The Friendship Festival came to a successful end despite the invasion of the Storm King interrupting it before it even began. Everyone had their fun and fill of the food in Canterlot, and new friends were made by those who came to attend, including the additional heroes who assisted the Mane Six and Sora take back the kingdom from the Storm King: Capper, Captain Celaeno and her pirate crew, and Princess Skystar. Even many of the Storm Guards joined in, who weren't all that bad in the first place. They were only following the orders of their former king, who now laid in broken pieces of stone in a gruesome end that would even make Discord grimace if his stone imprisonment became his own coffin. Though relations between the Storm Kingdom are going to be a little strained, it was best for the kingdom to figure out who would fit best as a proper ruler by treating their subjects with the proper respect they deserve without expecting them to stab them in the back. And last but not least, the Storm King's former commander: Tempest Shadow, or as she was formerly called, Fizzlepop Berrytwist. She kept her changed name, though her outlook on others as friends had changed thanks to Twilight and Sora after the Storm King broke their deal and tried to blast her into his magical storm.
Capper remained in Canterlot, freed from being a thieving con artist, and helps out in Rarity's boutique with her manager working there, Sassy Saddles. His way with words and his suave charm could definitely sell many different outfits to the citizens, commoners and nobles alike. Celaeno and her crew were given a new airship for their heroics, able to fly through the skies again. They might not be able to pillage again, but the offer given to them by the princesses to be part of their aerial troops was something they couldn't pass with the payment given for their services. Princess Skystar stayed in Canterlot with her mother, Queen Novo, and the hippogriff guards who flew with their queen when they arrived on the night of the Friendship Festival. Novo and Celestia caught up on old times and spent the remainder of their time exploring the city with her daughter, not only to finally be free to roam about now that the Storm King is gone, but to also rekindle her bond with Skystar after their being so strict with her due to their kingdom's safety and fearing losing their second home. Tempest, however, did not stay in Canterlot for long. She was a wandering mare since she left her old home as a filly, and despite being welcomed by her new friends, Tempest wanted to spread the word across the world that no one had to fear the Storm King now that he was dead. She even wanted to help the places whom the Storm King had decimated financially or collaterally in his quest for unlimited power. Twilight assured her that she was welcome to stay in Ponyville if she wanted to rest after her long journey, which the hornless mare considered if she ever made her trek there.
Throughout the train ride from Canterlot to Ponyville, Sora, Jiminy, Spike, and the Mane Six told Starlight and Trixie about their journey to the find the hippogriffs while they were trapped as prisoners during the siege. The CMC huddled close to Sora the whole trip, especially Scootaloo. The trio were still scared to have Sora be taken away from them, and they couldn't bear to part with their big brother. Xigbar had scarred Scootaloo with his words, fearing that being this close to Sora could wind up getting him or her hurt, whether by someone, something, or being separated forever. Sora hadn't fully recovered from his injuries against Twilight and the Storm King, but he had enough strength to move, and even hug the three fillies close to reassure them that he wasn't going to leave them or anyone else he loves. Kaito had unfortunately gone back home to Destiny Islands to Manami, but Lea stuck around, joining the group with any escapades they may have in Equestria, claiming that Master Yen Sid's lessons were getting a bit dull, though most of the group thought the old wizard had enough of Lea's smart aleck nature and forced him to stay in Equestria for some more magic training.
As soon as the train reached Ponyville's train station, Trixie and the CMC split up from the wielders, the Mane Six, Starlight, Spike, Jiminy, Donald, and Goofy, returning to the castle to check in on the worlds if any were in danger. "Wow. I can't believe Twilight could be as strong as Sora now," Starlight said. "And I thought Sora managed to best me when I tried to change the past."
"There's also the added bit of her chain that appeared when I used Sora's Harmony Link," Twilight added, still feeling guilty for going a bit too far in their argument back near Mt. Aris. "It just showed up so suddenly, along with its power. But, somehow, I feel like it's been there all along and it made itself known in our fight."
"That is strange," Aqua pondered. "From what I learned, the chains on our Keyblades were meant to give the blades their appearance. Although Twilight's Keyblade gained a new addition to its chain, its form hasn't changed in the slightest."
"And Sora can wield many Keyblades, all of them with their own form," Ventus added. "Even the Keyblades of Harmony are their own blades."
"Sooo...in other words, the chains are completely pointless," Lea summarized. "They're just cute little accessories that just smack our arms while we swing our Keyblades around."
"Well, they're important to Twilight and are a source of latent powers she borrows from the other girls, and now Sora," Riku said. "I just hope when she uses a link like that, you don't have Sora's annoying personality, Twilight."
"H-Hey!" Sora exclaimed, glaring daggers at his friend. "You're lucky I'm still messed up! I'll show you annoying!"
Riku chuckled while giving Sora an teasing glance. They soon reached the castle and made their way to the throne room. When they walked inside, they noticed the Cutie Map had somehow grown a bit wider. Everyone gathered around the crystal map, the Element Bearers, Spike, Sora, and Jiminy staring in awe when they found Kludgetown, Mt. Aris, even Celaeno's airship were added, along with many more places farther beyond Equestria.
"Whoa! Did the map get an upgrade while we were away!?" Sora exclaimed.
"Does that mean there's going to be friendship quests BEYOND Equestria?" Applejack questioned.
"I hope not," Fluttershy said. "I've had quite enough life-threatening adventures, thank you very much."
"How unfortunate when you're friends with Keyblade wielders who travel to other worlds and go on 'life-threatening adventures'," Terra pointed out.
Pinkie pulled out a measuring tape, then started to measure out the length between the edge of the table to the walls of the room, all while wearing a hard hat with a warning light on top and a tool belt around her waist. "How many friendship quests do you think we need to go on before we have to expand the throne room?"
"Hopefully enough to add a throne for me to squeeze in," Lea hoped, rubbing his forehooves eagerly. "This castle can do that for me, right? It's got one for everyone else. Even Spikey has one."
"I live here, but I don't have one," Starlight pointed out.
"Eh, you're not really all that important to the cause." Starlight growled, capturing the red stallion in her aura, then flung him out of the room. Lea screamed, tumbling several times over down the hall after slamming through the doors, sliding to a complete stop on his back with a groan. "I...was...joking..."
"Now I see why he's the group punching bag: he doesn't know when to shut up," Starlight grumbled irritably.
Ignoring the hilarious fling, Aqua checked on the Galactic Map to see if it too got enhanced while they were gone. She expanded the map, and to her surprise, she saw more worlds around the galaxy that had appeared, and neither of these new worlds were ever seen or explored during the wielders' flights to the other worlds they've seen before.
"More worlds," she uttered, both in awe and distress. The others uttered their own surprise when Aqua examined the other worlds, though she groaned, knowing there were a lot more worlds out there that were going to need their help, and their numbers were few compared to the hundreds of worlds out there. "Great. That means more locations for Heartless to destroy."
"It may be a lot of work, but I know we can protect all these new worlds, too," Goofy said, trying to help keep Aqua optimistic. "Sora, Donald, and I have saved lots of worlds in the past."
"But Sora's not in any condition to fight right now," Kairi said. "In fact, he should be in our room resting. Right now."
"Aww, come on, Kairi," Sora whined. "Can't I stay a little longer and see what other worlds we can visit?"
Lea came back into the throne room with a limp, steering clear of Starlight so she didn't toss him out the door again. "Did I hear new worlds?" he asked.
"Sure did," Twilight said. "New potential friendship quests, and new worlds in need of protection. We can't do this all on our own."
"Sure we can!" Pinkie said. Startled, everyone looked at Pinkie, finding her with a can of pink paint and a paintbrush with the same colored liquid coating the bristles. "We just need to knock one of these walls down, get some new paint-"
"Pinkie, darling, I think she was talking about the maps," Rarity interrupted.
"What did you have in mind, Twilight?" Jiminy asked curiously.
"Well, after traveling beyond Equestria, there were so many creatures out there who knows nothing about friendship," Twilight explained. "We need help if we're going to teach them all about friendship."
"Where are they going to go to learn about friendship?" Donald asked.
Twilight looked around the map, finding the perfect place as she pointed to a spot close to Ponyville, right near a mountain base not too far from the castle. "Here! They can all go here!" she said. "Because we're gonna open up a school!"
"A school of friendship?" Jiminy hummed as he hopped onto the map and walked over to the location Twilight picked. "It's not a bad idea. After seeing how horrible Kludgetown was, a school sounds like the perfect location to learn about making friends. But then comes the solution with the Heartless invading these other worlds."
"We'd need a lot more Keyblade wielders if we can't catch a break with multiple invasions," Riku said.
Slowly, everyone turned to look at Aqua, who was contemplating what to do with the situation. Feeling their eyes on her, Aqua looked at everyone. She all knew what they were thinking: she didn't want to put more innocent lives at risk, wanted no more casualties in their war, and wanted to increase their numbers until Xehanort was stopped once and for all. But after the Storm King's invasion and this new discovery, Aqua knew that they were going to need a lot more help.
Letting out a sigh, she stepped away from the map and faced everyone. "...We're going to need to recruit more wielders," she finally said. Her response was a shock to everyone, but they couldn't agree more. "However, they're going to learn how to defend themselves and protect the other worlds. Even if we're desperate, I will not allow new apprentices to aid us in our fight against Xehanort and the New Organization. The next generation of Keyblade wielders must not fall with us if we cannot stop them."
The others voiced their agreements, though Lea raised his hoof. "Uhh, does that include me?" he asked curiously.
"You know how to fight the Organization if some of their numbers are Nobodies Axel worked with before," Aqua answered, making the red stallion shrug, feeling relieved to still be part of the final bout against Xehanort and his vessels.
"So, what are we going to do in order to train new wielders?" Terra asked. "It takes time for a Keyblade to appear to an apprentice after a Keyblade Inheritence Ceremony. Or if there are any who were chosen out of the blue like it did with Sora, who knows where we could find those apprentices and find a safe place to train them properly."
"How about an academy?" Goofy suggested. "Like Twilight's school of friendship idea, we can build an academy and train future Keyblade wielders there."
"But it needs to be a location where the corruption of darkness won't interfere and put anyone in danger," Aqua said. "...Just like..." She lowered her head sadly as she recalled the Land of Departure. It was a shame that world, as perfectly safe and serene as it was, was not always perfectly protected as she, Terra, or Ventus expected. Darkness took hold of the world and the place they called home after Terra fought Eraqus to protect Ventus, then to have their master's life taken away by Xehanort once he was weakened enough. Now the world was transformed into Castle Oblivion, keeping the secrets of the Keyblade locked in the maze of memories to be forgotten and endless corridors to deter curious explorers from discovering those secrets. Shaking her head slightly, Aqua was still a bit adamant on opening her own school of sorts for the future of all the worlds. "I don't even know where to look to find such a place..."
Terra wrapped a foreleg around Aqua's shoulders, pulling her into a comforting embrace. "We'll find something, Aqua. It might not be like our old home, but I'm sure it'll be close enough to safely train our apprentices."
Aqua gave Terra a grin and nuzzled him. "My home is with you and Ven," she said. "No matter where we go or where we live."
The next day, Twilight took a trip back to Canterlot to see Celestia to get some advice on running her own school with Spike and Aqua accompanying her. The visiting trio walked along the halls of Celestia's School for Magically Gifted Unicorns with the princess herself, Twilight relaying to her old mentor about hers and Aqua's ideas.
"I think a school of friendship is a wonderful idea, Twilight," Celestia said, highly intrigued by her former protege's idea. "I'll help in any way I can."
"I just have a few questions," Twilight said, hovering several flash cards around her as she began to take notes from the answers Celestia will give. "What time should school start each day?"
"It really doesn't-" Celestia tried to answer, but Twilight in her usual nerdy ways began to bombard her with questions with barely a second to respond.
"What's the ideal length for class? Do you test regularly? What about class projects? Assigned seating? Open seating?" It wasn't to say that Celestia didn't see this coming, though she did find it amusing.
Before Twilight could ask anymore, Aqua snatched the lavender alicorn's quill out of her telekinetic aura, just as amused by her enthusiasm with her new school. "I'm not really sure if Celestia can help you if you're already giving her a pop quiz," she said, making Spike and Celestia laugh.
"And I have no doubt that you'll run your school how you want it without too much help," Celestia assured.
"There's a big difference between attending a school and running one," Twilight reasoned, snatching back her quill from the smirking unicorn. "It's not like there's a rule book to follow."
"Actually, there is. The EEA guidebook is very specific about how a school runs," Celestia said.
"The 'EEA'?" Aqua questioned. "What's that?"
"Should I have heard of that!? I've never heard of that!" Twilight exclaimed in panic.
"Of course you haven't, Twilight. You've never run a school before." Using her magic, Celestia created a symbol in her golden aura to show the two ponies and baby dragon the EEA's logo: inside a large circle was a wreath wrapping almost all the way around another smaller circle holding a horseshoe dead in the center. "The Equestrian Education Association is a board of learned ponies that oversee every school in Equestria."
"Even your school?" Spike asked, to which the princess nodded. "But you're a princess! You have to follow their rules for a school?"
"Not even a princess can do whatever she likes when it comes to shaping young pony minds," Celestia explained.
"That makes sense," Aqua agreed. "Even though you rule a kingdom, trying to teach others something in your school that's not accepted in an educational system will throw beliefs and studies into disarray from what's actual facts and history. Every school needs a modicum of high standards with education from basic studies to the most advanced of subjects."
"Did training academies have the same standards for Keyblade wielders?" Celestia asked Aqua.
"I'm...not really sure," Aqua said. "We were only trained by Master Eraqus in the Land of Departure. There were rules we had to abide by, but nothing about running an academy like that from what I can recall in the vast library of books that were there."
"Maybe we can ask Yen Sid if there were rules on teaching a mass group of wielders when he was younger," Celestia suggested. "However, Twilight, the EEA will need to approve your plan before you can move forward."
"Then I have a presentation to make," Twilight said.
"They'll approve whatever you give them," Spike said confidently. "After everything we've been through, how hard can THAT be?"
"...I regret everything I said a couple hours ago," Spike mumbled nervously.
Finishing her presentation for the EEA in record time, Twilight, Spike, and Aqua stood in the center of the EEA's board room, though the spotlight shining on them in the dim, almost broody atmosphere made them feel like they were on trail for a murder mystery novel. Up in the stands were several of the board members, each of them eyeing the trio with a stoic seriousness as they all took the education of their kingdom very seriously, as they should. Sitting on a higher platform over the other members in the middle stands was who they expected was the one in charge of running the board. He was a svelte white unicorn with slicked back black hair and a short, well groomed goatee, he and the other ponies of the EEA wearing dark auburn cloaks, but the stallion also had a red sash over his left shoulder with a golden medallion with the EEA's logo pinned to the sash.
