Princess Twilight Sparkle (Part 2)
Nightmare Moon cackled under the light of her moon, blocking out the sun as she made the night come earlier than it should have. Twilight had no idea what was happening, only growing more confused. The princesses had disappeared, along with Sora, Riku, and Kairi, strange magic absorbing vines were invading Ponyville, now Luna had appeared, turning into Nightmare Moon when she had already made amends with Celestia after a thousand years.
"Luna, what are you doing!?" Twilight asked. "Don't you remember what happened to you a thousand years ago!? You'll be banished to the moon again if you do this again!"
She didn't seem to hear her, or even notice her presence, unleashing her magic and destroying the new castle they were in. Her magical beams struck pillars, walls, the floor, and the roof, Twilight quickly leaping out of the way as pieces of the ceiling fell over her. As she stood up, she heard hoofsteps come up beside her, looking up to see Princess Celestia, staring at her sister in fear in the new transformed state she was in.
"Luna, what are you doing!?" she asked. "What happened to you?"
"I'm doing what I should have done so long ago, sister," Luna spat, seething with rage as she spoke with her older sister. "Everypony doesn't appreciate me, and they all praise you like you're the greatest pony in all of Equestria! And don't you dare call me Luna. For I am now known as Nightmare Moon."
"You don't need to do this," Celestia pleaded. "Please, you must lower the moon! It's your duty to control the night, and it's not time yet!"
"I refuse to take orders from you any longer!" Nightmare Moon stomped her hooves, breaking the dais more. Twilight could see tears welling up in the alicorn's eyes as she glared at Celestia. "Nopony even knows I exist...Not even you. Sombra was the only one who cared, but he's gone. Banished to the shadows after he broke my heart! Through a stupid letter!"
"What?" Celestia was in shock, somehow not knowing her little sister was in love with the stallion who used powerful dark magic to nearly take over the Crystal Empire. Twilight saw the expression on her mentor's face, more questions popping up in her head from the two rulers' sudden amnesia. "You were in love with him? After what he had done?"
"I've been seeing him when you never even noticed, not like you would because you only cared about how much your subjects praise you and your precious sun!" Nightmare brushed a hoof over her eyes, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall. "He was the only one who cared and loved the night I brought every evening, not like you. Now, I have one thing to do before I make the night last for all eternity: kill you."
Celestia gasped as she saw the dark aura around her sister grow from her anger, backing away in fear, having felt this same power come from Sombra. Nightmare Moon lunged forward, her magical aura forming a deadly scythe as black as a starless night, ready to slice through the white alicorn. Celestia lit up her horn, creating her own aura weapon: a large claymore glowing brightly like the sun. She blocked the scythe as black and yellow sparks lit up the throne room.
"Wait, stop!" Twilight called out, trying to stop them from fighting. She couldn't get closer to them, avoiding touching the sparks as they began to burn the carpet underneath them. "Luna, please, listen to us!"
"Luna, I don't want to fight you," Celestia continued pleading. "You're my sister. What have I done to hurt you?"
"Exactly! You've done absolutely nothing!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed, overpowering Celestia as she began to push her back. "You've got your head so high in the clouds that you've neglected me, never caring about how I felt. And you said we'd rule together." The dark alicorn pushed her older sister back, swinging her scythe as Celestia stumbled, hearing her cry out in pain as she managed to cut her cheek. Celestia kept her distance, stunned to see the mare before her no longer her sister, transformed by the same darkness that infested Sombra. "Where was my share!? I took over the night, yet no one seemed to care!...Not even you praised me while you slept just as I raised the moon to its highest apex!"
"I'm sorry," Celestia apologized, ignoring the burning pain from the cut on her cheek. "I-I didn't know you were feeling this way. Please, forgive me."
"It's too late for apologies, sister. This kingdom is mine now, and having you around will only cause me more pain!" Hovering her aura scythe above her, Nightmare spun the weapon around, the blade shimmering as it created dark crescent moons around her. They spiraled rapidly, aiming straight for Celestia, the dark mare slicing her weapon down to fire them while shooting another larger one from her scythe. Celestia fled, flying up into the air and out of the hole Nightmare Moon left during her retaliating magic blasts. "Where do you think you're going!? Where's all that bravado after all we've done in the past, sister!? Are you afraid of what I have become!?" She flew off after her, not giving the white alicorn the chance to escape. "YOU SHOULD BE!"
"No!" Twilight summoned her Keyblade and fired a Blizzard spell to try to freeze Nightmare Moon, but her spell missed and hit the edge of the new skylight she created. "This isn't happening. This is not happening!"
Twilight flew up and began to chase after them, no longer worrying about trying to stay aloft as she flew perfectly, more terrified of having another dangerous confrontation that could end with one of the alicorn princesses banished. Leaving the castle, she wasn't given much time to look around at her surroundings aside from this new castle, watching the two alicorns clashing once again. Sword met scythe, both weapons made out of the mares' celestial auras glowing brightly in the darkened sky as sparks flew with each impact. Twilight tried to help from a distance, using Thunder to try and shock them, but her bolts kept missing as they moved too fast for her to strike.
Nightmare Moon continued firing crescent blades of magic at Celestia, the alicorn defending herself by blocking them with her solar claymore or creating a shield of light around herself. As she let her barrier down, the dark alicorn dove into her, slamming her into one of the towers nearby. Celestia teleported away before Nightmare could slash her, swinging her weapon and shooting arcs of golden flames hurtling toward the black alicorn villainess. She countered the flames by spinning her scythe, sucking away the oxygen from the flames, leaving nothing but embers.
"Is that really all you've got, Celestia!?" Nightmare Moon taunted. "Where was all that power everypony claimed you had!? Or is it because you're going soft on me?" She tilted the blade of the scythe, the reflection coming from the dark crescent aura showing Celestia, her eyes filled with fear and regret. "Taking you down will be far too easy."
"Luna, I don't want to hurt you!" the alicorn cried out. "Please, let's stop this! I'll do anything!"
"Oh, you'll do something, alright." Nightmare's horn glowed, the moon shining above the alicorns and the castle. Celestia and Luna looked up in surprise, only to look back at Nightmare Moon, the light fueling her power as her body shone through the dark aura growing bigger and bigger around her. "I want you TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
She sped off faster than light, her scythe slicing through the air, causing some of the walls around the castle to shatter from the sonic boom she made. Celestia gasped and brought her claymore in front of her to block, but as Nightmare slashed, a powerful gale of wind struck her like tiny blades piercing through her skin, the blade slicing through her aura sword of gold flames. She was flung back by the air, hitting one of the towers, the impact bursting a large hole through the stone walls.
