabbed his hoof, tightly, and shook him up and down, nearly pulling his leg out of his shoulder. "It is an honor in meeting the youngest hero of Equestria in the flesh! I'm a huge fan, not even expecting you to be here in the Crystal Empire!"
"WHY CAN'T I FINISH A SENTENCE TODAY!?" Sora screamed, his whole body shaking wildly after the mare finally let go.
"Can I get an autograph!?" she asked, pulling out a small notebook out of her shirt pocket. "Just write it out to Peachbottom, and I'll be all set."
After finally hearing her name, the rest of the group, except Shining Armor, gasped in shock, Twilight and Rainbow Dash approached Peachbottom. "Wait, you mean your name isn't Harshwhinny!?"
"And you're not the Equestria Games Inspector!?" Rainbow asked.
"...The who-now?" Peachbottom asked in confusion.
"...Oh my gosh. We got the wrong pony!?" Rainbow exclaimed, shaking Twilight as the unicorn began to panic, Sora having been with the right mare all this time.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pinkie shouted dramatically. "Oh wait. YEEEEEESSSSSSS!"
"I knew I found the right pony," Sora said before falling on his side in exhaustion.
Everyone began to split up and find Ms. Harshwhinny, Kairi and Shining Armor staying behind with Sora, helping him back up and guiding him to the spa. Peachbottom followed them, more out of awe as a fan of the Keyblade wielder than helping him out after she caused him to launch into the air after getting the pot off her head.
"So, does this mean I'm not getting my autograph?" she asked.
"Ms. Peachbottom, I don't think Sora's going to be doing any signing in his condition," Shining Armor said. "You caused a lot of trouble, and my sister and her friends wasted their time giving you a tour of the empire when it should have been for the Games Inspector that was coming here today."
"Ohhhhh! Well, shoot! Y'all should have said somethin' then!" she said. "Goodness. I thought I was randomly chosen to see royalty, like I won a raffle I didn't enter."
"And why were you always wanting to go outside?" Kairi asked. "You looked like you were about to bolt out of the castle, and you kind of did earlier."
"Oh, I have claustrophobia. Can't really stand being in tight spaces, and being inside that train for so long for a vacation here in the Crystal Empire, I was desperate to stay outside." Kairi, Sora, and Shining Armor gave Peachbottom a blank stare. "...Should I have said something sooner?"
"Yes," the two unicorns and pegasus said simultaneously.
They walked into the spa, hoping the rest of the gang can find Harshwhinny before she leaves and gives a poor score on the Crystal Empire's hospitality. Little did they realize that the mare they were searching for was in the spa as well, spotting Sora as she sat in the waiting room.
"Well, well, well," Harshwhinny said, the ponies wincing as they turned to face her, and she was not happy. "Seems as though my little tour guide, a national hero of the empire and Equestria, was too busy hanging out with his companions than finding them, leaving me to look around on my own."
"...Ms. Harshwhinny, I can explain-" She held a hoof up, silencing him from finishing his sentence.
"I thought I had quite a good day today," she said. "Arriving at the station, meeting the young pegasus who is known as a hero to the Crystal Empire and given a tour around the castle, but that ended when I didn't catch sight of you after ten minutes sampling the food. I wandered about on my own, but I ended up getting splashed with water several times, and everypony didn't even spare a passing glance at me as if I were invisible! Quite a horrible city to host the Equestria Games, let alone any major event in Equestria! And I have yet to see the princess!"
"Did somepony ask for me?" Cadence appeared from behind the screen, her Crystal Empire traditional hairstyle finally done, a variety of gems in her curled mane, a small heart of crystal shaped like the actual relic in the center above her horn.
"And here she is, in the spa." Harshwhinny approached the alicorn. "Princess Cadence, I am absolutely appalled by the lack of hospitality I had received, aside from a small moment with Sora, but that quickly ended the moment he left to 'find his friends'."
"Now just hold up a darn second there," Peachbottom said, gaining Harshwhinny's attention. "You shouldn't go and blame any of the ponies who tried to do their hardest to welcome you into the Crystal Empire. It's more my fault since they had mistaken me for you. We seem to have a similar taste in baggage if they were lookin' for somepony with floral-print luggage on them. But let me tell you something: I had the biggest welcome since coming here, and it was the best darn greeting and tour I'd ever had in a new city I planned to visit!"