"I didn't think education boards were more frightening than the Realm of Darkness, but now it's making me want to go back there," Aqua uttered to herself.
"Uh, hello, my name is-" Twilight said to the board, but was quickly interrupted by the white unicorn stallion.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle," he finished, seeing it was obvious everyone in Equestria knew of the recently ascended princess a couple years prior. "I am Chancellor Neighsay. Equestria owes you a great debt." The deadpanned tone in Neighsay's voice said otherwise to the trio standing before the EEA counsel. "But princess, hero, or no, we expect you to do things. By. The. Book!"
Levitating a huge book on his desk in his orange aura, Neighsay set the tome down in front of Twilight and Aqua with a slam to emphasize his point. Twilight grabbed the book, which happened to be the EEA's guidelines for running a proper educational system in Equestria, Aqua able to speed read with Twilight as she flipped through the pages in her own aura.
"I think you'll find my curriculum meets all your requirements, Chancellor," Twilight stated with confidence, then levitated several copies she made for the board to each pony.
Neighsay speed read at the same pace Twilight had, then glanced down at Aqua curiously. "And you? Aqua, correct?"
Surprised by how knowledgeable Neighsay was to know her, she guessed he must know a bit more about the other wielders, though not as much as their closer friends know. "W-Well, I may have plans to opening up an academy, though it isn't going to be a unified system with Princess Twilight's school of friendship."
"And what exactly does this academy of yours have to offer to Equestria?" Neighsay questioned.
Feeling like she was being interrogated, Aqua tried to calm her nerves and took in a deep breath. "I'm sure you're aware of the creatures appearing throughout the world, mostly around Ponyville." Neighsay gave the mare a small nod, along with the other ponies of the EEA. Aqua held out her hoof and called forth her Keyblade, holding her blade up for the ponies to see. "What my academy will hold is for future apprentices to learn from myself and my fellow Keyblade wielders how to defend themselves from the Heartless, the monsters who will stop at nothing to destroy the worlds with darkness. The Keyblade is the bane of their existence, and I feel my friends and I won't be enough to save everyone despite our experiences."
"Hmm...So, it is an academy to train future warriors with those weapons," Neighsay summarized. "This should be brought up to Princess Celestia as well if this academy is meant to train soldiers far more superior than the Royal Guard."
"She has agreed to the idea, but there are other reasons why I cannot give you a guideline for my 'school' of sorts," Aqua explained. "One is the location. I'd like future wielders to practice and hone their skills safely without Heartless appearing and harm them before they're ready to face even the weakest of them. Right now, that sort of location is impossible for the time being."
"There is the Crystal Empire," Neighsay pointed out. "The Crystal Heart was able to fend off the elements in the north along with these Heartless."
"But there were creatures called Nobodies who invaded the Equestria Games a while back," Aqua counter-argued. "They're far more different and cunning than the Heartless, and with our predicament right now, they could still breach the barrier without being pushed back."
"Not to mention all the fanmares who'll eat Sora up if he's seen training everypony," Spike whispered to Twilight.
Neighsay saw Aqua's point, ushering her to continue with her other reasons. "Another is that the Keyblade must decide on a worthy wielder through a special ceremony. Our Keyblades might not accept everyone, and even if it does work, or if someone is worthy of one without it, a Keyblade might not appear until several days, months, or even years."
"Then why not craft them through a blacksmith?" one of the ponies of the EEA questioned skeptically.
"A Keyblade cannot be forged that easily. It chooses its wielder, and it's only allowed to be wielded BY that wielder." Aqua levitated her Keyblade up to the pony who questioned the powerful blade, letting them hold it. Before he had a chance to examine its properties, Rainfell suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, then reappeared in Aqua's hoof in another flash. The stallion was startled, though none of the unicorns in the board saw Aqua use any magic nor felt any Equestrian enchantments that made it return to her. "These aren't ordinary blades ironically shaped like keys. They hold a lot of power that not even I can fully grasp, and each Keyblade has their own properties that make them unique."
The ponies muttered to themselves, though Neighsay remained stone faced, even with this information shed to light. "Miss Aqua, even if you were to present us with proper documentation, having to wait for these Keyblades to appear to your students is not an ideal plan to even consider opening up your academy," he said. "If Heartless begin attacking Equestria without warning, then the kingdom would be under peril before you or your other fellow warriors find your future students." Aqua felt discouraged, though it was mostly due to how quickly uninterested Neighsay was about the threat of their world falling to darkness. And he seemed to miss the point that it wasn't JUST Equestria that was in danger; every other country, city, and kingdom outside of Equestria were in just as much danger, along with every other world beyond this one. Aqua dismissed her Keyblade and stepped back with a disappointed scowl, giving Twilight and her school of friendship its attention back as Neighsay addressed the princess. "And can we trust you'll follow through with your own plans, Your Highness? Will you leave the school unattended to gallop off on your...'adventures'?"
"My journey beyond Equestria showed me firsthoof that the threats out there are greater than we imagined!" Twilight said, both to argue her point and help Aqua's case as she's seen and faced the Heartless and Nobodies in and out of Equestria. The other board ponies muttered among themselves, some reconsidering overruling Neighsay's denial for Aqua's academy if Twilight believes there are even more threats they were unaware of. "If we want to keep our world safe and create a friendlier tomorrow, we need to teach the Magic of Friendship far and wide, and seek more help to save everyone from the threat of darkness."
"A school for PONIES to learn how to protect themselves," Neighsay reiterated, though Aqua didn't like how seriously he emphasized the word "ponies".
"Uh, more like respecting differences and communicating," Twilight explained sheepishly.
The EEA sat in silence as they contemplated their ruling. Eventually, the ponies beneath the Chancellor gave a small nod, all of them agreeing to allow Princess Twilight's school of friendship to be opened.
"The EEA concurs," Neighsay said, vocally stating their unanimous vote. "Every pony should be prepared to defend our way of life. So, if your work is in order, provisional EEA approval is granted. We will need to observe your school up and running before it's accredited."
"Then please join us for Friends and Family Day," Twilight offered. "It'll be the perfect time to see our progress!"
Neighsay nodded, then stamped Twilight's portfolio with a red stamp, approving her school. Aqua didn't appreciate Neighsay's disapproval for her own idea, even though it was just an idea that was meant for the education and training of a whole universe of wielders, not just Equestria. Despite opening up to the fact there were other worlds beyond Equestria, breaking a rule that all wielders shouldn't break when the Organization and Heartless have broken that very rule, she hated how Neighsay only seemed to be focused on Equestria's future. From Ventus' time visiting the changeling kingdom with Starlight and Trixie to handle the issue with Pharynx, she remembered Ventus mentioned Ocellus having something within her that matched the potential of being a Keyblade wielder. Twilight may have been the first pony to be a Keyblade wielder, but if other creatures in this world had that same potential like Ocellus, then her academy should be open to everyone, not just ponies.
While stewing over her own thoughts as they left, she heard Twilight squeal with glee. "We're approved! And we'll get accredited in a heartbeat!" The alicorn noticed the glum, moody expression on her master's face, her joy for her success turning to concern. "...Aqua?"
Getting the unicorn's attention, Aqua let out a heavy sigh. "I don't like that stallion. Not one bit," she grumbled.
"Yeah. He was a bit rude," Spike added.
"But he takes education pretty seriously, and I'm glad he's letting us spread friendship throughout the world," Twilight said, trying to defend Neighsay and the EEA. "I'm just as upset as you are that he didn't take your Keyblade academy into consideration."
"I don't think I even need approval from an educational system that's part of this world to train future apprentices," Aqua huffed. "I tried to suggest the idea to him and how unprotected their world is from the Heartless." She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, composing herself and controlling her emotions. "What's more important is your school. Until I find a perfect world that's untouched by darkness, I'll build my own academy from the ground up if I have to." When she glanced at Twilight and Spike, she saw a bit of frost come from their breaths. It seemed like she was visibly calm, but deep down, she was close to exploding into another magical surge. Frustrated, she grunted and walked outside the building. "I'm going to blow off some steam at the Mirage Arena. I'll see you guys back at the castle when I cool down."
Calling her Keyblade again, she tossed it and transformed it into her glider while smacking her pauldron, suiting up in her protective armor. She immediately hopped on her glider and sped off into the sky, leaving Twilight and Spike as they watched her leave.
"Is it bad to call it a pun when she can literally cool down stuff when she's mad?" Spike asked.
"I know there's a lot on her plate, but we'll do our part to help her and the others," Twilight said. "Now, let's find ourselves a construction crew and get some blueprints ready to build the School of Friendship!"
In the following weeks, Princess Twilight's School of Friendship was fully built and ready to open. Her location at the mountain base was perfect. The building was built with the waterfalls that flowed from the mountain, structured well on land and the lake as its entrance, stepping stones split along the sides with a crystal walkway over the water to the front steps, and colored in the Princess of Friendships bright and dark lavender colors with her cutie mark emblazoned above the entrance and flags sitting on the spires of the two towers up above. It stood several stories high, many rooms inside for all the classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, and even dorms for those who wish to find boarding while studying the Magic of Friendship. The courtyard outside was wide open with a fountain, the center surrounded by a river created by the landscape, giving students a calming location to reflect on lessons, and even hang out and make friends, as the school would teach.
Inside the main foyer, everyone had gotten a grand look at the interior, though the idea of being teachers along with their own lives added a bit more to their already busy schedules. Out of all of them, Rarity was the only one who dressed the part, being the fashion diva she was, even wearing some glasses that fit her clothing choice and give her that air of a professional teacher. While most of the Mane Six worried about how to present themselves as teachers of friendship, Twilight felt the most confident in their abilities to shape new minds to learning about making friends.
"This really is the perfect spot for this school, Twilight," Riku commented. "Think I can be the Vice-Principal and discuss...'educational' matters in your office?"
"Hush, you," Twilight chided, giving her coltfriend a light shove. "No relationship affairs in my school, even if it's between us. Besides, I would appoint somepony like Aqua or Starlight as Vice Headmare."
"Ah'm not so sure about this," Applejack said.
"Yeah! I'm gonna look like an egghead!" Rainbow complained.
"Says the pegasus who didn't like reading books until she got into Daring Do," Sora teased.
"If Twilight's not stressing out about opening this school, then there's nothing to worry about," Starlight said, putting her faith in Twilight's school.
"And all of us are the teachers! That's so exciting!" Pinkie said, pulling out her part cannon, but had it swiped away by Twilight's aura before she could set it off.
"It is, but the EEA is very clear on how schools are run, and we all need to do this by the book," the lavender alicorn said as she held up her copy of the EEA guidebook. "That means no party cannons in class, Pinkie."
"Aww...Not even a teeny cannon?" Pinkie begged, holding one of the tiniest party cannons anyone's ever seen in her hoof, which fired a small burst of confetti with a squeaking sound.
"Schools don't really allow anything dangerous that could harm students or staff, even if it does shoot stuff as harmless as confetti and streamers," Aqua said, making the party pony frown in disappointment.
"I know it's not some big adventure like we've been on in the past, but this could be the most important thing we've ever done for the world," Twilight said. "I can't run a school of friendship without my best friends. Can I count on all of you?"
"Can you count on us?" Sora questioned, blowing a raspberry and let out a laugh. "I'm all in. I wouldn't if I didn't treat Equestria like my second home since I crashed here."
"So are we!" Donald said while Goofy chuckled and nodded in agreement.
The others voiced their own agreements as well. They wouldn't back down from evildoers or creatures of darkness, and they weren't going to back down from helping teach others about friendship. The bell rang, signalling the School of Friendship's start to its official opening and first day of learning.
"Yay! First day of school!" Pinkie cheered. "So many new ponies!"
"Well, about that, Pinkie. It's not just ponies we'll be teaching." Twilight opened the doors to let their students in. Once opened, the students piled in after they had admired the school's exterior as they waited for the doors to open, and it wasn't just ponies like Pinkie expected. There were other creatures as well: griffons, changelings, hippogriffs, yaks, even a couple smaller dragons, along with many other species. Thanks to Celestia's influence, Twilight was impressed to see many other creatures aside from ponies attending. After everyone gathered in the foyer, the princess hovered above the students to address them. "Welcome to the School of Friendship! I'm your headmare, Twilight Sparkle. Please follow Guidance Counselor Starlight to sign in and get your class assignments. Then we can show you to your living quarters."
Starlight waved to the new students as she stood behind the sign in table. While the group was directed to the unicorn mare, one of the pony students, an earth pony teenage colt with pale green fur, a shaggy mane of light cyan and opal, and a cutie mark with three sea turtles, wandered through the crowd. He accidentally bumped into a young griffon around his age, sporting blue fur with a white front, dark blue feathers on his wings, and three fringes of feathers on his head a similar blue as his coat with yellow tips, and the griffon looked like he didn't even want to be here before turning to glare blankly at the colt.
"Whoa, sorry!" the young stallion apologized. "I'm Sandbar. Are you a student here, too?"
"No, I just figured I'd randomly stand here and see how many ponies would walk into me," the blue-furred griffon sarcastically grumbled.
"GALLUS!!!!!" The griffon grimaced as his name was called, letting out a groan as he slowly shuffled over to the shouting voice.
It was all too familiar to Rainbow, Pinkie, Sora, and Riku. The four ponies looked over to find ponies awkwardly walking away from Grandpa Gruff, who let out a hacking wheeze after calling out the young griffon.
"Grandpa Gruff?" Rainbow uttered in shock.
The four approached him and Gallus, the young griffon staring at Rainbow Dash curiously. "Hey, old coot. What brings you here?" Sora greeted.
"WHO YOU CALLIN' OLD, WELP!?" Grandpa Gruff shrieked, only to wheeze and cough even more. He cleared his throat after having his coughing fit. "I flew all the way here from Griffonstone to introduce Gallus to this school."
"Are you his real grandpa?" Pinkie asked curiously, but the old vulture of a griffon ignored the pink mare's question.
"So, you're Rainbow Dash?" Gallus asked the prismatic-maned mare. "Gilda told me about you." He then glanced at Sora and Riku. "And you're...Sora and Riku?"
"Yeah. Nice meeting you," Sora greeted and held his hoof out to the young griffon.
As Gallus shook his hoof, Sora felt something that came from within the griffon. His smile fading made Gallus frown awkwardly, letting go of the wielder's hoof.
"Uhh, Sora?" Riku said, snapping Sora out of his daze. "You ok?"
"Gilda told me he was...weird. Now I see why," Gallus mumbled.
"Y-Yeah. Just...felt 'something' strange," Sora said while hinting to Riku, surprising his friend.
Before he could wonder if this was what Aqua, Terra, and Ventus must have felt with a potential Keyblade wielder, the doors to the school's entrance slammed wide open. "PONIES!!!!"