"Luna, don't use that power!" Twilight begged as she flew after her, but no matter how much she yelled, she wasn't listening to her. "Princess Luna, stop ignoring me! You're making a big mistake!"
Celestia dragged herself out of the room in the tower, more cuts and added bruises spread about her body as she hovered in the air. Nightmare was far too powerful to take on, having no choice but to run away and find some help. Before she was able to fly out of the grounds, a barrier blocked her from escaping, trapping her in the vicinity of the castle's perimeter.
"Nowhere to run, Celestia!" Nightmare cackled, swooping down to chase after her, Twilight failing to swing her Keyblade in time to stop her.
Celestia continued fleeing, finding no way to leave while Nightmare Moon was on her tail. She began firing beams of magic to slow her down, any missed shots striking the castle, causing more collateral to the palace, or firing out into the forest or in the sky. Twilight flew as fast as she could, chasing after them, her own spells missing as she fired. The lavender alicorn wished she had more training with this kind of magic, honing it to be just as powerful as Sora, Riku, or Kairi's. Her pursuit was halted as she tried to follow them under an arch, Nightmare Moon having struck it with her magic and causing it to crumble apart, nearly falling on top of her.
Nightmare began slashing her scythe around, creating thousands of small crescent blades, surrounding Celestia, keeping her from running off on her. Slashing downward, she sent the curved aura blades flying down on the alicorn, Twilight hearing her mentor scream as she was struck by every single one. With one final blast of a magical beam, Nightmare shot Celestia back down into the throne room, sending her crashing through the roof of the room.
"CELESTIA!" Twilight cried out in horror, flying down after her as she heard Nightmare Moon laugh in triumph. She landed back inside the throne room, stumbling from the rough landing she made and ran up to Celestia, the alicorn badly injured with several deep cuts and a burn mark on her chest from where she was struck by the magic beam. Tears fell from Twilight's eyes, the white alicorn unconscious and gravely injured, by her own sister, too. "...No..." She sat down before her mentor and sobbed, confused and upset, unable to believe what she had just witnessed. "Why?...Why would Luna do this?"
Twilight was absolutely lost. Everything today had gone from somewhat normal to outright insane. There was no sign of the princesses until now, Sora, Riku, and Kairi aren't with them, Luna became Nightmare Moon again, attacked Celestia and almost killed her, and she had no idea what to do now. Celestia grunted in pain, Twilight's ears perking up as she watched her shakily stand back up. When she opened her eyes, the alicorn looked at her student, or so Twilight thought, completely ignored as she looked up at the sky, hearing Nightmare Moon laughing above them.
"...Luna...What have I done?" Tears began to stream down Celestia's cheeks, her heart filled with regret. Twilight had no idea why she was ignoring her when she was right in front of her as she stood up, remaining quiet as she watched her look over to a part of the room. "I don't have any choice...I have to use them...to stop you..."
Her horn glowed, levitating a large stone slab underneath where the burnt carpet Celestia and Luna began fighting at out of the ground. Rising up from the hidden compartment was a familiar looking pedestal Twilight swore she saw once, each of the five smaller platforms carrying a differently colored diamond-shaped gem.
"Wait...Where have I seen this?" As Twilight pondered, she gasped, recognizing the stone statue. Not only was it familiar, but the shape of the gems also seemed to match the story about Celestia and Luna, telling the tale of Nightmare Moon's banishment with the Elements of Harmony. Her suspicions were right as she saw, from the large stone sphere in the center, the Element of Magic phasing out, still in the shape of a star like it is on her crown. "The Elements of Harmony? But, that's what they looked like...in the past!" It began to make sense as the castle they were in was what would be the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Sisters in the Everfree Forest. "This is a memory of the past from a thousand years ago!"
Celestia levitated the Elements of Harmony, harnessing their power as they began to orbit around her, quickly picking up speed as she hovered up into the sky. Tears continued to fall, knowing full well what she would do, and forever feel guilty for hurting her little sister unintentionally and forced to use the Elements of Harmony on her. Nightmare Moon smirked as she heard her flying back up for another round, only to balk as she saw the six gems flying around Celestia.
"No. Where did you hide those!?" she questioned.
Celestia looked at the dark alicorn, swallowing the lump in her throat as she forced herself to shut her eyes, not wanting to see what she was about to do. "Forgive me, Luna..."
The Elements of Harmony spun faster as they began charging their power, putting a lot of strain on Celestia as she focused on using all six mystical gems. Nightmare Moon fired a powerful beam of magic from her horn, mixed with the aura of her darkness as she screamed in fury. The power from the six gems protected Celestia, firing their own beam of harmonious light, pushing Nightmare's back. Her spell broke apart, screaming in agony as the Elements of Harmony struck her chest, sending light in her heart to protect Luna trapped inside from the dangerous darkness, the rest of its power spiraling around the alicorn as she was shot straight to the moon.
The rainbow lights and the dark alicorn disappeared in a flash of light on the moon, the surface darkening as it showed the legendary Mare in the Moon that had been known for a thousand years. Twilight watched Celestia float back down as the elements slowed down. She landed in the throne room, the gems falling to the ground as the alicorn collapsed, sobbing heavily as she grieved over what she had done to Luna. Twilight never thought she would see Celestia this upset, always finding her the strong, always remaining stoic no matter what happened. The tearful reunion that would happen a millennium later and witnessing her breaking down, crying to the heavens, the princess was just as much a pony as she was. Twilight began to wonder how hard it must have really been, living with the guilt of banishing her own sister, her only family, all to protect her subjects, her kingdom, and herself from what Luna became.
Twilight's vision flashed white, blinking her whitened eyes and rubbing them, both amazed and terrified at actually seeing a memory from the past. That potion Zecora gave her was able to see moments in the past, even though it didn't exactly explain to her why things were going crazy in Equestria now. She looked at her friends, and Discord in the background with a camera in his hands pointed straight at her with an amused smirk, the ponies, baby dragon, bipedal mouse, diamond dog, and griffon staring at her with worry.
"...Uhh, why are you looking at me like that?" Twilight asked.
"Are ya feelin' alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Y'all were...well, mumblin' a lot."
"And uncontrollably crying and shouted 'CELESTIA'!" Pinkie added.
"We were actually getting a bit worried, and you even brought your Keyblade out as if you were in danger," Mickey said.