The spa was dead silent as the two mares stared at each other. Sora, Kairi, Shining Armor, and Cadence took a step back, unsure if the confrontation between the two guests would end up with more trouble than a disagreement. Harshwhinny slowly approached Peachbottom, her expression still as grumpy as when she first arrived.
"...Tell me everything," she said, surprising the four ponies watching them. "I would like to hear of a completely unbiased and unrehearsed welcome from a simple tourist with her first day in the newly returned Crystal Empire."
"Oh, I'll tell ya everything!" Peachbottom exclaimed. "I'm even planning on extending my stay here for a while longer after today!"
"Let's talk over a little massage. After the long trip and getting soaked several times by carts running over puddles, I need this more than ever." Harshwhinny and Peachbottom began to talk as they started their spa treatments, the prince and princess of the Crystal Empire and the Keyblade wielders stared at them in shock.
"...Soooo...Does this mean what I think it means?" Sora asked.
"The next host for the Equestria Games is...the Crystal Empire!" Cadence announced through a megaphone to all of the kingdom, the ponies all celebrating as their kingdom was given the honor to host the biggest sporting event in Equestria.
It was a surprise to hear Harshwhinny say that the Crystal Empire was immediately picked by the details from an accidental vacationer being involved in the welcoming committee's welcome for Peachbottom and not for her. When the others were gathered after trying to find the Games Inspector, the news had stunned them, but they managed to give the empire the chance to host the Equestria Games in spring next year. They headed to the station and were ready to head back home, leaving the crystal ponies to celebrate and the mares to retrieve their pets.
"We are so lucky that didn't end in disaster," Sora said as they all waited for the train to arrive. "And I cannot wait until the Struggle competition comes around. Hope everyone gets to know the rules and give us their best fighters, cause I'm ready for a challenge."
"Well, if you're going to compete, then sign me up," Riku said, his best friend leering at him. "I think I'm more of a challenge to you than anyone else who can match up to hordes of Heartless."
"Then prepare to lose! Stuggling is a lot different than normal fighting competitions, so I suggest you read the rulebook and get ready for a whooping!" As the two friends/rivals butted heads, the large pile of luggage behind them suddenly collapsed, neither of them anywhere near the bags. "Whoa...That was freaky."
"Hey, hurry up, you two! The train's about to leave!" Sora and Riku quickly ran inside the car, unaware of a large green emerald in the gutter on the roof of the station.
"Whew. All this runnin' around has got mah dogs barkin'," Applejack said. As she sat down in one of the seats, a sudden barking sound spooked her and everyone else. "Huh. Y'all hear that? They really are."
"I don't think hooves can do that, Applejack." Sora sat down in a seat with Kairi, sighing in relief as he rested his head against her shoulder. "Too much excitement for one day."
"You lacking energy? What happened to you, Sora?" the unicorn asked.
"Getting old, running around like a frightened hen, smacking into a roof after helping Peachbottom get that pot off her head. I don't have as much energy as Pinkie Pie does." Suddenly, they all began to hear what sounded like a loud grumbling noise that came from a stomach. "What the heck was that?"
As soon as the noise appeared, it disappeared just as quickly. Sora grew a bit suspicious as it sounded like it came from in the car, underneath their seat. Curious, he began to move his back leg underneath the seat, brushing against something soft like hair or fur rub against his hoof. He pretended to stretch and look under his seat, freezing in place as his eyes widened at what he saw. Underneath a couple of the seats in the train car were Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and the mares' pets, Angel holding a half-bitten emerald in his paws, somehow on the train with them and without any knowledge of their appearance from the conductor.
They knew they were in a lot of trouble, their eyes begging him not to say anything. He'll have to ask them what they were doing here once they got back to Ponyville, without the others knowing. At least Spike had all the pets with him, but why Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were there too is a mystery.
"Sora? You ok?" Kairi asked, poking his back.
He slowly sat back up, recovered from the surprise guests underneath them, wrapping his hoof around his girlfriend's shoulder. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm probably just hearing things."
"Then what was that growling noise?" she questioned, about ready to look underneath them as well.