Making their way in was a large yak, his long and thick fur a dark brown where his long hair, which covered his eyes, and beard were a lighter shade, a black crown on his head with triangular aquamarine gems embedded around it, golden rings accessorizing his horns, along with gold anklets, gold earrings, and a gold band that was tied near the end of his beard, and a blue quilt worn on his upper back. Pinkie immediately recognized the loud and gruff yak marching in, bouncing over Grandpa Gruff, knocking over his fez in the process, and hugged the yak.
"Prince Rutherford!" Pinkie squealed.
"Pink pony! Prince Rutherford glad to see you again!" Rutherford said.
"You here to learn about friendship?" Pinkie asked.
"No, but yak prince bring young yak to come." Prince Rutherford pointed to a young female yak who came up to him, her overcoat a grayish vermilion while the fur on her legs and face were a grayish amber, her muzzle a light brownish gray, and her hair was a dark scarlet with two braided pigtails hanging down and nearly touching the floor. Her quilt over her upper back was a bright azure with the hem bearing thin white stripes in a pattern with the bright blue blanket that was a customary garb worn by the yaks. "This Yona Yak. She come to pony school. Hah. And make it better."
"Yak can't wait to meet ponies and tell about Yakyakistan!" Yona exclaimed in excitement. She got a bit too excited as she tried to befriend some of the nearby ponies, only to end up stepping over her own braids and began stumbling around. Everyone steered clear in case she fell over them, and even as she tried to find her balance, she kept tripping over her own hair and wound up staggering in another direction. As she cried out during her stumbling, Terra noticed too late as Yona rammed into him, sending the two falling over with the yak squishing the earth pony stallion to the floor. "Oops. Yak sorry!"
Yona quickly got off Terra, making sure not to step on her braids. "I guess that's how yaks greet each other in Yakyakistan?" the stallion joked as he sat up, rubbing his side from the impressive strength the young yak teen had. When he got a better look at Yona, Terra could sense a familiar feeling that came from Riku when he met his successor as a young boy. This intrigued him, but his curiosity was distracted by the worried, nervous face on Yona, fearing she upset him and hurt him badly. "Just watch your step. I know this school's exciting, but the day's barely started. Let's get you signed in so you can start making some new friends."
Yona followed Terra gleefully, but kept herself from running on ahead and end up tripping over herself again. At the other end of the foyer, Fire Lord Ember dragged a female dragon a few years younger than her by the arm, practically forcing the defiant young dragon to come with her to Ponyville. She had orange scales with a light gold underbelly, purple spines, and her ear fronds curved upward like they were horns.
"But dragons are better than this!" the young dragoness whined. She wrenched her arm out of Ember's grasp, then turned away with a pout and crossing her arms. "Why am I even here?"
"Because as Dragon Lord, I'm ordering you to be here!" Ember scolded. Riku and Spike overheard Ember scolding the younger teenage dragon and approached them, to the Dragon Lord's delight. "Hey, Spike!" Spike hugged Ember, who was still uncomfortable with showing affection through hugging and pat the younger adolescent dragon's head in return. Then she looked at Riku, somehow finding him familiar. "And...you are?"
"Riku," the pegasus said. "You know, the burly black dragon who helped Spike in the Gauntlet of Fire?"
Shocked, Ember looked at the stallion. "...Huh...You looked better as a dragon," she said, making Riku groan a little. He glanced over at the orange dragon she brought along, though as she glanced at them, Riku let out a quiet gasp when he sensed something from within her. He wondered if this was exactly what Sora felt when they met Gallus. "Anyway, I want you to meet Smolder."
Before Riku and Spike could introduce themselves, they were a bit confused when they looked at two different dragons Ember was gesturing to. "Uhh, which one is Smolder?" Spike asked sheepishly.
Confused, Ember and the orange dragoness, who was actually Smolder, looked at the other dragon Spike mentioned. They were both startled to see a lanky teenage dragon with pale brown scales with brown frills that drooped down her face, and she looked really timid and shy. They both knew dragons were never that sheepish or act like a wallflower, so it was weird for the pegasus, baby dragon, and the two Dragon Land natives to see this dragon lacking their spine.
"Ocellus!" Thorax called out, startling the shy dragon. "What did we talk about?"
"S-Sorry, Thorax." The dragon was suddenly surrounded in a bright blue aura, transforming into their true form, which happened to be the shy changeling Ventus met, Ocellus.
"Please try to stay in your real form. It's the polite thing to do," Thorax lightly chided, his kindness making Ember roll her eyes after the two helped each other try to run their kingdoms better.
"O-Ok," Ocellus mumbled. As the timid changeling teen looked around, she spotted Ventus helping lead students to Starlight, her nerves quickly fading as she had been eager to see him again. "Ventus!"
"Hmm? Hey, Ocellus!" Ventus greeted. Stepping past the crowd, Ocellus quickly hugged him as he reached her, only to pull away just as quickly with a heavy blush on her cheeks. "What are you doing here? Are you going to enroll in the School of Friendship?"
"Y-Yeah, I am," Ocellus said. "Thorax thought it would help us learn more about friendship, and...it might help boost my confidence."
"And it's the perfect place to do both. I'll show you where you can sign in." Ventus looked back at Smolder, the bored, irritated glower she held making Ocellus hide behind the Keyblade wielder. "You here to enroll, too?"
"No. I don't even want to be here," Smolder grumbled. Ember cleared her throat, getting Smolder's attention. The Dragon Lord pointed to where Starlight was, silently ordering the orange dragoness to enroll. Smolder grimaced and let out a groan. "...Yes...I am."
Smolder trudged after Ventus, Ocellus clinging to his side while avoiding contact with the frustrated dragon. The trio were quickly stopped by a hippogriff flying over to them, startling Ocellus as she transformed into a pony in fright.
"Wow! That was amazing!" The hippogriff mare had light magentaish gray fur and feathers, her beak and claws a darker shade, and with light and moderate blue hair, and she had as much excitement as Pinkie Pie as she invaded Ocellus's personal space. There was also a pendant around her neck with a shard of a pink gem hanging from it. "I didn't know ponies could turn into...Umm, what are you?"
"A-A...a changeling," Ocellus mumbled shyly.
"Huh? A what?" the hippogriff asked.
"...A c-changeling," Ocellus whispered, barely heard by anyone, even Ventus with how closely she clung to him.
"Did you get a frog in your throat? I didn't catch that," the hippogriff said.
"She's a changeling, and she's...kinda easy to spook," Ventus answered for Ocellus, then gently pushed the excitable hippogriff mare back a bit. "I think we'll start teaching you about giving friends personal space when they're not ready to talk."
"Oh! She's a pony who can turn into changelings!?" the mare asked excitedly.
"No. She's a changeling," Ventus corrected. "They can turn into any living creature, or even any thing."
"...That's confusing!" Ventus sighed in exasperation and nearly fell over from the hippogriff's ditsy response.
Kairi approached them after hearing the hippogriff's excitement. "What's going on?" she asked.
"Silverstream, please don't wander off." Walking over to them was another hippogriff, his coat a darker purple, his mane similar in color to the young hippogriff's, but with less streaks and a bit darker, and even wore the same type of pendant she wore. Kairi let Ventus take Smolder and the still shaking Ocellus to sign them up, offering to greet the pair of hippogriffs for them. "I am General Seaspray of Her Majesty Queen Novo's navy. I would like to introduce her niece, Silverstream."
"Queen Novo's niece?" Kairi asked. "Well, my fiance has met with her and your kingdom a while back. His name is Sora."
"Ah, yes. The stallion with the key-shaped sword. Yes, that name is familiar," General Seaspray said.
"Oh yeah! That party was amazing!" Silverstream squealed. "At least, that's what I heard from cousin Skystar! I was kinda ill and couldn't leave my bed, but I can't wait to join in on the next party if he shows up!"
"Oh, it's always a party with him," Kairi said with a giggle.
As she looked at Silverstream, Kairi couldn't help but notice the power she could sense within the energetic hippogriff. "I wonder if I can get a makeup party here," Silverstream said, then gasped over-dramatically as she hovered over the Princess of Heart when she spotted Prince Rutherford. "Is that a yak!?"
Silverstream flew off to the ruler of Yakyakistan, almost sending Kairi falling over from how fast she moved. "Apologies. Since the Storm King's defeat, many of us were restless living underwater for so long, and the children had so much more energy to burn after Her Highness allowed us to return to Mt. Aris," Seaspray said. "It took some time to clean the mess and bring our home to its former glory, but it was worth the effort." They heard Silverstream squeal and fly over everyone, spotting Donald and Goofy as she tackled them and started questioning them about everything about them or something random. "...Silverstream has the energy of a hippogriff foal by tenfold, unfortunately. Just like Princess Skystar."
"I think we can handle her. We've already got someone who has far more energy than her, so she won't drive us too crazy," Kairi said.
Kairi helped General Seaspray sign Silverstream up, after attempting to drag her away as she messed with Goofy's droopy ears or tried on their hats, claiming she's never worn a hat before. At the sign in desk, Sandbar was excited as he was next in line, Aqua helping Starlight sorting out the sheets from all the new students enrolling at the school. After he got himself signed in, he paused when he was about to hand it to the blue unicorn.
"Thank you," Aqua said, taking Sandbar's information, now noticing the awed expression on the colt's face. "...You ok there?"
"Y-You're...Miss Aqua, right?" Sandbar asked.
"Yes," she answered. "You have any questions about the school?"
"N-No. But, well, I live here in Ponyville, and...I've seen and heard you and the others stopping those Heartless monsters," the colt said, trying to stay cool despite his excited shivering like a fan meeting their biggest idol. "I think it's...really cool to be taught friendship by the Princess of Friendship, the Elements of Harmony, and the warriors who saves us from those monsters."
"Ah. Well, we do our best to make sure everyone throughout the world is safe when they appear," Aqua said.
"Or when evil villains kidnap ponies," Sandbar added, shocking Aqua after the colt mentioned kidnapping. "My family went to Manehattan to celebrate Hearth's Warming with relatives, but I heard a lot of the foals were kidnapped by somepony who was after Sora."
"...Yes. That did happen," Aqua mumbled. "That was a terrifying ordeal for him. And those foals all look up to him."
"Right. I couldn't imagine my baby sister being held by...uhh, a stallion who looks like a mare?" Sandbar questioned. "I don't know how this pony was described when I overheard the younger ponies, but he was pretty tough."
"Marluxia," Aqua named, then nodded in agreement. "And yeah. Pink hair, pink fur, and...his lips were a bit pinker on his muzzle. It's weird."
"I wished I had one of those swords you guys use," Sandbar admired. "If I did, I'd keep my family safe from monsters like him and the Heartless!"
As Sandbar boldly expressed his confidence if he were a Keyblade wielder, Aqua couldn't help but notice the same feeling within the colt that she sensed in Riku and Sora when they were young boys. It was obvious he was a huge fan of the wielders' efforts protecting their world and their home, and if he had a dream to be like one of them, he had no idea just how close that fantasy will become a reality.
Aqua gave the colt a grin and a small nod. "I'm sure you'd be just as great as we are," she said.
Making his day, she watched Sandbar trot away with an elated grin. While taking other sheets from the other students, she made a copy of Sandbar's information, setting it beside her along with a few other copies she made of some of the other students enrolling in the School of Friendship, sensing that same potential from the future apprentices as they signed in. Lea, who was assisting Starlight and Aqua with a bored, listless gaze, noticed Aqua's copied papers.
"What are you doing?" he asked curiously.
"Nothing," Aqua answered.
"Doesn't look like nothing." Lea tried to sneak a peek at the small pile Aqua hid, only for the mare to plop the larger pile of enrollment sheets in his hooves, finished gathering every single creatures' information.
"Take those to Twilight's office so she can sort out the class schedules," Aqua ordered.
Lea grunted irritably, levitating the papers with his magic as he walked off. Seeing that everyone in the room had signed up, Twilight was ready to begin the first day's classes.
"Thank you so much for supporting the grand opening of our school," she announced, everyone giving the princess their undivided attention. "I hope you'll all join us for Friends and Family Day to see the amazing progress your students are making." The new students cheered, all varying in ages from adolescent to adult, all of them eager to begin learning the Magic of Friendship. Feeling excited herself, Twilight held the EEA rule book in her foreleg. "Looks like school's in session."
[Students]
The School of Friendship, first day of class
Will we fail or will we pass?
Students come from far and wide
Brand-new friends here by our side
The new students took the day to get to know the layout of the school, going about the halls and looking in at all the classrooms they'll be attending during their semesters. Some were reluctant to go through with the boring, mundane routine of learning in a school, like Gallus and Smolder, while those like Ocellus and Silverstream couldn't wait to start, though the former was still timid around other non-changelings while the latter was just excited about everything. Twilight flew over the students, happy to have her own students learning what she and her friends had, and they were all going to share that education with every creature in not just Equestria, but their whole world.
[Twilight Sparkle]
Take a breath, look around, it's amazing
I can't believe that it's real
Students galore, new ideas to explore
Can't contain the excitement I feel
She regrouped with her friends, opening up the EEA rule book while the ponies, baby dragon, Keyblade wielders, diamond dog knight, and griffon mage looked at the pages over the princess' shoulder.
Can't mess up, can't afford a mistake now
Think "success", keep it firmly in sight
Make sure to do things by the book
Make sure to do it all right
With a nod, everyone split up and headed to their assigned classrooms to teach their students. There were lesson plans explained about what each of them will be taught, learning of the examples of each Element of Harmony that represented friendship, and much more future plans in store. The next day, the students were already enjoying the actual learning, taking notes even while partaking in the activities the Element Bearers had for them, along with assistance from their Keyblade wielder assistants. Rainbow Dash and Riku were doing trust fall exercises to start with lessons on loyalty, stacking up the desks for the students to trust in their friends, from a safe height, for them to catch them and not let them hit the floor. Ventus was joined up with Pinkie Pie, her lesson in laughter was by throwing a party, as if there were any other first lesson from the party pony herself. Fluttershy and Kairi taught some of the students about kindness with some of Fluttershy's animals, a good start being kind when it comes to adorable critters. Rarity started her lessons with introducing her students in the art of dressmaking, Terra assisting the fashionista as her mannequin with his offering to be her model as a first lesson in generosity: taking time out of his way to help a friend with an important task. And with Applejack was Sora, both detailing how honesty can earn trust in one another, especially in hard working occupations like farming.
Starlight and Lea were given the roles of student counselors, helping students if they were having any issues with their schedules or something that might be bothering them and needed someone to confide in them. Donald and Goofy were glorified hall monitors, though while they kept a lookout for students wishing to skip class, they also kept an eye out for Heartless since this school could be infested with them at any unfortunate moment. Aqua, however, was a bit preoccupied with starting her Keyblade academy. She tirelessly searched the Galactic Map for any worlds that were untouched by darkness and would remain so to train the six possible apprentices. Even though she did promise to help, her search seemed impossible as she evaluated the copies of the enrollment sheets, along with a magically created image of each of the future wielders next to their names: Sandbar, Ocellus, Gallus, Smolder, Silverstream, and Yona.