"And I got the whole thing on camera!" Discord appeared before them, pulling out a wallet filled with all the pictures he took of her while experiencing the battle between Nightmare Moon and Celestia a thousand years ago. Most of the photos had her bawling her eyes out or doing something ridiculous, many of them fabricated by the draconequus just to make fun of her. "You should open a theater and perform. I'd call it 'Princess Sparkle and her Silly Antics, Also Emotional Breakdown Hilarity'." Twilight growled, calling her Keyblade, and slashed the pictures. "Well, you don't have to destroy fond memories."
"Those aren't fond memories," the alicorn muttered. "And I was acting odd because that potion made me see a moment in the past. I watched Princess Luna turn into Nightmare Moon, and Celestia fought her." She looked down at the potion bottle, still not sure how it would help them. "It didn't really explain everything to me about what's happening now."
"Maybe you should give it another sip and see if it brings you somewhere else," Rarity suggested.
"Ok. At least I know what I'm getting into this time." Twilight levitated the potion to her lips and took another drink, Discord pulling out another camera.
"Oh, I hope she breaks out in a song and does a jig." The draconequus began catching the alicorn on film as her eyes began glowing again, brought back to another past memory.
Twilight now found herself in a really chaotic land: the ground patterned like a giant checkerboard, floating pieces of land, nonsensical stuff everywhere around her that was impossible and unnatural. This was definitely the time where Discord must have reigned and turned Equestria into his chaos capital. Celestia and Luna ran past her, running up to Discord, sitting on his throne as the king of his domain.
"Well, well, well! Back again to try and stop me?" Discord asked, lifting his paw up, showing a aurora-like tail held in his fingers. "Would you two like to play a round of 'Pin the Tail on the Pony'?"
"What!?" Celestia looked behind her, her tail no longer present on her dock. Growing frustrated, and embarassed, she turned back to glare at Discord. "That's it, Discord! Play time is over!"
"Oh, I doubt that will be the case." The draconequus pulled out a bag filled with oddly colored black seeds, grabbing handfuls of them and munched them, spilling a large amount of them from his hand, his mouth, and waving the bag around. "You want some?" he asked, both alicorn leering at him while ignoring the seeds he spat in their face. He shrugged his shoulders and continued eating, unaware of the two sisters nodding to each other as they pulled out the Elements of Harmony from their bags. While munching on his snack, Discord noticed the odd shimmer of light coming from Celestia and Luna, dropping his bag as he grew amused at the gems circling them. "What have we here?"
"These are the Elements of Harmony!" Celestia said.
"With these, we shall defeat you and finally end your tyranny of chaos!" Luna added as the two sisters focused their magic in the six magical gems.
Discord snickered, then laughed uproariously, unaware of his eventual fate. "Oh! Oh you should see your expressions! You really think you can stop me!"
He was too busy laughing to notice the beam of rainbow light firing at him, turning the draconequus to stone where he stood. That explained what had happened when Discord attacked, but it still didn't explain what was going on in Equestria now. As Twilight prepared to return back to take another drink, the potion instead brought her back to a further moment with Celestia and Luna, changing the scenery around her. She was now in a cavern of sorts, but what she saw inside it made her gasp in awe, hearing Celestia and Luna gasp as well as they walked past her. Inside the cave was a large tree that looked like it was made out of crystal.
"There it is," Luna uttered. "The Tree of Harmony."
"'Tree' of Harmony?" Twilight repeated, watching the princesses approach the tree. Looking closer at the trunk, she saw was looked like a sun, a crescent moon, and a crystal star in the center of the tree, shaped just like the lavender alicorn's cutie mark. "Is this where the Elements of Harmony came from?"
Her question was answered as Celestia used her magic on the tree. The star in the center opened up, revealing the Element of Magic, along with the remaining five Elements of Harmony appearing in the branches. The white alicorn levitated them out of the mystical tree.
"Sister, are you sure we should do this?" Luna asked.
"These gems are the only thing that can stop Discord," Celestia said. "His chaotic magic is far too great, and we have no other option to stop him and free everypony in this land. Even without the Elements of Harmony, the Tree of Harmony possesses powerful magic. As long as that magic remains, it will continue to control and contain everything that grows around it."
Twilight watched Celestia and Luna stuff the Elements of Harmony in their bags and flew out of the cave, leaving the Tree of Harmony to face Discord and stop him.
Brought back to reality, Twilight shook her head, still amazed at the events she was able to view. "Aww, come on! No song and dance!?" Discord whined, throwing the camera away. "Great. There goes my fun."
"What did you see, darling?" Rarity asked as everyone was anxious to know what she saw.
"I still didn't find out what happened to the princesses, Sora, Riku, and Kairi, but I have a feeling I know why the Everfree Forest is growing out of control. Something must be wrong with the Tree of Harmony." Her friends all looked at each other, never hearing about the tree before. It was understandable since Twilight never knew about it either, but if it was powerful enough to hold the Elements of Harmony, it was no wonder it was kept hidden. "I know it's a little far-fetched, but that tree is where the Elements of Harmony came from."
"...Well...that's a bit odd," Donald said, scratching his head. "We're going to save a tree."
"But, uhh, where is it at?" Goofy asked.
"I have a feeling the Tree of Harmony is somewhere in the Everfree Forest." Everyone looked out at the infested forest, the dangerous black vines curled around all the trees in the deadly forest.
"Feels like deja vu," Applejack said. "We started everythin' goin' in that forest, and we're goin' in again to save Equestria. And a magical tree."
"You'd fit in quite well, AJ, since your family owns thousands of apple trees." The farm mare ignored Discord as the Mane Six entered the Everfree, along with Spike, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, the latter three with their weapons out to defend the Equestrians from any attacks from the vines or anything worse lurking in the forest. As soon as they were out of sight, the draconequus faced Ponyville, rubbing his paw and claw together, now by himself with no one to supervise him. "Aside from getting smacked around by Princess Twilight and her Keyblade, today is my lucky day."
"I do not think so, you chaotic draconequus." Discord yelped and looked down, forgetting that Zecora was still with them, but didn't leave with the others. "Somepony has to keep watch of you to avoid more of a fuss. I suggest you help stop the vines to leave these ponies alone, or else I shall alert our friends and turn you once again into stone."
"...And I thought my riddles spoken in rhyme were annoying." Discord grumbled as he was being kept a close eye by the wise zebra, snatching the potion bottle in his tail. "I'm keeping this, by the way." Zecora was about to question why he was taking the magical potion, but he pressed a paw to her muzzle to silence her. "It's not like you have any use for it! And try not to talk. You know how hard it is for writers to make dialogue for you that makes sense while you rhyme? It's a wonder you barely have much of a role in later seasons and reduced to nothing but a cameo now."