"Must have been my stomach," he said to the troublemakers' relief beneath them. "How about we grab something to eat as soon as we get back to Ponyville?"
"Hmmm...Alright. But I'm picking where we'll eat." Sora nodded, agreeing to the terms as Kairi snuggled against him.
After the long ride back home, everyone began to get off, the stowaway fillies, baby dragon, and animals sneaking out of the back of the car to keep from being spotted. Once the train departed, they saw the fillies, dragon, and pets "waiting" for them.
"Hey, guys!" Spike greeted. "Thought it would be better to meet you guys at the station!"
"And we can't wait to hear all about the Crystal Empire and see if you got us any of the crystal snow globes they sell at the station!" Sweetie Belle said, the remaining two CMC and Spike cringing as the oblivious unicorn filly blew their cover.
"Wait a minute. How did you know the sold snow globes up there?" Rarity questioned her sister.
"...Uhhhhh...Lucky guess?" Thankfully for them, the Mane Six were distracted by their pets as they ran or flew up to them.
"Wow, Spike. You did a really good job taking care of the animals," Twilight complimented.
"I told you I could handle it," Spike said. He tossed the emerald he held in his claws, the same one that Angel was holding earlier. "Now that I have some free time, I can get started on making my jewel cake."
He tossed it in the air one last time, catching it with his tongue and chewing the rest of it up. "Uhh, Spike? Wasn't that supposed to be for that cake you were going to make?"
It took a moment for Sora's words to sink into the baby dragon, his eyes growing wide as he realized he ate his last gem. "WHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?"
Sora shook his head as he walked into town with Kairi, the others splitting up to head back to their homes. "Guess that greed and hunger for gems is always going to stay a passive trait for dragons. And speaking of dessert, think we can share something after dinner?"
"Well, you are paying, so I'm going to have to find the most expensive, and tastiest, dessert on the menu." The couple headed off to find a restaurant of Kairi's choice for a relaxing date after a long and confusing day in the Crystal Empire.
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Noice
It's perfect chapter for the stories of mlp X kingdom hearts crossovers scene!
magical mystery cure also know as the birth of princess twilight sparkle got to be next plus cool idea to have the stuggle in poies games
the stuggle is real
7524100 It would be hilarious if that was just skipped. Like, we just jump to season 4. You know, because people used to hate the Twilight alicorn business...even though she's been an alicorn almost more than she's been a unicorn now.
7524191 Actualy she is, in terms of episodes that is.
Couldn't Sora count those friendly Dreameaters from Dream Drop Distance as pets?
7525287 See? Isn't that kinda sad? Then again...I prefer alicorn Twilight.
7525731 Hmm...I guess he could. But he can't summon them here.
7525731 Sadly, the Dreameaters are only called forth in the dream realm, so like AetherToast said, they can't be summoned in the waking world.
7525803 Here, here! I believe having Twilight as an alicorn held a lot of new potential for new episodes and lessons for her about her new powers and being a princess of Equestria. And we got some good ones in the past two seasons, too. Lots of people don't like changes out of fear, unable to look past some of the negatives and look forward to some of the positives in the show, and it's natural to not like change sometimes. All hail the princess!
7525244 Thank you for pointing out that small bit I flubbed up. Fixed it. Curse the music I chose to play for that scene distracting me from paying attention.
7525803 True but in some episodes it doesn't realy matter.
7526693 It doesn't have to matter in every single episode.
7526425 Thanks for agreeing. I enjoy alicorn Twilight, I think a lot of interesting stories came out of it on this site. I'm also one of the few that thinks Twilight deserves the alicornhood and she's allowed to still make mistakes after gaining it.
O_o
Er... I'll readily admit that I never actually watched the episode that showcased Harshwhinney... so that kinda... well, yeah... My mind skipped more than a few tracks there. I actually had to reread the parts leading up to this a few times to make sure it wasn't an Apple.
Is that actually what she's like?
EDIT: And the award for the quickest jumping of the gun goes to... ME!
Ugh.
I could have lived without that embarrassment.
meh i still find riku and twilight weird. when twilight takes celestias place riku will technically be king. and if anyone deserves to be king its sora. after everything hes done plus when has kairi ever given him any acknowledgement. (small gripe aside EXCELLENT story.)
Ole!