As classes continued at the school, the activities taking place really helped them get into learning about friendship. Even taking notes on anything that would be valuable for their tests while making friends with their classmates.
[Students]
The School of Friendship, must get to class
Will we fail or will we pass?
Students learning from the best
Taking notes to pass the test
Twilight walked through the halls to see how well her friends were doing teaching their classes. Reaching Rainbow's classroom, she gasped when she saw Yona standing on her hind legs on the stack of desks, preparing herself to fall back into her classmates' arms for them to catch her in their trust exercise. She immediately intervened, catching Yona with her magic as she jumped, startling everyone with her sudden entrance and interrupting Rainbow and Riku's lesson.
[Twilight Sparkle]
Wait, hold on! Not like that! Just a second!
I'm not sure if that method's approved
[Riku]
Let me take a look
Twilight flipped to the pages of the EEA about their method of teaching, setting everything in the classroom back to normal as she showed her coltfriend and Rainbow Dash the rules they were violating.
[Twilight Sparkle]
Yup, right here in the book
[Rainbow Dash]
Come on! We just got in the groove!
Twilight planted a black graduation cap on Rainbow's head, making her grumble as the princess took her leave. The two pegasi reluctantly complied, getting back to teaching with the now disappointed students. Twilight did the same with the others' classes, forcing the fun activities to be put to an end and turn the classrooms back to normal: she stopped Pinkie from trying to launch a student from her party cannon into the soft cushion of a mattress, took away Fluttershy's teaching with live animals in the classroom, all of which were actually friendly and harmless, stopped Applejack and Sora from teaching students proper apple bucking techniques, and interrupted a stitching lesson with Rarity, making Terra wince in pain as he was pricked while the alicorn reset the classroom back to the way it was.
[Twilight Sparkle]
Can't mess up, can't afford a mistake now
We are shaping young minds to ignite
Do it like it says in the book
Now make sure you're doing it right
With the fun taken away, the pairs of teachers had to teach their students about the elements of friendship through lectures instead of hands-on lessons. Ventus and Pinkie wracked their brains on how to write a formula about fun, which was basically impossible with what they managed to create on the chalkboard.
[Pinkie Pie]
There's not an equation on how to have fun
Fluttershy and Kairi could see how bored and uninterested their class was while explaining about kindness through a highly complicated circular graph.
[Fluttershy]
The students look bored now
[Kairi]
Oh, what have we done?
Applejack and Sora scratched their heads, their whole lesson plan on honesty thrown out the window as they struggled to teach it through a verbal lecture alone, Sora drawing on the chalkboard a familiar wooden puppet he met with his nose grown out from lying with a red "do not" symbol over his face.
[Applejack]
Can't teach bein' honest
[Sora]
I don't know what to do
The other pairs had no clue either after this change Twilight enforced sprang up, boring the students while frustrating them into a panic.
[Terra]
This is crazy
[Rarity]
I'm so lost
[Mane Six sans Twilight Sparkle and Keyblade wielders sans Aqua]
None of us has a clue!
The teachers weren't the only ones expressing their ire with these dull changes. Even the students began to get fed up as the following days since the fun of learning was taken away stressed them even worse than a normal public school would. It was now all about heavy textbooks, taking several notes, many of which had no importance to what eventual quizzes or tests they'll be taking, and the lectures were so confusing and boring that it was impossible for them to pay any attention enough to make a single note in their notebooks.
[Students]
School of Friendship, another class
Wish it were more of a blast
Thought this school would be more fun
Can't wait for our classes to be done
[Twilight Sparkle] (Students)
Can't mess up, can't afford a mistake now (School of Friendship)
[Ventus]
No way to have fun
[Fluttershy and Kairi]
Oh, what have we done?
[Twilight Sparkle] (Students)
Think "success", keep it firmly in sight (Bored with this class)
[Students] (Rarity)
Wish that we could leave en masse! (We don't have a clue)
[Students]
Listen to this one request
Make things fun we're really stressed
[Twilight Sparkle]
Make sure to do things by the book now
[All sans Twilight Sparkle and Aqua]
Can we tell her this thing is a mess?
"Ugh...What kind of mess did I get myself into?" Aqua made her way to the School of Friendship, getting away from locating the perfect world to create her Keyblade academy. She came up with nothing, and even when there was a chance for a world to be the right one, she would see a small glimpse of black dots in one section of them. At least Starswirl left her some notes on how to truly utilize Cutie Map before he went off on a journey exploring the new changes in Equestria, but it wasn't enough to help her locate more than just Heartless attacking the worlds. Aqua levitated the papers of the six specific students around her, contemplating if she should even try to build the academy in Equestria without the EEA's consent, knowing Chancellor Neighsay would breathe down her neck if he believes a new branch for Equestria's military won't be up to the standards HE expects in protecting ONLY Equestria. "I don't know what to do..." Sighing in defeat, she stuffed the papers in her pocket, leaning against the wall and buried her face in her hooves. "...Master Eraqus, if only you were here...I still need your guidance, even as a Master myself..."
While lost in thought, she peeked through her hooves when she heard some of the students let out an exhausted groan down the hall. As luck would have it, it was the same six students she had been looking into since the School of Friendship opened. She was a bit shocked to see them all looking quite frustrated, which confused her considering she had only appeared for the opening and didn't participate in assisting teaching with the others due to her own ideas for her Keyblade academy.
"Is this what boring is?" Silverstream questioned. "Am I bored?"
"Ugh, please," Smolder scoffed. "THESE ponies are the heroes of Equestria?"
"Hey, these ponies saved us all from the Storm King," Sandbar defended. "And they keep Ponyville safe from the Heartless, too."
"How? By boring them to death?" Gallus questioned, feeling skeptical of their teachers being the heroes they claimed to be.
"T-They are actually really strong," Ocellus mumbled, but Gallus couldn't hear her with how quiet she was.
"Ugh! Pony school waste of time!" Yona exclaimed. "Yak school teach how to braid yak hair! Braiding yak hair is best!"
While Yona flicked her head to emphasize her long, braided pigtails, she tripped on them again, sending her tumbling forward, bowling over Smolder, to the dragoness' ire. "Is there anything in Yakyakistan that ISN'T the best?" Smolder questioned after getting back up from getting knocked over by the yak.
"YES!...Wait. NO!...Yaks best," Yona argued.
"No claws, no wings, no fire," Smolder listed, mostly emphasizing how better she is as a dragon compared to a yak like Yona. "What is it that you're exactly proud of? Tripping over yourself?"
"Whoa, cool it, Smolder," Sandbar said, attempting to de-escalate the situation. "No need to harsh Yona's love for her heritage, ok?"
"Aww, are we not being sweet and friendly enough for you, pony?" Gallus asked, his tone seething with sarcasm.
"Ooh! That was sarcasm, right!?" Silverstream asked. "Because you weren't being sweet OR nice!"
"Maybe dragons and griffons are just too tough for friendship," Smolder stated with a smug grin as she stood beside Gallus, both dragon and griffon fist-bumping in agreement.
"Yaks tough, just not nasty," Yona growled as she glared at Gallus.
"Who you calling nasty, klutz?" Gallus questioned with a growl of his own.
Both Yona and Gallus leered at each other, each inching closer threateningly, ready to fight each other over their verbal argument. Aqua quickly acted, teleporting between the yak and griffon, pushing them away from each other with her magic and startling the six students.
"Don't you two even think about it!" Aqua scolded. "What is going on here!?"
"Just a 'friendly' discussion about the magic of 'friendship' amongst 'friends'," Gallus answered, constantly emphasizing the word "friend" in a sarcastic, condescending tone.
"I suggest you drop that tone with me right now, Gallus," Aqua warned. "You're looking for a quick trip to detention with Yona if either of you so much as threw a punch."
Smolder let out a scoff behind the griffon. "Yeah, right. You only showed up for the opening of the school," she said. "You were never in any of the classrooms to teach us anymore boring stuff we're stuck listening to!"
Aqua growled, ignoring the rude dragoness' comment. "There's plenty of us here to teach you. I'm busy with my own projects that are far more important."
"Which are what, exactly?" Gallus questioned. "More boring friendship lessons?"
"Uhh, guys, you don't want to upset Miss Aqua," Sandbar warned nervously. "Powerful unicorns have really powerful magic surges if they get highly emotional."
"Oh no. She's going to explode," Smolder dryly said, barely taking the colt's warning as she flailed her arms lazily.
Her monotone response made Gallus laugh, but it began to fade as he started seeing his breath and the air around them suddenly got colder. "Do you two want detention that badly?" Aqua questioned, her tone deadly serious and ominous. Gallus and Smolder saw the terrified look on Sandbar's face, telling them so, and they didn't heed him. Behind them, Yona, Ocellus, and Silverstream stared at the unicorn mare in terror. Slowly, Gallus and Smolder turned to face the Keyblade Master, both of them regretting pushing her buttons as she glared at them with an icy glare, her mane billowing from her magical aura as she struggled to keep it from sticking out like frozen spikes. "Well, do you?"
The two delinquent students shivered, both in fear and frost, gulping nervously as they experienced one of Equestria's many warrior heroes unleashing their power before them. "N-N-No, ma'am!" they stuttered.
"Then all six of you head to your next classes this instant, or you'll all be serving detention with me for being tardy!" Obeying Aqua, all six students quickly ran down the halls to avoid getting detention. As soon as they were out of sight, Aqua took in a deep breath, then let out a really heavy sigh, trying to control her emotions before they got out of control. The stress of searching for the perfect location for her future academy, Chancellor Neighsay's unapproved decision over her academy if it was EEA approved, which she didn't need considering it would take students throughout the whole cosmos, and the future confrontation with Xehanort and the New Organization was getting to her, and she swore she would try to keep from lashing out and return to being the old Aqua. Once her mind was settled, she made her way through the halls to Twilight's office, getting to the bottom of what's happened in the school while she was busy with her own errands.
As soon as she arrived at the princess' office, she didn't bother to knock and wait as she opened the door and stepped inside. Twilight sat at her desk, too focused on planning for Friends and Family Day, although Spike noticed Aqua as he helped his surrogate older sister with the plans, too.
"Hey, Aqua," Spike greeted. "You've been busy this whole week."
"Unfortunately, I've had no luck finding a world safe enough for training future Keyblade wielders," Aqua said, closing the door behind her and walked up to Twilight's desk. "Twilight, what's going on in this school?"
Twilight looked up from her plans, though was confused by her question. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Please don't tell me Pinkie found her party cannon and she's using it to teach her students about parties again."
"...Umm...no?" Aqua said, dumbfounded. "What...did I miss after the school officially opened?" Twilight then explained everything to Aqua about what their friends did in their classrooms and rectifying them so they all followed the EEA rule book's guidelines on running their school. Twilight even showed Aqua the rules that their teaching methods violated, then enforced only lectures, note taking, and very complicated and tedious lessons. The changes and learning from the students that the fun was taken out of the experience made sense with them arguing with each other, and almost got into a physical altercation if she wasn't there to intervene. "...Twilight, you basically took away hands-on methods of teaching with activities when you forced the others to follow those rules."
"There will be hands-on teaching methods," Twilight reassured. "Just nothing that's considered dangerous and harmful to our students: trust falls, bringing in animals, party cannons, sewing, and apple bucking are just the few examples."
"Twilight, this is a school of FRIENDSHIP," Aqua emphasized. "Making friends is supposed to be fun. It shouldn't just be about tests and lectures. There needs to be a balance before the students end up becoming bored and start fighting with each other."
"Fighting? What fighting?" Twilight asked, just now hearing of a fight breaking out in her school.
"Yona and Gallus were about to fight each other when they all started to complain to each other," Aqua said. "It could have gotten a whole lot worse if I wasn't there to put an end to it and get them to their classes."
Twilight grimaced, using the EEA rule book to look up how to handle students fighting with each other. "They should have gotten a detention! You shouldn't have just let them off with a warning!"
"...I think scaring them off when I lost my cool as Gallus and Smolder questioned my absence teaching with the others was enough of a huge warning," Aqua admitted. Twilight and Spike's jaws dropped in shock. Aqua let out a disgruntled groan. "I'm really trying not to get frustrated. I swear, I really am. But...on the inside, I still feel so stressed. Worried...Afraid...I reach out to who I used to be, but the old me seems like it keeps getting further and further away, no matter how much I try to improve..."
"Maybe you need to take a vacation?" Spike suggested. "I mean, it kinda worked with Twilight when she got down in the dumps after she let the darkness of her jealousy almost kill Kairi."
Twilight grimaced at the thought, still regretting those days she got jealous of Kairi when she first arrived in Equestria and despising Maleficent for manipulating her broken heart, but she nodded in agreement with Spike's idea. "You should take a few weeks to yourself. Let us worry about the school, stopping Heartless, and unwind before...'she' comes back."
"You don't have to withhold her name from me," Aqua mumbled. "...I know Torrent's still there..." She shook her head, focusing back on the problems happening in the school. "But you need to let the others teach their classes their way again. You know they won't let anything hurt their students. I mean, we did warn Pinkie not to use her cannon, but Fluttershy has TRAINED animals that wouldn't harm a fly, Rainbow and Riku wouldn't let students hit the floor, Rarity's sewing isn't THAT painful, and apple bucking wouldn't even be aimed at the students. Activities can break the mundane routines of constantly writing notes and reading books on different subjects."
"Every school in Equestria follows these rules, Aqua. We'll be fine as long as we do so," Twilight reassured, which only made Aqua sigh in frustration. "Tomorrow, Chancellor Neighsay will be here as he hold Friends and Family Day. If he sees how well we do by following every guideline in the book, the school will be accredited, and we'll include some activities as long as they aren't considered dangerous in the EEA rule book."
"But they aren't working when you enforced them and a fight almost broke out," Aqua reminded the princess. She pulled out the sheets detailing Sandbar, Ocellus, Smolder, Yona, Gallus, and Silverstream's enrollment information, laying them out in front of Twilight. "Along with Ocellus, these other five since opening the school for enrollment have the potential to be Keyblade wielders. I don't know if you were able to feel that potential in them when you saw or crossed paths with them, but I believe Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, and Ven could. These six students could be our future apprentices, aiding us in handling the Heartless throughout the worlds, but they won't be ready to face the likes of Xehanort or the New Organization XIII members. If that potential's unleashed, and they accidentally use it on each other, things can go much worse than just a simple schoolyard fight."
Twilight stared at the sheets, surprised to see there were a lot more future Keyblade wielders from her world, and she never noticed due to the excitement of running her own school. "How are we going to explain this to their guardians or families?" Spike asked.
"I don't even know where we can properly train them," Aqua said. "Equestria's not really safe, even if I chose to build a school out in the fields were it would be the perfect battlefield for training. The only other place I can think of is The Land of Departure...but it's Castle Oblivion now...I'm not sure it can ever change back to the home it used to be..."