As Discord walked off to "help" Ponyville, Zecora muttered in her zebra tongue, having no idea what he was talking about, but taking offense to his harsh comment.
Deep inside the Everfree Forest, Twilight lead the way while her friends followed. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any dangerous creatures roaming about, possibly hiding from the overgrown vines that began to take over. Twilight had no idea how stupid it was for her to try and venture into this forest on her own to find the Elements of Harmony back then. Without her friends, or even Sora, she wouldn't have made it past the cliffs and fell to her death. It was sad to know he wasn't with them now in her little bit of nostalgia of her first actual adventure not from a story in a book, hoping he, Kairi, Celestia, Luna, and Riku were ok, wherever they were.
The group came across a mucky pond separating them from where they needed to go, a few stepping stones sticking out of the muddy water as a path across. "I think we can get across this way." Twilight leapt onto a couple of the stones, but one specific one began moving as she as she stepped on it. An eye opened up underneath her, a low growl startling her and the others as it began rising up. The alicorn looked down, gasping in shock as she stood on top of a crocodile made out of stone, eyeing her as its next prey. "Cragadile!"
The cragadile snapped its head back, tossing Twilight up into the air, opening its maw to snap its teeth into her as she fell. She tried to flap her wings, but in her panic of being in danger, she wasn't able to hover, flailing about as she fell. She was about to fight back and summon her Keyblade, only to have Rainbow Dash fly into her and save her from her fall. The cragadile missed its meal, swimming after the two mares, but as it reached land, Goofy leapt onto it, smacking it hard in the head with his shield.
"Goofy, keep distracting it while Donald and I help the others to the other side!" Mickey ordered as the king and his head mage began freezing the water to make a path for them.
"Don't worry, your highness! I got it all under con-" Goofy yelped as the stone reptile snapped out of its daze, flailing wildly to try and get the diamond dog off him. "-TROL!"
"Hurry!" Donald called out, ushering the ground walking mares and baby dragon to get across. "The ice won't last long!"
While Goofy held on for dear life on the cragadile's head, it began to flail its way over to the ice bridge. Donald squawked and cast an Aeroga spell, sending the reptile flying out of its mucky home, along with the diamond dog knight as he landed in one of the trees. The griffon's assistance accidentally sent the cragadile soaring over to Twilight and Rainbow Dash as they both stood up after the alicorn's unexpected rescue. Before it landed on them, Mickey leapt and flipped rapidly toward the mares, shoving the gold Kingdom Keyblade vertically parallel to its widened jaws, its teeth clamping down on the weapon.
"Oh no you don't," Mickey said. "Pony is not on the menu for you!"
A powerful orb of light shot out from the end of Mickey's Keyblade, the explosive impact sending the dangerous croc flying through the forest, rendering it unconscious as it smashed through several trees several yards away from its home. With no other cragadiles thankfully around, everyone took a moment to catch their breath while Mickey, Donald, and Goofy stayed alert.
"Twilight, are ya ok!?" Applejack exclaimed as her friends worried about her safety.
"I'm fine," Twilight said. "I could have probably knocked that cragadile for a loop with my Keyblade if Rainbow didn't tackle me to safety."
"I thought you got used to flying if you managed to get to Ponyville from Canterlot fine, but after seeing you flailing like that..." The alicorn leered at Rainbow, having had enough being reminded she needed more practice flying. "Well, sorry for being a critic with how you need to keep practicing."
"And we don't know what else will come after us in here," Applejack added. She looked at the others, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity silently agreeing with what the farm mare had to say. "...Maybe...it's best for ya to stay in Ponyville where it's a bit safer, Twilight."
"What!? Why!?" Twilight questioned, feeling hurt that her friends all want her to stay behind.
"Darling, you almost became a cragadile's mid-afternoon snack!" Rarity answered. "You were barely able to get away!"
"Not to mention you're not as battle savvy as Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, or Mickey," Pinkie added. "They have a lot of expertise when it comes to fighting baddies. And if Heartless show up, they know how to deal with them more than we can!"
"Plus, with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna missing, who's going to happen if Equestria found out you're hurt or missing too?" Fluttershy asked.
Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing, staring at her best friends, the mares who knew her better than anyone else in her life aside from her family, who now doubt her. "...You can't be serious. I can't believe you're doing this. How are you even going to find the Tree of Harmony without me!?"
"Crystal tree, cutie marks on the trunk, covered by something that'll probably kill it, not that hard to find in a dark forest like this," Rainbow said, detailing the summarized description Twilight told them about the powerful tree that created the Elements of Harmony.
Tears welled up in the alicorn's eyes, frustration and anger building up inside as she looked at her friends. "It's because I'm a princess, isn't it? I told you I don't want to be seen as a princess to my FRIENDS! And you're starting to treat me like one! What about everything we've been through!? Huh!?" Twilight asked, none of them able to answer as she argued with them and their reasons. "Nightmare Moon! Discord! Chrysalis and her changeling army! Sombra! Sunset Shimmer! I faced far worse than we've ever imagined, and I'm still fine! You don't think I can handle myself anymore because of these stupid wings and my title!" She summoned her Keyblade and waved it around in their faces. "I have a Keyblade! I can defend myself just fine!"
"Not well enough against the cragadile," Rainbow whispered, earning a hard nudge in the side by Applejack.
"Me being a princess has nothing to do with the situation right now!" Twilight continued making her point, her tears flowing as her friends don't trust her well enough to stay safe. "How am I even supposed to learn how to fight with a Keyblade if I'm not given a chance to because my FRIENDS think I'm going to be in a lot of danger!?"
"Twilight." She looked at Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, the looks on the latter two's faces just as guilty as the mares. The king approached the frustrated alicorn, patting her shoulder. "I think your friends are right."
"Don't agree with them!" she shouted, Mickey quickly covering her muzzle with his gloved hand before she could complain further.
"Look, I know you've been on a lot of dangerous missions in the past, even being here in this forest. I'm not saying it's a smart idea to have to send you back, but think about the sake of the ponies who see you as their ruler. The world falls apart if their leaders fall, causing widespread panic, and eventually a new leader taking their place who might cause more harm than good." The mouse king slowly lowered his hand, his words getting through the Twilight, but it still hurt her to feel like she's that important and can't get into dangerous situations. "They're just looking out for you. It's a thing you have to live through as royalty. Believe me."
"B-But...you're a king in your world," Twilight stated. "And you're here...You fought with Sora and Riku before, and you're always away from your home. Your duties..."
"Twilight, over ten years ago, I had shirked on my duties as a king," Mickey admitted. "I was younger and a lot more ignorant than I ever was. I wanted to see the worlds, not sit around on a throne for the rest of my life. I sought a Keyblade Master, trained under Master Yen Sid, and I had gotten into loads of trouble while under his teachings." He pulled out the Star Shard from out of his pocket, holding it up to Twilight. "One day, I swiped this from him. This Star Shard was able to transport those who used it to distant worlds, and I was desperate enough to see what other worlds there were out there.
"I ended up meeting other Keyblade wielders, helping them try to stop the threats that had suddenly been thrust in the worlds. Strange, mysterious creatures similar to the Heartless, called the Unversed, had appeared around that time. It was a long, and very deadly battle that waged in a land called the Keyblade Graveyard, and sadly...only one of them had made it out unscathed...I haven't heard anything about what happened to her after I turned my Keyblade in to Master Yen Sid and return the Star Shard." Mickey looked up through the canopy, seeing what could be seen through the leaves blocking out the sky, remembering how much had happened during that time. "I was surprised to hear I wasn't being disowned as his student. I remained a Keyblade wielder, continued my training, and I matured as both a defender of light, and a king.
"I focused on thinking about what everyone thought of me, making sure to do the right thing for my own subjects, even my wife, Minnie. And yes, I did leave my home world again many years later, but I knew that all of the worlds were in trouble when the stars kept disappearing during that time." He looked back at Donald and Goofy, knowing how badly those two worried about him when the king could handle himself. "Sora's adventure began, and Donald and Goofy stuck by him, helping him save the universe from the darkness, and Organization XIII. I left because I wanted to protect my home, because I cared about what would have happened to my friends if I just sat around on a throne and waited for the inevitable.
"My point is...you're not fully ready to embark on something dangerous just yet, even if you think you can. You still need a lot more training, both with flight and your Keyblade. And if everyone in Equestria found out you were eaten by a cragadile, who would they look to for guidance if the princess they look up to had died?" Twilight lowered her head, ears drooping, understanding how important she was. Mickey gave her an apologetic look, rubbing her shoulder to provide her some comfort. "I'm sorry, Twilight. I'll have Donald and Goofy escort you back into town."
She looked at her friends, wearing an apologetic expression on their faces. As much as they didn't want her to leave, Twilight had more important roles now, not wanting her to sacrifice her life when Equestria needed her. Sighing sadly, the alicorn gave in and began to turn back around, Spike following after her as Donald and Goofy lead them back to Ponyville.
"Sorry, Twilight," Goofy apologized. "They just want to do what's best for you."
"Us too," Donald said. "Sorry."
"...I know..." The two groups went their separate ways, Twilight's heart heavy as she felt useless now as a princess.
Discord lounged on one of the vines, watching the ponies fleeing as he "helped" them, finding the chaotic nature of the plants hilarious. He heard someone clear their throat, Zecora looking at him with a blank stare as she tapped her hoof.
"Ugh. Fine! I'm helping!" Discord snapped his fingers, chopping some of the vines with a pair of giant shears he materialized. "There. See? Getting rid of the vines."
The zebra shook her head, having no clue how anyone was able to put up with the draconequus. "It's amazing how someone like you once struck fear." She looked over in the direction of the Everfree Forest, surprised to see Twilight coming back with Donald, Goofy, and Spike. "Princess Twilight, what are you doing back here?"
"...We ran into a problem, and everypony thought it was better for me to come back here so I don't wind up getting hurt." Twilight sat on her haunches in despair, Donald and Goofy helping the other ponies as they attacked the vines. "My duties as a princess comes first, apparently."
"Twilight got attacked by a cragadile, so that's why she had to come back," Spike explained.
"I see. Your friends are just taking great care. They don't want any harm come to you, not one little hair." Twilight nodded, already getting the message back in the forest. "Once the others find the tree, everypony will cheer with glee."
"Right..." The alicorn fell on her stomach, staring off into space as she felt useless. "I...I want to be alone for a while, Zecora. I don't think I'm feeling well."
The zebra alchemist understood, nodding her head as she headed back into town, regretting keeping her eye off Discord for a minute. Spike followed after her to see if his fire breath can help burn some of the weeds. Twilight sighed dejectedly, rolling onto her back to look up at the half day, half night sky. She began worrying about what's happening to the princesses and her friends, Riku especially. What would happen after the others found the Tree of Harmony? What was the cause of these vines? Why did she feel so useless, so defenseless, unable to take care of herself on her own?
While she pondered where her life had gone at this point, she didn't notice Discord had been laying next to her. "So, you see any thorny cloud bunnies up there?"
"Leave me alone, Discord," she grumbled, not in the mood to talk to him.
"I can't believe you actually let your friends make the choice for you to leave rather than assert your authority," Discord said. "I mean, you kind of are the ringleader in your circle of friends. But, who am I to assume that you're better than everypony else? You're a genius, when it comes to books, a princess, a national hero, bearer of the Element of Magic."
"I'm not better than anypony else. I'm...doing what's best for Equestria..." Discord scoffed at the terrible statement Twilight made.
"More like you're doing what your friends think is best for Equestria," he countered. Discord sat up, causing Twilight to lift her head up and look at him. "That little tree you saw...It had all of the Elements of Harmony inside of it, right? And your friends only care about 'Princess Twilight's' safety, not their friend 'Twilight Sparkle'. They're off on a wild and crazy adventure, but what will happen once they manage to find the Tree of Harmony? They'll be missing an important piece of them, and they forgot to realize everything started because of the deep bonding experience you all had so long ago." He snapped his fingers, sitting Twilight up on her haunches as she wore a royal lavender cape and held a gold staff with her face on the end. "Oh well! You got your princess duties, and your friends will have all the fun. I wouldn't want to be in your horseshoes right now, Your Grace."
Discords words angered her, but he was right. Twilight started this journey in her life with her friends. She may be a princess, but he had a point. If they did find the Tree of Harmony, whatever was happening to it, how will they save it? If it had the Elements of Harmony keeping its power in check, then it may need all six of them again, and she still had the Element of Magic on her crown. She had a duty to rule Equestria, protect her kingdom alongside her fellow princesses to keep it from being harmed by any evildoer or natural disaster, which meant she had to care about her subjects by saving them, not sitting around on her plot.