"I'm sure there's a world out there that would be perfect to train them," Twilight assured the distressed mare. "And don't worry. I'll make sure the guidelines work perfectly for this school."
Aqua hung her head, took back her copies of the students' enrollment papers, then silently excused herself as she took Twilight's advice. She wasn't going to say she didn't warn the princess, but she tried not to think and stress about the alicorn's own school and let her run it how she wants while listening to the problems she wasn't seeing that the others could.
The next morning, classes were going to start within the hour as many of the students dreaded to begin the next day. Sandbar walked down the hall to get to Rainbow Dash's class when he noticed Gallus and Smolder heading in the opposite direction, knowing all three of them shared the same classes. "Hey, where are you guys going?" he questioned. "Professor Dash's class isn't that way."
The duo ignored Sandbar, only to bump into Silverstream, Ocellus, and Yona. "Where are you going?" Ocellus asked. The changeling gasped as she saw the devious smirks on their faces. "You're not planning on...SKIPPING, are you?"
"Duh. That's exactly what we're doing," Smolder said, getting shocked reactions from the other four creatures.
"But Friends and Family Day is today!" Silverstream reminded the two delinquents.
"Yeah. AFTER class," Gallus emphasized. "Relax. This is just a quick...mental health break."
The other three girls grew curious about Gallus's idea of skipping by calling it a mental break from learning. Yona, Silverstream, Ocellus huddled together, whispering about the thought until Silverstream spoke up.
"That sounds legit! We're in!" the hippogriff cheered.
Gallus and Smolder smirked as they pressured the other three, then glanced back at Sandbar. "...I guess I'll tag along, too," Sandbar agreed, giving into peer pressure. "Just to, you know, make sure you guys don't get into trouble..."
The group of six walked through the halls to get out of this school and take their "mental health break". "This way, Angel!" They skid to a halt as they heard Fluttershy around the corner.
"Oh no! Professor Fluttershy!" Silverstream hissed. "We're busted!"
The group panicked as they were sure to get detention for attempting to skip school, and they shivered in fear if they had to face that time in detention with Aqua watching them. Thinking quickly, Ocellus transformed herself, turning into Aqua, perfectly matching her form, including clothing, stunning her other classmates. As Fluttershy walked into view, the pegasus stopped, surprised to see "Aqua", along with some students wandering the halls and not attending their classes.
"Oh! Aqua!" Fluttershy greeted. She then noticed the other five students behind the disguised changeling, confused by them out of their classes. "What are they all doing? Aren't classes down that way?" she asked as she pointed down the hall.
Ocellus cleared her throat, mimicking her voice to sound like Aqua's. "Er, yes, but...I'm taking them for a little field trip," "Aqua" said. "Teaching them about...generosity for Rarity as we stare at our reflections in the lake's surface." Fluttershy raised a brow curiously, making the changeling sweat nervously. "...And appreciate...who we are as ourselves? Flaws and all?"
"Oh. That sounds nice," Fluttershy said. "Have fun, everypony! Oops. I mean, every creature!"
Fluttershy walked past the students, who were all stunned by how well Ocellus managed to trick Fluttershy, even though she was more gullible than any of their other teachers. Angel didn't believe it for a second, giving the group a suspicious glare before hopping after Fluttershy. As soon as the pegasus disappeared down the hall, Ocellus shifted back to normal, facing her friends with a bashful grin.
"I'm probably gonna be in a lot of trouble after that," she uttered shyly.
"Whoa...That was cool!" Smolder said, her compliment surprising the light blue changeling mare. "I take back everything I said about you."
"Thanks!" Ocellus said, only to balk in confusion by what Smolder had mentioned. "Wait, what did you say about me?"
"Come on, let's go before we bump into any of our other professors!" Gallus said as he ran on ahead.
The others chased after him to avoid getting caught as well, though Ocellus still had questions concerning what Smolder thought of her before praising her ability to shapeshift. Meanwhile, out in the central courtyard, Twilight looked around the school with Starlight and Lea as they prepared for Friends and Family Day.
"Well, this is already a fun week," Lea stated sarcastically. "Third day as a counselor, I already have like ten of these students complaining about how difficult learning friendship is when the headmare took away all the fun stuff. I'm not really much of an advice guru when it comes to learning in a school."
"Minor setbacks, but as long as we keep following the rules, it'll be much easier in the long run," Twilight reassured.
"Are you sure about that, Twilight?" Starlight asked.
"Of course. We'll have these problems turned around before we know it." While Twilight was confident in resolving the issues that had been occurring in the last couple days, a magic portal appeared behind them as the guest of honor himself, Chancellor Neighsay, walked through with a clipboard and quill, overhearing the tail end of their conversation.
"Problems?" he asked suspiciously.
His arrival startled the trio, Lea letting out a feminine shriek as he jumped and landed in Starlight's hooves. They turned to face the Chancellor as his portal disappeared behind him, Lea clearing his throat as he climbed out of Starlight's forelegs, then straightened his coat, pretending he didn't just scream in terror like a little girl.
"...Thought I saw a poisonous spider," Lea played off. "Highly allergic."
Neighsay quirked his brow skeptically at the stallion, then glanced at his black coat. "...Who are you?"
"Chancellor Neighsay!" Twilight greeted. "What a surprise to see you here! This early!"
"Yes, as one should be for any form of attendance," Neighsay stated, already writing down his notes on what he's seeing. "And you seem unprepared if there are problems..."
"Problems!? No! No problems here!" Twilight said nervously. "We can't wait to show you around!"
"Mhmm," Neighsay mumbled, completely disinterested in the stalling.
"Anyway, I'd like you to meet my two counselors, Starlight Glimmer and Lea." Starlight grinned sheepishly and waved slightly to the Chancellor while Lea just grinned and nodded his head in greeting.
"...This stallion is one of your school counselors?" Chancellor questioned.
"Yes, sir," Lea said.
"That attire is not fitting for a school counselor, nor any sort of school at all," Neighsay stated bluntly, writing more in disapproval with one of Twilight's staff's clothing choice. "All black is a distraction, along with your casual demeanor. A counselor needs to show just as much professionalism as a teacher and lead by example. And Mr. Lea here decides to dress like a delinquent, and at worse, inspire students to behave like him and bring disorder to an educational system."
Lea blinked, confusion turning to ire as he his fashion statement was practically insulted. "...What did you just call me?"
"And I was just about to scold Lea about that!" Twilight quickly interjected. Using her magic, Twilight teleported Lea's clothes off of him, making him yelp and try to cover himself, the princess basically stripping him in the buff in front of the Chancellor. "I'll reprimand him for being out of conduct with his apparel after giving you a tour!"
"H-Hey! Those are the only clothes I've got!" Lea exclaimed angrily. "Where'd you put them!?"
"Mr. Lea, I suggest you just go back to your office and let US handle the tour," Twilight said. "We'll talk about your 'uniform' there." Lea seemed to get the hint, looking back to Neighsay with an embarrassed grin, a shameful bow of his head, then walked back to his office to put his clothes back on. Sadly, the Chancellor wasn't swayed by the act, writing more negative findings on his clipboard. "My apologies. He may dress...a bit too casually, but he does a great job as a school counselor."
"I'll believe it when I see it, WHEN he decides to dress professionally," Neighsay said.
Twilight's eye twitched, trying to stay calm and smile, but she was panicking on the inside. "Twilight!" Her ear twitched as she heard Riku's voice through her communicator. "Twilight, where are you right now!?"
"Uhh, excuse me, Chancellor, I need to check on something," Twilight said. Neighsay only gave the princess a deadpanned stare, barely amused by her excuse after what he's seen so far. Twilight trotted away, letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as soon as she was out of earshot, then reached a hoof to her ear. "Riku, what is it? The Chancellor's here, and so far, we're not doing well when he complained about Lea."
"Well, he's gonna have more to complain about if he finds out that our class is missing several students!" Twilight's ears drooped in distress, now starting to panic after hearing that some of her students did the unthinkable: skipping school. "Dash is stuck trying to teach whoever's already there while I'm searching for them with Donald and Goofy! Keep the Chancellor from looking into any of the classes until we find them!"
"...Ok," she mumbled. Before she went back out to see Neighsay again, Twilight formed a magic bubble around her head to mute herself and screamed at the top of her lungs in panic. After finishing her panic attack, she fixed her mane, feeling it getting a bit frazzled, then walked back to Starlight and Chancellor Neighsay, clearing her throat after almost throwing out her voice. "Sorry about that. I thought I saw something out of place. Let's...do that tour now."
"Very well," Neighsay said. "I need to see how well your staff teaches your students in their classrooms."
Twilight gulped nervously, praying Riku can find their missing students before Neighsay learns about them playing hooky and add another notch to her belt of getting her school closed.
Aqua floated silently in the middle of the lake outside of Ponyville, trying her best to relax and forget about her stress. Her clothes were neatly folded by the shore, letting the cool water ease her worries as she looked up at the sky. Even with the peace and quiet, the serene landscape did nothing to help her. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and sank down under the water, feeling like she was slowly falling through an endless void. Not even the muted sounds underwater could distract her racing mind and conflicted heart.
"How much longer do you want to keep your rage bottled up, Aqua?" Refusing to open her eyes, Aqua scowled as she heard the voice of the creature she didn't want to talk to again. In her mind's eye, she appeared before her, staring down at the troubled Keyblade Master with a smirk in her human form: Torrent. "I know you want to give in again. Just let me take over, and I'll let your pain disappear for good."
Get out of my head, Aqua growled in her thoughts.
"You know you'll never be rid of me forever. I am you, after all," Torrent teased. Aqua's Heartless approached the floating unicorn, gently tracing her fingers across Aqua's face, where she quickly jerked her head away from the sadistic being of darkness. "Stop trying to fight it. Who are you even trying to fool? Your friends? Terra and Ventus? Yourself? You truly believe you can change back to who you were after losing everything once before?"
Terra and Ven are back. Sora, Riku, and Kairi are capable Keyblade wielders. Equestria's my new home. I've suffered, but I'm done being the cold, heartless woman I became after losing what I treasured, she thought to her own darkness, but Torrent cackled in disbelief.
"Oh, really?" With a snap of her fingers, Torrent created a mirror made of ice, letting Aqua see her own reflection. "Take a good long look. Do you see yourself as you were back then?" Aqua stared at the incorporeal reflection in her mind's eye. She did see herself, but her reflection seemed much farther away than where the mirror was in front of her. She could barely see the glint of her old self smiling, more confident in her abilities as a wielder, and remained calm under the pressure of battle. Aqua knew Torrent was doing this to get under her skin and trick her into giving her heart back to her darkness, but she refused to give it to her, despite being hurt by the conflictions within her heart to be her old self again. "Face it, Aqua. You can't change, no matter how hard you try. That pain will stay with you forever, and you will NEVER heal. And, I think after you revealed to those future apprentices yesterday, you showed them your true colors: an ice-cold, strict, and incredibly ruthless mentor who will quickly dissuade them from the path of light and follow the path of darkness."
How long have you been hiding? Waiting for the "perfect" time to trick me? Aqua angrily questioned, the water masking her flowing tears as Torrent's words began to sink into her heart. Just leave me alone!
"Then unleash your anger! Take off that mask you hide behind and show everyone the woman you have become: a MONSTER!" Torrent suddenly appeared in the mirror, then lunged forward, breaking the mirror and sent sharp shards at the unicorn.
Aqua reacted with a gasp as she tried to cover herself from getting pierced, despite this only happening in her imagination. She opened her eyes when she inhaled a huge gulp of water, quickly swimming up to the surface as her lungs burned for air. She let out a huge gasp as soon as she breached the surface, coughing out any water that she inhaled as she floated in the middle of the lake for a moment. Once her breathing was under control, she slowly swam back to where her clothes were, letting herself drip dry as she sat by the shore and stared down at her reflection. Torrent wasn't there, but she stared back at the disheveled mess of a mare she is now: her soaked mane hanging over her face, tired eyes that look defeated and lost, and a sad frown of misery and depression the could never be faked by even the most experienced actor.
Her tears melded with the water dripping down her face, struggling not to break down and sob as Torrent's words rang in her ears. "That isn't me," she uttered to herself. "I want to go back to being who I used to be...I just don't know how..."
After wallowing in self pity, Aqua was dry enough to put her clothes back on. Just as she was about to leave, her ears perked up when she heard laughter. Looking out across the lake, she was shocked to see Sandbar, Ocellus, Gallus, Yona, Smolder, and Silverstream by the shore and not at school. Wondering what they were doing skipping their classes, and on Friends and Family Day as well, she summoned her Keyblade and turned herself invisible, remaining out of sight as she walked around to see what they were up to. After yesterday, she expected them to be at each other's throats, but right here and now, they seemed to just be hanging out, laughing and joking around with each other. Just like normal friends would despite the fact they were playing hooky.
"And that's why griffons breathe fire when we get mad," Gallus said, finishing a story he was telling a curious and highly amused Silverstream.
"They do not! Wait! Do they!? No! Really!?" Silverstream exclaimed.
"Griffons just full of hot air!" Yona joked, but instead of being offended, Gallus actually laughed, along with the rest of the group of students.
"And yaks are actually good at jokes. How about that?" Smolder said.
"I guess you were right after all, Gallus," Sandbar said. "We all needed this kind of break."
"Told ya," Gallus said with a smirk.
"I just hope we don't eventually get caught by anyone," Ocellus said worriedly. "I don't want to get detention."
"Yona no want detention either," Yona added. "Not with scary blue unicorn."
Aqua winced, wishing she didn't lose it the other day. "Yeah, what was up with her?" Smolder asked. "Does she even teach anything at that school?"
"And she made it all cold when she got angry," Silverstream mentioned. "I always thought fire would shoot out of someone's head if they got super mad."
"I don't really know much about her, but I heard she's had a pretty rough life," Sandbar said. "Miss Aqua and the other ponies wearing those weird clothes are ponies with strange, but powerful weapons called Keyblades. They stop these monsters called Heartless when they first appeared a few years ago."
"So she's just some bigshot hero with an ego?" Gallus questioned with a scoff.
"That's more Sora than Miss Aqua, but if you could see him fight, you'd be surprised how strong he and the others are." While Aqua appreciated Sandbar trying to defend her, it still didn't excuse her for letting magic surge wildly from a couple of teens only wanting to cause trouble to get a rise out of her. It worked, and now most of them fear her. "Just be glad you weren't here a couple years ago in the winter. I heard she got so upset, she created a massive tower out of ice and holed herself up at the top to avoid hurting everypony."
"Seriously?" Smolder uttered in shock.
"How tall was tower?" Yona asked.