Looking back at the forest, she pulled the cape off her and threw the gaudy gold staff with her depiction on it to the ground, summoning her Keyblade. "Discord, I hate you, you know that?"
"Yes, I got that when I manipulated your friends and unleashed my chaos when you freed and reformed me. Why do you hate me at this moment?" he asked with a raised brow and a smug grin.
"Because you're right! My friends need me, and I should have kept reasoning with them about the possibility of the Tree of Harmony needing all six of us if it's in trouble!" Twilight ran back into the Everfree Forest to catch up to her friends, Discord waving with a sly grin as he watched her leave.
Behind him, Donald and Goofy finished taking care of what vines were causing distress to the ponies, looking around and seeing no sign of Twilight. "Twilight? Hey, Twilight!?"
"Where did she go!?" Donald asked.
"Oh, she went back into the Everfree Forest," Discord said, both of them dropping their jaws in horror. "Said she didn't want to be left out of the fun and ran right back in."
"Why didn't you stop her!?" the small griffon squawked, irritated at Discord's aloofness and worrying about the alicorn.
"I was supposed to stop her? Oops." Donald growled, ignoring the draconequus as he and Goofy ran back into the forest to chase after her. Discord chuckled turning back around to the infested town, nonchalantly whistling as he headed back to his perch. "Now, where was I? Ah yes. Relaxing."
Back in the forest, the five mares and Keyblade wielding mouse trudged through the foliage, Mickey slicing through any of the vines in their way. They managed to reach a clearing, not too far away from the wooden bridge that lead to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.
"Ok, this is starting to become a lost cause," Rainbow complained. "We're near the ruins of the castle where we found the Elements of Harmony! You think that potion Twilight drank gave her fake memories to see or something?"
"Maybe it was a bad idea to send Twilight back," Fluttershy said. "She saw what happened and knew where it was at."
"Well, we had no choice. Better to have her safe and sound than hurt out here, or worse." Mickey walked over to the edge of the cliff, gasping as he saw dozens of vines that seemed to come from a cave in the chasm, close to where the castle was located. "Hey, look. That might be where the Tree of Harmony is. It has to be there if all those vines are heading in that cave."
"How in tarnation are we supposed to get down there?" As Applejack questioned how she, Rarity, Pinkie, and Mickey could get down to the bottom of the ravine, they heard Pinkie grunting as she fell down a flight of stone stairs made from the side of the cliff.
They had no idea there was a way down there from the times they had gone through the forest, the pink mare flopping on the ground as she hit the bottom. "Take the stairs, sillies!"
"...Well, at least that's oddly convenient," Mickey said, flipping off the edge and landing at the bottom next to Pinkie.
Once the others made it down, they headed for the cavern where the vines seemed to be growing toward. The king hacked through the blockade of vines, heading deeper inside the cave. As they rounded the corner to the end of the cavern, they all gasped as they found the tree. The only difference between Twilight's description of what it looked like and what they were looking at now was a horrifying sight. The tree had lost its shimmering luster, having turned gray as it was completely covered by the vines, the black plants with their spiky blue thorns constricting the tree to death. Around the base of the tree were five large coils of vines, possibly absorbing the magic from the Tree of Harmony by its roots.
"Oh no!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "It's dying!"
"Them creepy vines are stranglin' the life out of it!" Applejack said.
Mickey jumped up and prepared to slice through the vines. But as he got closer to the tree, several vines shot out from the larger roots of the dark plants, slapping the mouse away from the tree. He flipped back and landed on his feet, skidding to a halt across the room, catching his breath as they managed to knock the wind out of him.
"Those plants don't want anyone near it," he said, coughing a little as he got air back in his lungs. "And I don't want to risk trying any spells again, or else I'll end up burning the Tree of Harmony."
"Oh great. Now what do we do?" Rainbow asked.
They soon heard a scream come from the forest, which came from someone they knew, and was in serious danger. "Was that...Twilight!?"
"What is she thinking!? Hang on, Twilight! We're coming!" Pinkie shouted as they all quickly ran back out into the forest, ignoring the Tree of Harmony for the time being as the alicorn's life was in peril.
Twilight galloped through the Everfree Forest, slashing through the foliage to reach her friends. "I know they're all going to probably freak out that I came back, but how did we all forget I'm also an Element of Harmony like they are!? I'm just as important to go into danger as well! Protecting Equestria is my duty: as a bearer of the Element of Magic, as a princess, and as a Keyblade wielder!"
As she began forming her little lecture to why she came back, fulfilling her duty to protecting her subjects by being with her friends and helping them solve Equestria's problem, she stopped as she felt something off around her, standing in the middle of a small clearing in the Everfree. She held her Keyblade out, slowly looking around her, trying to find the possible threat that would come after her. If it was the cragadile from earlier wanting revenge for being disturbed and knocked around, she was ready to freeze it with Blizzard, knowing it was a cold-blooded reptile despite its scales made out of solid stone.
Suddenly appearing around her from the ground were Heartless, a small group of Shadows surrounding the alicorn. Their yellow eyes stared at her Keyblade, finding her their mortal enemy as they slowly crawled toward her. She's seen these Heartless many times, finding them as the more common variety she'll end up encountering in the future, and though they are considered the weakest kinds, from her previous meetings with these creatures made of darkness, every Heartless has their own unique difficulty to them. Even though she barely had much practice fighting, she had her magic to help her if she was in too much danger.
Taking what lessons she had learned the other day, Twilight took in a deep breath, calming herself and staying focused, staring down one of the Shadows, knowing the others got closer. From behind her, a Shadow lunged at her, but she anticipated it, quickly casting Reflect as a barrier formed around her. The moment its claw struck the shield, lights shot out from the counter effect the spell had, knocking it and a couple others back. Taking her Keyblade in her mouth, she rushed after the dazed Shadows, quickly slashing at the knocked out opponents and even her odds with the still conscious ones. Though her strikes were weak, it only took a couple hits to destroy one of them, seeing how the Shadows thrived in numbers and were considered the weakest of grunts.
As she turned around to slay another one, a Shadow leapt up and was about to thrust its claws toward her. She brought her blade up to block, the blade making contact with its claws, quickly flicking her head to parry it and stagger it. Thrusting it forward, she managed to impale the Heartless, lifting her Keyblade up and slamming it and her next kill to the ground, the impact turning it into nothing but dark mist. She was doing well so far, but decided to congratulate herself later when she wasn't in any danger, focusing on getting rid of the current Heartless around her.