"Maybe as tall as the Castle of Friendship near the school. You couldn't miss it for miles," Sandbar said. Aqua bit her lip, the reminder of that winter day making her recall the moment she almost gave up on everything from the pain of loss crushing her heart. She was lucky she stood behind the six creatures, her tears appearing as they dripped down her cheeks and landed on the grass at her hooves. "Miss Aqua just cares about us, and...maybe she didn't used to be so harsh before. Whatever happened, it might take a lot of time for her to fully recover if it scarred her that badly."
Sandbar may believe in her, but the others didn't seem all that convinced. She couldn't blame them, feeling ashamed for how she's acted, and before she could even get the chance to invite them to being Keyblade apprentices, they would all hate her the moment she began to teach them. She silently sat down and hung her head, disappointed in herself and her friends, her future students...her mentor.
"...Yona and Gallus did almost fight in school, though," Yona said. "Very wrong to do."
Gallus let out a sigh and leaned back. "Yeah. You're right," the griffon agreed. Aqua looked up in confusion, hearing Yona and Gallus feeling terrible after almost coming to blows with each other. "Smolder and I should have stopped making it worse, too. I was just so...bored and done with learning friendship the way Headmare Twilight was changing up the classes."
"Same," Smolder agreed with a disgruntled sigh. "All the fun's gone, and a school about making friends is only making us feel like enemies."
"I don't want that, either," Ocellus said. "Us changelings didn't really feel welcomed when our old queen, Chrysalis, tried to take over Equestria. Twice. And I don't want to let Thorax down when I'm representing the changelings for the School of Friendship. We changed, both physically and philosophically. And if Aqua was much more different back then before she changed, I want to see that old side of her more."
"Here, here!" Silverstream cheered. "I feel like we're a whole lot closer as friends when we're not stuck in a boring classroom listening to boring lectures! And I say we make it up to Miss Aqua by getting her some flowers when school's out for the day!"
Aqua was stunned speechless. One moment, they disliked her for stopping the fight that would have broke out, and the next, they understood why they argued, and getting away from the stress that sparked their fighting helped resolved their differences and not only admitted to their mistakes, but they forgave each other AND her for her own growing magic surge. She didn't hear them planning what kind of flowers to get her, far too emotionally touched that they forgave her. She didn't deserve friends like Terra or Ventus. She didn't deserve pupils like Twilight, Sora, Riku, or Kairi. And she certainly didn't deserve her eventual apprentices.
As she wiped her eyes, she was so lost in the touching sentiment the six creatures made, the group had gotten back to having fun after coming to an agreement with what kind of bouquet they would get her. They all had a race around the lake, though Yona kept having a hard time trying to run with her braided hair constantly tripping her up. Thankfully, this fall was caught by Sandbar, keeping her from tumbling to the ground and resumed their race. Aqua slowly followed, keeping her distance as she watched them, making it up to them in kind for not ratting them out about skipping school after seeing how well they could get along without being trapped in a classroom.
Silverstream whispered to Smolder, Gallus, and Ocellus as they flew above Sandbar and Yona, the other three nodding at the great idea the hippogriff had. Silverstream, Smolder, and Gallus flew down and snatched Yona and Sandbar, the former two combining their strength to carry the yak while the latter easily carried the pony. Yona and Sandbar were a bit startled as they were suddenly hoisted up into the air, Yona flailing a bit with a scream, never once going up so high in her life.
"Figured we shouldn't be the only ones enjoying the view of this place," Gallus said.
Yona slowly got into flying, entrusting Smolder and Silverstream to keep her aloft as she laughed in joy. "Flying is best!" she cheered.
"Congratulations, Yona! You are officially the WEIRDEST thing I've seen so far!" Silverstream said with a laugh.
"What do you say, Ocellus?" Smolder asked the changeling. "Can you be weirder than a flying yak?"
Ocellus nodded, straining her magic as she transformed into something much bigger than she ever had before. Everyone gawked at the form she took, even Aqua as she slowed down and stared in awe. Ocellus turned into a huge crossbreed of an anteater and a wasp: the face curved slightly with a thin snout and claws similar to an anteaters, while its giant body, wings, and stinger matched a wasp's on a much grander scale. Impressed, the other students laughed as Ocellus managed to out-weird a flying yak and flew off toward the school. Aqua continued after them, her body visible again while grinning at seeing them all being friends.
"This is exactly what the School of Friendship should be doing," she said to herself. "Not too much work, but enough to help get them started on enjoying it together." Her smile quickly faded, remembering that Neighsay was supposed to be at the school today to see Twilight's school's progress. "I just hope he sees that this school is meant for everyone in this world to learn..."
Outside the school, the Friends and Family Day event was getting set up by Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Spike, Sora, Kairi, Ventus, and Terra. Many of the friends or family of the students were here having a good time, including the leaders/delegates from the other races from outside Equestria. While the hosts tried to play it cool, they got word from Riku about the missing students, which worried them considering the charges of the yaks, changelings, dragons, griffons, and hippogriffs had no idea that their chosen representatives for their races were gone.
"Have a wonderful time!" Kairi said to a pair of ponies, waving them off with a fake grin before turning to Sora with a worried frown. "Please tell me Riku, Donald, and Goofy found them."
"Still no dice," Sora said. "Twilight can't keep distracting Chancellor Neighsay forever."
"Princess Twilight, so far, I have seen absolutely nothing but the entire school, where each faculty is located, but no examples of any of your tutelage," Neighsay complained irritably. The Chancellor marched down the steps in a huff, Twilight visibly sweating in anxiety after giving him the runaround by giving a tour of the castle before stopping to lead him to where they were hosting their special event. "Are you hiding something from me? Because this has been a complete waste of my time."
Before Twilight could come up with an excuse, they heard some ponies screaming as they pointed up in the sky. Everyone looked up as they spotted the missing students, with Ocellus as the giant insect that the guests were in a panic over.
"What in the world...?" Terra uttered.
Lea came out of the building, back in his outfit, nearly getting bowled over by Riku, Donald, and Goofy as they ran past him. They looked up to see the students as well, guests quickly fleeing and screaming in terror at the massive bug beast slowly flying toward the school.
"Uhh, I think we found them," Riku uttered, pointing to the students being "chased" by Ocellus.
"Ahh! The school is under attack!" Neighsay shrieked, then quickly hid behind Twilight.
As pegasi flew away in fright, some of them got in the way of Gallus, Smolder, and Silverstream as they casually flew through the air. Gallus lost his grip on Sandbar, accidentally tossing the teenage colt and sent him tumbling toward Ember, Grandpa Gruff, Prince Rutherford, General Seaspray, and Thorax. Sandbar bowled through them, knocking all but Grandpa Gruff over, the older griffon flapping away before he fell to a heap with the other race leaders. Smolder and Silverstream lost altitude, clinging onto Yona desperately as all three fell into a nearby stand, knocking pastries everywhere as one cake smacked into Gruff's face. Ocellus tried to tell everyone she wasn't dangerous, only to fall out of the sky when she waved her arms, throwing her flight off balance and head for the fallen leaders. She managed to swerve out of the way, only to crash into one of the towers on a small patch of the mountain, crumbling it to pieces as she lost control of her giant insect form, fluttering weakly to the ground to join her friends. Luckily, the broken tower didn't fall on anyone as it crumbled to pieces, kicking up dust as it hit the ground.
Aqua ran up the hill after hearing the screams and watched the carnage from a distance. "Oh no," she mumbled worriedly. Teleporting down to the school grounds, she checked to make sure no one got hurt. "Is everyone ok?"
"For the most part," Ventus said, pointing to the creatures knocked over by Sandbar. "Was that really Ocellus as that giant bug?"
"Yeah, what was she doing?" Sora questioned. "Actually, what were THEY even doing skipping during the most important day for this school!?"
"I think the answer's obvious, Sora," Kairi muttered with a deadpanned expression.
After Neighsay finally stopped cowering behind the Princess of Friendship, he gawked in shock when he saw the culprits responsible for terrorizing everyone, all of them gathered together while knowing there were all in a mess of trouble. "You know, maybe skipping class wasn't the best idea after all?" Silverstream said sheepishly.
"How DARE you!" Neighsay exclaimed angrily. "This act of aggression against ponies-!"
"I'm so sorry, Chancellor," Twilight interrupted. "We clearly had some students get a little carried away."
Neighsay was even more shocked, appalled even as he looked back at the five creatures, completely ignoring Sandbar despite him being just as responsible in causing this mess with his friends. "THOSE are students!?" the Chancellor questioned. "But you said you were opening this school to PROTECT Equestria! To defend ponies from...dangerous creatures who don't have our best interests at heart!"
"What? My school teaches for all of us to work together through friendship," Twilight reasoned, now her turn to be appalled by what the unicorn stallion was arguing about.
"And how do you know these creatures won't take what they have learned here and use it against us!?" Everyone, especially the "creatures" Neighsay pointed to, were in complete shock by the amount of venom he spat out toward those who weren't ponies.
Needless to say, Ember, Rutherford, and Seaspray did not appreciate being degraded by the unicorn, Grandpa Gruff was always grumpy and had a feeling some pony was going to have a distaste toward griffons, and Thorax was completely hurt by the assumption, feeling as though changelings really were never meant to be trusted. "Whoa, is this guy for real?" Lea questioned. "Is he...being racist???"
"Sure sounds like it," Riku growled.
Aqua marched up to Neighsay, her gut feeling right about his ideals when it comes to Equestria's future by ONLY allowing ponies to learn in their educational system and no other creature. "Have you lost your mind, Chancellor!?" she scolded. "You're going to talk down to them!? Many of which are leaders of their own races!? Maybe you missed something while speed reading through Twilight's portfolio on her school; the part where EVERYONE, not just ponies, will be learning about friendship!? Friendship is not just for ponies!"
"It should be," Neighsay grunted bitterly.
Fed up with the discrimination, Prince Rutherford stomped over to Chancellor Neighsay. "Unicorn think yaks no need friendship? Maybe yaks NO NEED PONY SCHOOL!" he shouted loudly in Neighsay's face.
Wiping the spit from his face, Neighsay pushed Rutherford's muzzle forcefully away from his face and glared back at the yak ruler. "Well, perhaps you should return to YOUR KIND."
"'Your kind'!?" Ember growled, breathing flames out her mouth with each huff, being the better dragon and flew off, taking Smolder by the arm. "Come on, Smolder! We're leaving!"
"W-Wait!" Smolder tried to protest, unable to escape the Dragon Lord's tight grip as she was dragged back to the Dragon Lands.
Rutherford snorted angrily and stomped off, bellowing to Yona for her to follow him without question. The young yak whimpered, looking back at her new friends sadly before sulking after the yak prince, now losing five new best friends.
"Queen Novo will hear about this!" General Seaspray exclaimed. "Silverstream, we're going back home!"
The young hippogriff was heartbroken, losing all her bubbly enthusiasm as she flew behind her escort. "Well, this place seemed lame anyway," Grandpa Gruff said. "GALLUS!!!!"
Gallus let out a miserable grunt, flapping his wings as he followed the old griffon. "This sucks," he mumbled.
Ocellus was about to cry, blaming herself as she was the one who did the most damage, and endangered everyone while she turned into a giant bug monster. "I-I'm sorry," she whimpered.
"It's fine. We get it," Thorax said despondently to Twilight. "We know not every pony sees us the way you guys do." He then glanced at Sora. The pegasus' shock quickly faded as the two locked eyes, remembering how he had acted toward the friendly changeling before they all changed. Sora felt no better than what Neighsay stated to the other races, but his hatred toward the changelings was only toward Chrysalis and how she led the hive, even though it didn't feel like the reason among everyone else. "...We're used to it...Come on, Ocellus."
Thorax gently took Ocellus's hoof as the young changeling looked toward Ventus. She felt so guilty, ruining the changeling kingdom's chances of being seen as a friendlier race to Equestria, shedding tears as she flew off with Thorax back to their hive. Sandbar watched as his friends were dragged away, his ears drooping in sorrow.
"No, wait! Come back!" Aqua called out, trying to follow each of them as the leaders split up with their charges in tow. She couldn't force them all to stay, or else risk making the situation worse, but she couldn't follow them either and explain why they should stay after everything the Chancellor just said about other creatures not of their kind. "No...Our apprentices..."
Neighsay was satisfied watching them leave, glad to be rid of them, but the others weren't. Especially Twilight.
"Chancellor Neighsay, Princess Celestia helped me reach out to these kingdoms!" Twilight exclaimed angrily. "She's been trying to create ties with the other kingdoms! When she hears about how you closed down the school because-!"
"Because YOU failed to meet the EEA standards?" Neighsay interrupted.
"Excuse me!?" Twilight questioned.
"Hey, buddy, we were following your stupid system's guidelines, and all it did was make it harder to teach everyone lessons in friendship!" Riku argued, standing beside Twilight and poked Neighsay's chest hard.
"You were following NONE of them at all!" Neighsay corrected, using his magic to push the white pegasus away from him. "Irresponsible faculty staff, students skipping class, endangering ponies! Need I go on, Mr. Riku!?" Riku growled angrily, but Terra quickly held him back before he could pummel the Chancellor, even though he was well deserving of talking down to other creatures like they were inferior, including themselves as they technically weren't ponies. "This school is a disaster. Perhaps if you had had higher standards for who was admitted, Princess Twilight Sparkle, this could have been avoided.
"Regardless..." Neighsay faced the school, then pressed the medallion attached to his sash. Magical energy released from the powerfully enchanted accessory, rising up to his horn in electric sparks as he unleashed a powerful beam of orange magic on the building. Blue magical chains appeared and wrapped themselves around the structure, creating a barrier seal as the chains interlocked with the main seal, which appeared on the front doors of the school. The magic lock blocked any access inside, bearing the EEA's symbol at the top, a pair of chains crossing perpendicular with each other at the bottom, and right in the center was a keyhole. "By order of the EEA, I am shutting this school down!" the Chancellor announced with a stomp of his hoof.
Twilight was downtrodden, losing any accreditation for her school as she not only let Equestria down, but she also let Princess Celestia, her friends, and her students down. She tried to follow the rules, failed to explain specifically which races were allowed to attend the School of Friendship, and quickly lost her school as quickly faster than anyone could say "oops". The others were just as distraught, but the Keyblade wielders were more upset at Neighsay for being flat out racist toward the other kingdoms to the point where all their friendly ties they worked hard to make are thrown right out the window.
Before Chancellor Neighsay could create a portal by using his enchanted medallion and leave, Aqua ran up to him, about to give him her two bits. "What the hell is your problem, Chancellor!?" Aqua exclaimed.
"I beg your pardon?" Neighsay questioned.
"Did you even hear yourself!? How dare YOU for speaking with delegates from across the world like they were the mud you stepped in!?" Aqua questioned, thrusting her hoof hard in the stallion's chest. "Princess Celestia will have your job when she hears YOU acted like a bigoted racist toward the neighboring kingdoms after creating unities with all of them! You realize you could spark a world war with all of them against Equestria, you incompetent, pompous, egotistical idiot!?"