The dazed Shadows got back on their feet, but the amount of damage taken from the reflected attack had injured them badly. Twilight kept her distance, watching out for when any of them sunk into the ground and crawled in the shadows to try to get at her blind spots. She made sure to take careful aim with her spells this time, sending Thunder spells raining down on the ones farther away from her and casting Fire around herself if they got too close. She wondered if Riku, Sora, or Kairi would be proud to see her in action, despite still being a novice, but she kept focused, remained calm, attacked when the opportunity came, and defended or backed away when she waited for the right moment to strike.
In no time at all, she managed to best all the Shadows, bouncing up and down in excitement as she cheered in victory. "Whoo hoo! That was amazing! I wasn't all that bad!" While she danced around victoriously, she failed to notice a puddle of darkness behind her, two arms longer than a Shadow's pulling itself out. This Heartless was bigger and stronger than a Shadow, its body more humanoid and muscular, the antennae longer and crooked as it flowed behind it, and it had blue veins patterned around its body. Twilight stopped as she heard it make some kind of spine chilling grumble, slowly turning around to face it, gasping in shock at the new Heartless. "W-What the hay is that!?"
A couple more of the same Neoshadows popped up next to the first one, all three of them eyeing the lavender mare holding her Keyblade in her magical aura. Panicking, Twilight shot a Blizzard spell at them, but they were far quicker than the Shadows. She barely managed to bring her weapon up to block the first Heartless's swifter and more powerful punch, too slow to block the others as they hit her hard, sending her tumbling across the field. Before she stood up to try and run away, one of them quickly sunk into the ground, forming a small puddle of darkness before disappearing and reappearing underneath her. It shot up from the ground and rapidly spun around, slashing Twilight hard as she screamed out in pain.
As she hit the ground, she could barely move, watching in terror as the Neoshadows slowly crept up to her. Twilight began to crawl away, holding her Keyblade in her aura, weakly swinging it at them to try to get them to back away, but they weren't deterred. The alicorn flinched and closed her eyes as they lunged at her, but in a flash of light, a frigid chill struck the area, the sound of ice suddenly appearing hitting her ears. Shivering slightly from the sudden drop in temperature, Twilight gasped as a field of ice appeared around the Heartless, frozen in place and encased in ice.
Turning her head to the sound of metal stepping forward, she saw a pony wearing full body armor, colored gray and a pale blue. It was hard to tell who this mysterious knight was from the armor concealing their body, mane, and tail, not even by their face from the visor concealing them underneath the two pronged helmet, the prongs wrapped around the side and pointing down, though seeing the horn jutting out from their forward underneath the helm, this pony was a unicorn. The mysterious unicorn knight held a weapon in its hoof, Twilight's eyes growing wide as it wasn't a sword, but a Keyblade they were holding. The smooth, black blade was cylindrical, the teeth of the key was shaped as an "E", the guard and hilt gray and a copper red, the hilt more square inside the boxed guard around it unlike what she'd seen from Sora's, Riku's, Kairi's, or her own Keyblade, and at the end of the chain hanging off the pommel was a part of a heart on top with a cross at the bottom.
"A Keyblade?" Her attention was brought back to the Neoshadows, bursting out of their icy prison as they looked at the new Keyblade wielder that froze them. Before they could rush at the new opponent, the Keyblade wielder teleported between them, without using unicorn magic, quickly smacking them with their Keyblade far quicker than they were able to move. The Heartless couldn't even touch the unicorn, flipping around them without getting so much as a scratch on their armor. "W-Who is this pony?"
Twilight continued watching in awe at her mysterious savior, the Neoshadows beginning to grow desperate as they rushed at the unicorn. The Keyblade wielder teleported in the air, the Heartless crashing to the ground as they missed, eight giant orbs of light appearing around the unicorn, looking down at the Neoshadows as they began teleporting around the orbs. As they reappeared, the orbs were spiked hard by the knight's Keyblade, smacking into the Neoshadows and knocking them up in the air. The barrage continued, giving each one an individual orb to slam into them, bringing them back together for the final orb to explode on them. Once the last orb of light blew up on them, the Heartless disappeared in a puff of black mist, the alicorn's savior landing gently on the wet grass from the shattered and melted sheet of ice.
Twilight tried to stand up to thank the unicorn, only to wince as her whole body burned in pain, the Neoshadows attacks far stronger than what she expected. They heard her yelp, turning their head to face her. As the unicorn Keyblade wielder approached, though Twilight couldn't see their eyes, she could tell they were looking at her through the black visor concealing their face, more specifically at her Keyblade. Standing next to her, the armor-wearing pony held out their hoof, not to help her up, but to examine her Keyblade. Unsure of the unicorn's intention, she levitated it to them, the unicorn grasping it and took a long look at it.
She feared the pony would take it from her, seeing how poor of a job she did defending herself against strong Heartless she had never seen before, but those thoughts were assuaged as they nodded in approval, placing it back in the alicorn's hoof. Taking their own Keyblade, the unicorn raised it over Twilight, casting Curaga over her as the magical bell flowers healed her with their sprinkled healing energy. No longer feeling the pain from her injuries against the Neoshadows, Twilight stood up to properly thank whoever this pony was.
"Twilight!" The alicorn looked out into the forest, hearing Mickey's voice, but as she turned back to thank her savior, the unicorn mysteriously vanished with no trace. The mouse king burst through the bushes with his Keyblade ready, running up to the alicorn while being cautious for any wild creatures that had attacked her. "Are you ok?"
"I-I'm fine," she said. "I was attacked by Heartless."
"What!?" Mickey exclaimed. "What were you thinking coming back here!?"
"I'm sorry, your highness, but as right as you were about my duties, I needed to come back. My friends need me to help save the Tree of Harmony, and without me, there's no way it can happen. I understand all of you are concerned about me, but I'm just about as concerned for them and all of Equestria's safety too. So, sorry for disobeying and getting in danger, but I won't let my friends go on without me." Twilight expected him to berate her, but the mouse sighed and shook his head with a grin on his face.
"You know, Sora, Donald, and Goofy did the same exact thing back in Radiant Garden when the Heartless began invading." Mickey chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I told them to leave and let our friends and I handle it while they searched for Riku and Kairi, but they jumped in and ran off to fight with us. Can't blame them for doing what they believe is right, and the same can be said for you. You six girls are connected, and you shouldn't be separated when the world is in a crisis."
Twilight smiled and nodded, hearing the rest of her friends run through the bushes and ran up to her. "Twilight! You're ok!"
The five mares caught the alicorn in a group hug, all of them apologizing to her for sending her back home and treating her like a princess instead of their best friend. Donald and Goofy stumbled out of the foliage, covered in leaves in twigs as they struggled to make it through the thick vegetation while chasing Twilight. They were glad she was safe, but when they saw their king approach them, quickly standing at attention as they were prepared to face their punishment for failing to protect Twilight.
"Forgive us, your majesty," Donald said. "Twilight ran off when we were busy helping the town."
"Don't worry, guys. You're not in any trouble." The guard captain and magician slumped over in relief, though they still felt responsible for Twilight when she was supposed to be under their protection. "Let's just be grateful Twilight's still ok. She managed to make it out alive from a Heartless attack."
"She took on Heartless by herself? With barely any practice?" Goofy asked.
"Well, it depends on what Heartless attacked her." Mickey walked back over to Twilight, seeing the Mane Six finished with their apologies and hugging. "Twilight, what attacked you?"
"I was attacked by a small group of Shadows," Twilight explained. "There weren't that many. About eight of them. I managed to beat them on my own, and I did pretty well...But then more appeared, but they were a lot stronger."
"What did they look like?" Rainbow asked. "Were they dressed like pirates or something?"
"No. They looked like the Shadows, only bigger, faster, long antennae, and blue veins over their black skin." The trio hailing from Disney Castle gasped in shock, knowing what type of Heartless the alicorn described.
"Neoshadows!?" Donald exclaimed.
"You fought Neoshadows on your own!?" Goofy asked. "Those are the most dangerous of them pure-blood Heartless!"
"...I actually didn't stand a chance," Twilight continued. "After they beat me, and injured me, I was actually saved by somepony: a unicorn wearing full body armor, wielding a Keyblade."
"Wait, somepony else has a Keyblade!?" Pinkie questioned. "Who was it!? Why didn't my Pinkie Sense go off when somepony else from outside Equestria came here!? Was he a handsome stallion, or a mysterious rogue?"
"I don't know, and I couldn't what gender they were! Their body was covered in armor, even their face was concealed by their helmet! And why are you asking who it was?" the alicorn asked her hyperactive friend.
"Well, duhhhh. Have you ever read stories about a mysterious, wandering knight who shows up to save a damsel in distress, then leaves at the last minute, never to be seen again for a long while?" Pinkie was met with silence as they all looked at her. "...I guess not."
"Another Keyblade wielder?" Mickey asked. "What did their Keyblade look like?"
"It wasn't like Sora's, Riku's, or Kairi's. It had a black blade, and the hilt was oddly box shaped instead of rounded like all weapon hilts are supposed to be." Mickey, Donald, and Goofy tried to recall seeing a Keyblade that Twilight described, but none of them ever saw something like it. "The only thing I got from whoever it was was the pale blue and gray armor they wore, and the horn underneath their helmet."
"Blue and gray armor?" Mickey asked as he thought back to seeing someone he met with a suit of full body armor with the same color scheme. His memories brought him back to that moment in the Keyblade Graveyard, saving a fellow Keyblade wielder from one of her friends possessed by their darkness. He remembered her well, befriending her before when he was lost in space and she helped him. Without her helmet on, he saw her blue hair, almost similarly styled like Kairi's, but shorter. "Was that her?"
"What is it, your majesty?" Goofy asked, hearing him utter to himself.
"It's nothing," Mickey said as he shook his head. "Whoever it was, hopefully they're on our side. Come on. We have a tree to save."
With the group reunited, excluding Spike, they headed back into the forest, back to the Castle of the Royal Sisters and the caverns where the Tree of Harmony was slowly being suffocated by the wild vines. Twilight looked back before leaving the clearing, wondering who that Keyblade wielder was and where they went off to. Whoever it was, she hoped that they'll meet up again, and get the chance to thank the mysterious Keyblade knight.
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eraqus armour how did it get here did armor has it own mind like terra arrmor?
Hey! This story got featured! About time! CONGRATULATIONS!!!
I'm thinking it was Aqua
I'm sure a certain red haired fire bender friend of Sora's would have absolutely LOVED to burn the hell out Discord's plunder vines.
One thing is for sure, he's missing out on all the fun
7572232 how aqua in the relam of darkness?
7572294 He is not a bender, fire heals him that is closer to fire elemental than a bender. But how can it be that he a more well known character than Aqua hasn't appear yet!!! I (and maybe we) want Lea (or Axel) i want to hear(read) his catchphrase.
7571951 It's not Eraqus. He was killed and only came back as a lingering spirit as a fight in the battle arena in Birth by Sleep. Plus, with how he was killed, there was no way for him to come back the same way Xehanort did, and his armor was more brighter and yellowish, not gray and blue.
7572901 it can't be aqua she in the realm of darkness unless her armour has it mind of its own like terra did?
So Aqua makes her prescience known only by Twilight. I get this strange feeling that she will be popping up around Twilight more when she is alone. plus it be cool that somehow the light from Equestria is what brought her back. guess the only hero missing out of the action is Lea aka Axel. but I am sure he will get his chance when it comes time.
7573409 Maybe she found herself a way out of the Realm of Darkness after over a decade of being trapped there? And crafted new armor to replace the old suit she gave up, along with her Keyblade, trying to save Terra, who was possessed by Xehanort.
7574178 yeah true
7572879 I never fully understood the differences between the different kinds of people that harness a specific element so thanks for straightening that out for me.
I just would really like to see Lea actually get a prominent role in the story
7573658 Well the thing with heartless is that you can fight them off but can't really destroy them. The Keyblade is the only weapon that can really destroy the heartless for good releasing the captive heart. It doesn't really get brought up much in the games though since obviously for the sake of gameplay the heartless get destroyed regardless of whether or not Sora delivers the final blow. But canon wise it takes a Keyblade to beat them for good.
7575012
Expanding on what this guy said, anyone who doesn't have a Keyblade can only send the Heart back into the darkness where it reforms back into a Heartless after awhile. Essentially only Keyblades can stop the Heartless respawn.
On the story, it is pretty obvious that this is Aqua. I mean she is only in the realm of darkness. Mickey, Riku, Sora, and others I am probably forgetting have made it out of there. Gonna look up what all of Aqua's Keyblades look like to be sure though. Also isn't Kingdom Hearts 2.8 supposed to involve Aqua anyways which would canon mean that she probably gets out of darkness?