Neighsay grabbed Aqua's hoof and flung it away from him. "Are you threatening me, Miss Aqua?" the stallion asked bitterly. "The princess has no say in how the 'Equestrian' Education Association decides what is best suited for PONIES and educating PONIES to better the youth of this generation and beyond!" Aqua growled, the summer air quickly dropping to a chilly winter as snow began to appear around the enraged unicorn mare and racist unicorn stallion. Neighsay wasn't terrified by the magical surge Aqua was undergoing despite cowering behind Twilight at the sight of Ocellus's giant bug form. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, and Ventus tried to run toward her to drag Aqua away from Neighsay before she hurt him, but the mare's magic spiked. Her hair shot up and froze in icy spikes, her out of control magic creating a wall of ice that blocked her friends' path, spanning nearly a mile long and wide. "...Are you telling me that, if I were to approve of your academy, which I would not after the poor presentation you provided the other day about it, you would rather take in other creatures who are not ponies to train as your students?"
Aqua stepped back, then thrust her hoof forward, summoning her Keyblade and pointed it right in the Chancellor's face. "In a heartbeat," she answered with a low growl, defying the stallion and what he believes should be best suited ONLY for Equestria's future.
"Aqua, stop!" Ventus cried out as he and the others tried to break through her ice wall, Lea, Donald, and Goofy rushing up to join them as they through the incredibly thick ice or burn and melt it with Fire magic.
Neighsay merely scoffed, touching his medallion. The magic surged to his horn, and before Aqua could react, a lightning fast beam shot from his horn, hitting Aqua, who let out a painful scream as the excess mana from her magic surge was sucked out by a sphere of orange mana between them. Aqua returned to normal as the sphere in front of her grew, everyone nearby able to see the icy blue magic from within the unicorn mare glowing inside the orange sphere. She was heavily drained, panting in exhaustion as she nearly collapsed.
"What the hell happened?" Lea asked.
"Neighsay...stopped her magic surge?" Kairi uttered.
"But how?" Sora questioned.
After the excess mana was completely drained, Neighsay flung the sphere into the ice wall, causing it to explode and evaporate the barrier into a mist. "You are just as foolish as those creatures," the Chancellor said dryly, then tapped his medallion. "Unicorns with great power like yourself can be a bit unhinged, but with my medallion, it has been enchanted to do just about anything a normal unicorn can by tenfold. Even draining uncontrollable magic outbursts like you have been prone to do."
"H-How...do you...know that?" Aqua questioned as she struggled to stay on her hooves.
"I wasn't born yesterday. After our meeting when the princess offered her School of Friendship idea, I could practically feel the mana you expelled in your ire toward me in rejecting your academy. Along with the lingering cold you left in your wake as an ice elemental," Neighsay answered. "I do my research when it comes to important figures." He then glanced over to the shocked wielders, diamond dog, and short griffon, then back to Aqua. "Including you and your friends' exploits in protecting Equestria. No matter what royal background you come from or any heroic deeds you have done to gain any modicum of fame, no amount of power you have can enforce the educational system of this kingdom." The stallion tapped his medallion again, using his enhanced magic to create a portal behind him. "Good luck finding a system who will accredit your failure of an academy while I seek a headpony to properly run a friendship school to replace the very princess who couldn't follow our standards."
Neighsay turned away and walked through his portal, which quickly faded after he walked through. Aqua glared at the spot the EEA Chancellor stood, partially thankful for him putting a stop to her magic surge, but she was still angry at what he had said to their non-pony students, to Twilight, and to her and her fellow wielders. She turned around and limped forward, still recovering from the mana drain, but didn't pay her friends' concerned expressions any mind. Twilight had ran away while Aqua confronted Chancellor Neighsay, feeling incredibly upset that her school was shut down, unaccredited, and about to be taken over by someone else who could follow the EEA's standards, or rather NEIGHSAY'S standards.
"Uhh, Aqua?" Terra asked nervously.
She walked past her friends, gripping her Keyblade tightly while still fuming in anger. "He knows nothing about me," she grumbled under her breath. "He knows nothing about all of us. The nerve of that...that...!"
"Aqua, what are you doing?" Ventus asked.
"I'll show him a thing or two. Dumbass must not have done enough research to know our Keyblades can unlock ANYTHING with a keyhole!" She stopped at the end of the bridge at the other end of the school, flicking her hoof as she aimed her Keyblade at the seal. "Even his stupid seal!"
Realizing what she was doing, everyone quickly ran up to her, blocking her or pulling her or her hoof away from the seal. "Aqua, are you nuts!? Twilight will get in even more trouble!" Riku exclaimed.
"It ain't worth it, sugarcube!" Applejack agreed.
"You need to relax before you go into another magic surge!" Sora said.
Roaring in frustration, Aqua cast Aero around herself, blowing everyone away from her, even sending some of them splashing into the lake. "That stallion not only risked causing a world war to break out, but he also drove away six potential Keyblade wielders who could help us in the future!" Aqua shouted. "I may have said I didn't want to risk anyone else getting involved in our war, but at this point, we NEED apprentices to carry on our jobs when we retire, or die, and train the next generation of Keyblade wielders to protect every world from the Heartless! And now, no thanks to that miserable excuse of a living being, he shut down Twilight's school, pushed away the other kingdoms, and not only insulted them, but he insulted US as well!" She turned back to the school and aimed for the seal again. "Friendship's just for ponies, huh? Well, who helped teach Twilight about friendship before she embraced it!? Sora did, and he ISN'T a pony! Who saved Equestria several times from many different threats that could have ruined the kingdom or the world!? US! HUMANS FROM WORLDS BEYOND HIS OWN COMPREHENSION!!!!!"
Panting heavily, Aqua glared at the EEA seal. Everyone was too stunned to stop her, not even Terra as they all completely understood her outrage. She was about to unlock the seal, but when her eyes glanced over to the area where the Friends and Family Day event was being held, her rage was quickly extinguished when she saw Sandbar witnessing the fallout, and her transformation in her magical surge. She completely forgot that he was still standing there after watching his new friends forced to leave because of Neighsay. It was hard to tell what he was feeling, whether he was surprised and startled by her outburst, even seeing the enraged unicorn in her magical surge, or he was confused as he overheard her shouting about who they were. She dreaded seeing a look of fear on his face after he held such high praises for all of them as heroes of Equestria, especially backing her up to the other five students he befriended after yesterday.
Her ears twitched and drooped as Torrent's mocking laughter echoed in her head, proving her darkness right and revealed to one of her future apprentices still here who she became. Her vision was blinded by tears as she looked away from Sandbar and stared at the seal. Her hoof shook, dropping her Keyblade as it clattered onto the bridge, unable to go through with her threat of proving how wrong Neighsay was as her Keyblade disappeared in a flash of light. Her tears rolled down her face, her silently standing there worrying the others.
Across the way, Sandbar watched as Terra carefully approached her. The moment he gently touched her shoulder, the unicorn snapped and broke down sobbing, collapsing to the ground with her hooves covering her face in absolute shame. The colt did hear Aqua scream out her frustrations after blowing away her friends with an Aero spell, but he really had no idea what she meant. Sandbar walked away from the school, contemplating what to do now that the school's been closed down and losing his friends, all of them being no thanks to Chancellor Neighsay. As he wandered into town, he accidentally bumped into Derpy, Ponyville's resident ditsy mailmare.
"Oops! Sorry," Derpy apologized. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"It's ok. At least it's not as bad as having the School of Friendship get shut down by a jerky unicorn," Sandbar grumbled.
"The School of Friendship is closed?" Derpy asked, confused. "I thought it just opened up."
"Yeah, but it was all mine and my new friends' faults," the colt mumbled.
"Oh, I'm sure it was an accident," Derpy assured. She then reached into her bag and gave whatever she grabbed to the depressed colt. "Muffin?"
Sandbar looked at the gray pegasus' hoof, but instead of a muffin, she gave him a letter. "...Umm, Miss Whooves, that's not a muffin."
"Huh?" Derpy looked at her hoof, then giggled sheepishly at the realization. "Oopsie. I always forget which is my delivery bag or my personal one."
Sandbar sighed and shook his head, knowing just how popular Derpy was when it came to being "forgetful". As he looked back at the letter, he noticed it was mail from Mt. Aris for Silverstream.
"Miss Whooves, is this for a hippogriff named Silverstream?" Sandbar asked.
"Why, yes it is. I came back from Mt. Aris not too long ago, and it's a really pretty place," Derpy said. "Do you know her?"
"Yeah, but she went back home after-" Sandbar let out a small gasp, suddenly getting an idea after Derpy attempted to offer him a muffin.
"Aww. She went back to Mt. Aris?" Derpy whined, then sighed. "Oh well. A mailmare's work is never done."
"W-Wait, Miss Whooves!" Sandbar called out, making Derpy stumble and fall on her stomach as she tried to take off. Grimacing apologetically, the colt helped the pegasus mare back on her hooves. "Sorry, but...you think you can send a letter for me to Mt. Aris, along with one to Griffonstone, Yakyakistan, the badlands, and the Dragon Lands?"
"Oooh. Five different letters?" Derpy asked. "I think so."
"Great! I'll be right back!" Sandbar quickly ran home, eager to get his letters done and sent as soon as possible.
"Ok! Do you still want that muffin!?" Derpy called out. Sandbar was too far away to answer, but she assumed it was a yes and rummaged through her bags, even going as far as to stick her whole head in them. "Now where did I put that muffin? It's gotta be here somewhere..."
Ok if they are going to get new keyblade wielder is got to be the the new name six. But I have a feeling that cozy glow will be master xehanot mole and everything. This season is my least favorite because of neighsay being a jerk to other creatures and cozy glow. Oh boy she going to earn sora trust easily. Wait plz make roaxs and Xion dont trust here at all plz they would be perfect to fight against her.
Tell me Celestia's gonna do SOMETHING this time about him trying to cause a race war? Like forget Twilight for a second, SHE'S the one who wants / benefits from all creatures of Equestria being united at friends. Sure she dosent say what can go on in a school but she sure can decide who does. Can we pleeease get a scene of her at least tearing Neighsay a new verbal asshole.
10288694
I hope that she'll even allow Aqua to beat the ever-loving shit out of him if that where to happen.
No Equestria Girls arc.
Time to cry
cries
Ok, let's do this:
Ok, this is already starting off interesting, so the movie characters are actually going to stay around this time. I know in the actual show they were only reduced to cameos with no speaking roles since their voice actors cost a lot, so it's great you took advantage of this fic and made them recurring characters.
I'm interested in maybe seeing them in future arcs?
I don't know what you have planned for them, but I'm excited to see it.
Holy shit, this is a big development.
While it's definitely unexplained as to why the map has increased to the wider universe all of a sudden, this is huge. So now, after many chapters, we finally have confirmation of the existence of the other new worlds. I don't know when is this going to be addressed, but the idea of Sora going on these adventures with mane six or other characters would be amazing to see.
Seeing the MLP characters and Disney characters interact was something I've been dying to witness, and I'm not sure if we will have to wait a while for it to happen, as the ending of this entire fic is a whole other story, but we'll see in the future.
We are finally introduced to the Young Six, and honestly, I'm very impressed with their first appearance in this chapter.
More so the potential and plotline that is established here.
The idea of making the Young Six showing potential to be future Keyblade Wielders was a very good choice in my opinion.
Not only are they going to show that Friendship is for every creature and together they can all unite as one, while also showing the hopeful future of the next generation, but establishing that they can be the next keyblade wielders of the next generation, showing hope for new protectors of the KH universe.
The idea of opening up an Academy is also great since this could be a great stepping stone for Aqua's character, plus Terra and Ventus.
The trio has learned from their master, and are now going to become teachers themselves, this could build some interesting character drama.
Can't wait to see more.
Also, Sandbar here feels to have more character than the original show. Here, he's a genuine fan of our heroes and wants to be like them someday. Sure what got some bits of that side of him in the show, but nothing too much, since we rarely see anything from him. So I'm glad you wrote more of him here and made me enjoy Sandbar more than the show, that's a great achievement!
Also:
The explanation of how Sandbar got the young six reunited, and it's because of little ol' Derpy?
Fantastic.
Lea is a GUIDANCE COUNSELOR, since when the fuck?
Jokes aside, is Lea going to finally stay in Equestria? If so, I'm really curious about what you will do with him. For now, he seems to be the comedic relief in most cases, which is very funny, but he's more than that.
He's kind of a tragic character, where he met and had great friends but he lost them all: Roxas, Xion, and Isa. All of them taken by forces completely out of his control.
He only wishes is to see them again and eat some ice cream together. He wants something to simple, yet the idea of it happening is almost impossible and he knows it. Heck, he freaking cried when he finally saw the Roxas and Xion together again in KH3
I hope this side of him is pointed out and we see more of that inner sadness, and maybe go through a small arc that he regains hope in seeing them all again one day. Also, this could be a stepping stone in remembering Xion again. That scene in KH where he says Kairi as Xion, still brings me to tears. It's a small, but a beautiful character moment. Speaking of which, I hope we also get to see his relationship with Kairi, we don't see much of them anymore, despite having an established friendship. Hope to see more of that.
So, here we have the central conflict, with Aqua is the main protagonist of this arc.
Now, one thing I made clear and obvious, is that I'm highly critical of her character and honestly, I'm not hating her character as much before, in fact, I'm quite impressed.
Here, it's pointed out how reckless her emotions are getting and that she has the potential in hurting others. This frustration that she feels in not improving at all is surprisingly realistic and a feeling we've all felt once. Overall, this is a great step for her character. I've been critical of her before, mostly because of how she's behaved in this past. You read previous chapters and you can conclude that she is overall, an awful person using her past as an excuse for her toxic behavior. I'm glad it got addressed in Shadow Play, and it's great seeing this addressed once again.
My only issue with this arc, for now, is Torrent.
Torrent is such a boring character. She's basically Vanitas 2.0, only more generic and is a pain to see her in the fic. She has no personality or character, in which mostly resembles a cheezy Saturday-morning cartoon villain, and while her dialogue is great, she feels more like a pain to deal with than an actual threat. Sure, Vanitas is similar, but he's cockyness and childish behavior makes sense, he's the darkness of Ventus and Sora's hearts. It's obvious the way he is because those two can be quite childish themselves. Torrent acts just like that, and her being her dark reflection doesn't come off as believable in terms of her being a dark persona of Aqua.
I believe what could have been far more interesting is have Torrent be cold and merciless in her behavior, showing no emotion in her actions. Instead of being cocky, she silently, but quickly tries to kill her enemies with no words, other than occasional banter.
Instead of Torrent being a cocky and maniacal dark persona (something we've seen countless times), Torrent can be the opposite of Aqua.
Instead of being hopeful and quick to anger, while also regretful and wanting to grow as a person, Torrent is cold and emotionless, she doesn't show anger or happiness to her enemies, just a stare and a want to hurt others, as well a genuine hopeless attitude towards the future. This emotionless character could represent Aqua if she was broken; Aqua giving into her dark past and regrets, always focusing on her mistakes and just hurting others, to the point where it broke her, and she no longer feels nothing, seeing that the decisions she makes don't matter anymore. Now THAT would have been a far more interesting dark side to her, instead of Vanitas 2.0.
Sad, but I hope this arc will be the last we see of her, doubt it though.
Yeah, we still talking about Aqua, not done yet.
This is a scene I really appreciate, it shows to us that Aqua needs to learn to not only let go of the past but to love herself!
This scene shows that even if she hates her side of being angry, the students appreciated what she did because it actually managed to stop a fight and made them all actual friends.
It shows that Aqua's problem isn't her emotions, but how to use them.
Aqua may hate how her anger can hurt others, but she has to appreciate that she can use her anger in healthier ways, and I'm so happy this is addressed and also set up for her arc moving forward!
This is a pivotal moment for Aqua, she's finally broken and realizes the monster she thinks she is.
I'm hoping that the next chapter doesn't quickly fix this, I want to see Aqua struggle with this feeling, seeing her as such a low-point, and that any of the advice and kind words Terra and the others can give her will not work at all.
I can see her think so low of herself, have such an unfaithful attitude towards the future. Heck, maybe there could be a moment where she gets angry all of the sudden, and quickly calms and just burst into tears each time she just gets mad and believes she has hurt them.
Now, this.
This possibility.
It might be the biggest moment that could mean for two main characters.
We saw Terra, Sora and other KH characters give Aqua advice and help her heal, it would be formulaic and repetitive to see them help her again. My only dearest hope is that Terra is the one who helps her, because:
1. It would be repetitive, and it's about time Aqua interacts with other characters instead of Terra all the time.
2. It would be a continuity issue, because as addressed in Shadow Play, Terra cannot help to feel bad for her, so telling her how great she is now, won't help at all and be kind of out of character.
3. If she just receives from terra, like the other arcs she went through, it makes come off more as someone more dependent on Terra, than trying to improve herself.
I think there could be a great moment and complete TWO ARCS IN ONE MOMENT.
Have Aqua interact and be given advice and help from none other, than Starlight Glimmer!
I understand that my previous analysis that I'm some sort of Starlight fan, but no, this fic just heavily downplays her and seems to treat her more as a background character sometimes, while also never giving a proper conclusion for her redemption arc.
God, how you butchered her in Shadow Play.
This conversation she can have with Aqua can mean so much and complete her arc and finally have the moment where everything she has learned in this journey is showcased.
One thing to note is that Starlight and Aqua's relationship started out terrible. In fact, Aqua was horrible to Starlight. Imagine a scene where Aqua sees Starlight, and the first thing to come up with the mind is to shout how sorry she was for treating her that way in the past. Of course, Starlight realizes that was long resolved, but Aqua is going through a struggle of not letting go of her past behavior and wishing she could return to the person she once was.
Starlight and Aqua can have a conversation one what it means to finally let go of the past and embrace yourself and how much you grew, that no matter ho much the past may haunt you, you realize that you are a much better than the person you are now. There is no person in the gang that might know this better than Starlight. She could then tell her about her emotions and that she shouldn't feel ashamed of them, referencing what she learned in "All Bottled Up" and the dangers that come to hiding and restraining certain feelings, both physically and emotionally.
She can explain to Aqua how much it meant to her the moment she gives her a chance and drove her all the way to her old village to seek forgiveness from them. Despite the awful things Aqua did and wanted to do to Starlight, she forgave her and has moved on, and the mistakes she has made, she decides to learn from them and grow better as a person. Sure, we will continue making mistakes, but that's ok, even if you are at a low point, remember that you always have the option to finally pick yourself up and be better.
I would be DISSAPOINTED BEYOND BELIEF if this doesn't happen.
This is the moment where Starlight's arc is finally closed. It's not the moment where she saves the Equestria or anything grander in scale.
She just helps and talks to Aqua.
At the beginning of her journey, Aqua might have been the first to hurt her, but she was also one of the first to genuinely help her, and here, at the end, her last trial is to help Aqua and finally give her advice she desperately needs.
This is it, this is where her journey ends. One of my biggest hopes for Season 8 is to see the conclusions of Starlight's arc, and here's the huge opportunity, right in front of you!
It's fucking perfect, I don't know if this is what you have planned, but goddamn, this resolves basically two arcs in one go!
Aqua learns from this and begins her new journey on controlling her emotions, and this could be a boost in their friendship.
Imagine seeing the two at the start as untrustworthy, and toxicity, but at the very end, at this moment, the two have grown closer and became great friends.
The themes of friendship, the overall theme of the two freaking franchises, is also implemented at this moment.
I gotta calm down because this is great, I might as well end my freaking analysis right here, but we got more to talk about, holy shit.
I'm VERY curious on how Aqua will go through this and hope it's amazing.
You mentioned it!
That's great, it's a good start possibly.
Now, I can see this being a little side-plot for this arc. Nothing big, but a genuine reflection for Sora, which seems to be the running theme of School Daze, reflecting on your past mistakes.
I mean, it's not like you address it and go nowhere with this and never mention it again, right?.... RIGHT?
My problem with this scene is well, the justification of it.
I'm sure this was NEVER your intention, not at all, but the story seems to address that Sora's previous racism was JUSTIFIED.
That is completely dishearting, first off, there is no justification for Sora's hateful views!
Maybe his hate came from how Chrysalis ruled the hive, but that still led to him hating all changelings and deeming them as all evil, that's no excuse.
It's not like saying: "Yeah, I used to hate your entire species, and that you were all evil and should exterminate for good, but not anymore. Why? Because I'm the good guy, I'm not supposed to feel that way anymore"
If this is the only time it gets an address, then that's what was the point of addressing it in the first place? It's almost like you are preventing Sora to develop and grow.
I think a great way to put this through, is that Sora may reflect how badly he behaved back then, Kairi can talk to him mentioning how he doesn't feel that way anymore, but Sora still feels awful that he's views used to be just like Neighsay's.
At the end of the arc, there could be a moment where he approaches Thorax and says if he could give him another chance and maybe become friends and teach him more about changelings and how they are now
Boom, a small character arc solved. It doesn't have to be the main focus of the arc since Aqua is the main character here, but it would definitely help to show that Sora, despite being the main hero, still has a lot of room to grow.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy
One of my other hopes for season 8 is how Neighsay would be handled, and holy shit, I did not expect for you to make him bad-ass.
He's a great villain who had the balls to stand up to Aqua while angry.
You could tell he's had experience with ponies like Aqua before in his magical surges, among other things.
Just standing there unafraid of Aqua and the rest of the wielders, despite being a simple pony?
You made him a great antagonist, and I cannot wait to see what you have in store for him in the future.
So yeah, that's it.
I'm sorry if I'm coming off as demanding in some way like I'm forcing you to write the story the way I'm wanting, that's not my intent.
I just love this story and have some thoughts.
It's your story in the end, but I will also be there to give my opinions.
If you read this far, shine on dude.
Man Aqua is literally everyone in the fandom at that moment, everyone wanted that racist dead for what happened
Besides that, this was a really great chapter! Can’t wait for the next one and see what happens
awesome keep it up chancellor neighsay is so racist saying using friendship as a weapon against them i just sorry aqua didnt deal with him when she had the chance but he will get his just dessert
*SPOILER ALERT* the same creatures which he racisted against will rescue him
I wonder how shining armor reacted to the events of the movie
Alright new chapter. And man and I thought twilight was sad for not getting credit for her school but Neighsay shooting at the Keyblade wielders Especially Aqua is another. And they are going to train new generation of wielder, that is cool. I hope they can work this out in the next chapter, keep up the great work
Can't wait for the next chapter update. Keep up the good work!^^
I am really looking for part 2!
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I totally agree and wish that to happen as well, very much so.
I wanted to beat the crap out of that racist bigoted A-hole when I saw what the did the first time.
Outstanding chapter! Keep it up! With the mention of new worlds, I really hope we get see the Mane Six, or at least Twilight, visit those worlds.
I was hope that neighsay get his butt kick next chapter. I want master yensid comes and teach that racist basterd a thing or two about not to insults his students. Like destroying that medallion. Dont insult aqua dude.
I would love to see, theirs reactions about to be Keyblade wielders.
Those moments about the bond between master and students, are the best!
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Wow. Quite the analysis.
I can see your points of view for certain situations involving future chapters, but most of the time, I just wing it with the development, which isn't a good idea in hindsight, but I have a pretty vivid imagination when creating certain plots for my stories. Might not be original or they might have been overused, but I have no idea whose stories have what plots or what character developments, so if what I think was a good idea or original and it's already been done before or it wasn't as great as everyone thinks it will be, ok. I flubbed up, but all I want to do is entertain with what I can come up with in my off time, take some reviews or opinions into consideration for later chapters, and improve or try to keep going with the flow I have. Maybe there were a few things that you mentioned that made me rethink "was that actually a good idea for this part of the story" and question if I should keep going or stop at this point, but my brain has so many chapters to want to put out in this story, altering certain scenarios/episodes after seeing the last of season 9 of MLP and playing through KH3 after waiting for so long for that game to be released, and I won't stop until I reach that end.
One important part I will agree with you on is Torrent...I honestly had no idea where to go with her character, and I can see I made her into another Vanitas, and there's already two in this story: one as Sora's own darkness, and the other half of Ventus who's in the Organization. Just to be clear, when I first wrote the chapter introducing her, that was before the 2.8 bundle and "A Fragmentary Passage", or even Anti-Aqua. And after being several hundred chapters into this story, I don't want to change that up and change EVERYTHING I could possibly remember mentioning her, so she's staying as "Vanitas 2.0". But fear not. I will say that she doesn't come back again. She's just a figment in Aqua's stressed imagination to torment her and constantly doubt herself. If I could redo everything revolving Torrent, I would definitely make her into a more coldhearted and ruthless dark side of Aqua, just like her Anti form in KH3 (Not sure if you believed a lot of theorists when the Frozen trailer for KH3 came out when a majority of them kept thinking she had been turned into one of Xehanort's vessels. I was mortified when I saw what happened to her, and finally fell victim to the spoilers when someone commented and mentioned Aqua, but I didn't believe that she was somehow found by Xehanort and forced to turn to darkness and become one of the thirteen seeds of darkness in his grand scheme. How would he have even known she was down there when Terra-Xehanort was unconscious as they both fell through the dark void into that realm? ).
I'll also try not to diverge from my vision of this story into making it into what everyone else wants, and even with the things you might not like, I just hope the rest will keep you intrigued and keep reading the next several chapters in this crazy adventure (with a not so original title since, one day, I do want to do another crossover with KH and MLP, but following the KH story alone with a pony joining Sora from the very start of his journey. And, if you're curious, a sequel to this story. As long as KH4 doesn't mess around with what I want to plan for that. But if that game comes out, then it won't be canon and I'll just follow it after the events of this over 2 million word story. ).
Could someone pummel Neighsay for hurting Aqua? I'm seriously ready to go "Ora Ora" on his pathetic ass.
Also can't that be reported? There is no Neighsay should be able to get away with that.
The Young 6 as the new generation of Keyblade Wielders? Hmm that sounds cool.
I suggest Sora & co beat Neighsay up and claim a heartless possessed him. People will believe that.
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A sequel?
That makes me quite curious on what you have planned for the ride.
Don't worry, you're definitely not alone on that. In fact, many authors known for great stories just go in without knowing how things will play. One of my favorite examples is how the author of one of my favorite manga, Fullmetal Alchemist, only knew one thing while she was writing the story, the ending. How she got up there, she didn't know until she started drawing the comic. So yeah, you're not alone
Most of the ideas and I suggest in my analysis are not supposed to be demanding or anything, but to show there is potential here for a story to be told.
My suggestion for the talk with Aqua and Starlight, or Sora's views on Changelings, these just hints I pointed out because I feel you have great setups for grander stories.
I do respect you for taking the criticism and wanting to improve. Sure, there are some problems I have with previous storylines, but the only thing we can do is to patch things look forward. I deeply respect that man.
In the end, this is your story, and I understand your main goal here is to entertain your readers, and you definitely accomplish that, but I think this story can also be rather interesting at times and also has a lot of potential a much grander story.
Kingdom Hearts and MLP: FiM have both similar themes, and crossover between could bring very interesting stories.
Your rendition of Aqua is a very interesting and complex character overall, sure, back then she had problems, but here, we see the consequences of that past behavior and she wants to improve. And that also goes with you have also improved as a writer, be proud of that man!
Definitely curious about the ending, and can't wait to see more, will definitely stay here till the end. SHine on man.
Season 8 has started! I love how off the bat you reward the movie characters for all their help, and do so in a way that allows them to reappear later. Like Capper getting the job in Rarity's Canterlot store, and the pirates becoming part of the Equestrian air fleet. This was such a nice touch.
The Young Six are here! Woo! And potential in them is already being detected. Can't wait to see where that goes. I like how you explained Silverstream's absence in the movie as being sick in bed when the heroes made their visit. Though one thing I'll admit is odd is how all the other kingdom leaders showed up at the school's opening, but General Seaspray was present instead of Queen Novo. She's the only one that wasn't there for it. I know they did it in canon because her voice actress probably cost too much to get or was unavailable, but the written format doesn't have that issue.
Anyway, given how Sandbar and Yona connect later on in the show, will we be seeing hints of their attraction before the dance?
Probably my favorite part of this was Aqua reading Neighsay the riot act. I wanted someone to call him out so badly in canon, but he didn't get that. I know he ended up learning his lesson because of Cozy Glow, but I would've appreciated him being fired from his job as proper comeuppance. Hopefully that can happen here.
This is a really solid start to the season. It's only the beginning, and you're already addressing issues like Neighsay nearly starting a war, and not tossing the movie characters out immediately. I'm eager to see how the season progresses, what you fix, and of course, looking forward to Cozy Glow's introduction.
Until the next chapter!
YEET!!
He. Also, Lea be like "what are you talking about I didn't just shriek with fear"
I do wish to see the chapter, where aqua train the students!
I'll never like that Neighsay prick. Not even a day or an eternity.
Freedom is the right of all sentient beings
Is kinda late for me to say this...
I love how the bond of Sora and Applebloom are strong!
I can say the same about Riku and Flurry Hearts!
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Name who
Well geez Aqua you proposed a school with no plan on how to teach students, no idea where to build the school and shot down every reasonable suggestion provided to you of course you got denied what the hell is wrong with you?
That's the fun thing about Neighsay, he's a racist jerk but all his criticisms are generally pretty reasonable.