Xion hummed a tune to herself as she walked through a forest filled with whimsy and enchantment, eyes filled with wonder as she looked up at the treetops and the beams of light pouring through the leaves. All around her animals scampered in the underbrush, occasionally stopping to look at her before vanishing back into the forest once more. She took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the forest before letting out a sigh that echoed in the silence of the woods.
"This place is so...calm," Xion said to the horn in her pocket while extended her arm, almost as if she was trying to embrace the forest. "All these animals, all these trees...I've never been to a world like this before! I can't believe that someplace so beautiful can exist in a world! Especially a world with heartless in it now."
'The heartless are a new addition. Trust me, I would notice if those things were running around my world,' Sombra said, while Xion smiled at how he said that it was his world. 'Second: been to a world like this. There it is, something else confusing that you've said. Why is it that everything that comes out of your mouth that isn't bad is impossible to understand?'
"Believe me, I don't like it anymore than you. As for the worlds thing, yeah, I've traveled to a ton of different worlds," Xion revealed to Sombra before hopping onto a large log, swinging her arms as she strutted across it. "One was a world filled with sand, another was a world where I fought the undead and even one of them had a huge castle in it! I've seen my fair share of different places, but none of them had a forest as pretty as this one. Not even Twilight Town."
'Bah, stop talking crazy or I'll lose what little sanity I have left,' Sombra growled to himself as he turned over in her pocket, getting Xion to giggle before she reached into her pocket and pulled out the horn. She held it in a beam of sunlight, getting a roar out of Sombra as the horn struggled to escape Xion's grasp. 'Curse you puppet, place me back into the darkness! The sun is burning me!'
"So were you a vampire pony or do you just not tan well?" Xion asked before letting out another laugh, accidentally startling some birds overhead. Xion did place Sombra back into her pocket, however, and continued on the faded path that was beneath her feet. "So you still haven't told me why we came into this forest anyway. Are you leading me to something you need or into a trap?"
'Please, as if I would tell you if I was leading you into a trap. What kind of villain do you think I am? But yes, I am leading you to something that I need,' Sombra clarified while darkness began to seep out of Xion's pocket, creating a map of the area before her with a bloody red X in the center of it. 'At the center of this forest is a single pool of water that is filled with the magic of the forest. It is rumored that the water is so pure that it has the power to return the dead to life. And while I am not dead, I'm pretty much the next best thing.'
"Huh, think it would grant life to me?" Xion asked, smiling slightly when Sombra let out a frustrated roar at her words.
'For the last time you are a living being! You speak! You breath! You have a will and mind! You freaking have to drink and eat to survive! How long will it take for you to realize that all of those things make you a living being?!'
"When I figure out how the horn I'm talking to is also alive," Xion replied with a smirk.
'...fine. Touché.'
A large chasm was the next obstacle for Xion to overcome, but luckily for her she spied an overturned tree that spanned across the entire chasm. Without a second thought she hopped onto the trunk and extended her arms, balancing herself before slowly walking across the tree. She started to hum to herself once more, keeping her eyes ahead towards the other side. Sombra couldn't take his gaze off of the darkness below them and for a moment Xion felt the darkness in her pocket seem to become stronger.
'You know, I've never been afraid of the shadows before,' Sombra said to Xion when they were about halfway across, getting Xion to stop as she looked down into the chasm. 'I felt right at home in it. But now, after seeing those heartless, there will always be that thought in the back of my mind. What if they're in there? What if they are in there and waiting for me to lower my guard? What if they get my heart?'
"Then you've got nothing to worry about, because I'm fairly certain that even when you were alive, you didn't have a heart," Xion said with a laugh before continuing on her way, her smile growing wider when Sombra made a sound that indicated that she wasn't that far off. "And even if you did, you're a horn now. If anything the worse thing that you've got to worry about is me dropping you into this hole. Don't know if anyone would ever find you down there."
'Do me a favor and keep a very tight grip on my horn,' Sombra replied in a timid voice. Xion rolled her eyes at his words, but she did as he asked and kept a tight grip on his horn until the both of them reached the other side. 'Oh merciful heavens, I have never been so happy to be on solid ground. Good job on not dropping me, maybe you're worth keeping after all.'
"Thanks, you're approval means so much to me," Xion said as she began to toss Sombra's horn from one hand to the other, while continuing along the path. "So why isn't this miraculous, life giving water being used by every pony in this world? You would think that ponies would be coming from all over the world to raise the dead. Unlesssssss..."
'Already figured it out, huh? Not bad puppet. Yes, there is something big and nasty waiting for you at the center of this forest.' Xion was certain that Sombra was smiling as he said this, but without a mouth she had to imagine it. 'The creature is the stuff of nightmares for ponies. Completely immune to magic, over three stories tall and sees the pool as part of its territory. You'll have to get past that before we can get the water for me.'
"I'm starting to notice that I'm getting very little from this deal of ours," Xion pointed out.
'What are you talking about? You get to travel the land with me! There is no greater honor!' Sombra then laughed aloud, before going deadly quiet.
"What's the matter?"
'Don't you hear it?' Sombra asked. Xion looked around with every sense on alert, waiting for the sound that had put Sombra on alert. But no matter how hard she listened, she couldn't hear anything that sounded dangerous. Actually, she just then noticed that she couldn't hear any sound at all aside from the rustling of the trees.
"I don't hear anything."
'That's exactly it. There's nothing. No birds, no animals...nothing,' Sombra pointed out in a near whisper. 'Even when we were walking around laughing in a merry way, the birds and animals could still be heard. But now...'
Xion caught on to what Sombra was saying and summoned her keyblade in her free hand. Sombra then instructed Xion to keep moving and she did so, but she kept her eyes peeled on the environment, starting to become aware that something was watching them.
'I can feel it as well. Keep alert, but not too alert. If it doesn't know we are aware of it, it will have its guard lowered,' Sombra instructed Xion, who made the tiniest of nods to show that she understood. The two began to advance along the path once more, but this time Xion took far more tentative steps as she moved along.
"Any idea what it is?" Xion muttered as the area around them seemed to get darker, the light that had been shining through the trees now choked out by the vines and tangled branches that slithered overhead. To Sombra's interest he discovered that Xion could make the keyblade slightly glow, providing a good source of light for the two.
'Funny, isn't it? Us beings of the darkness understanding that we need light to live. Yet the ponies try to destroy the darkness, assuming that with it gone their lives would be perfect. Would it be? Or would it be even more terrifying?'
"Why are you talking about this now? Xion grumbled before she looked around, realizing that the branches and foliage of the area had created a sort of tunnel that she had walked into. Another light aside from her keyblade was shining at the end of the forest tunnel, getting Xion to narrow her eyes in anticipation. She glanced down at Sombra one last time before walking out into the light, preparing herself for a fight.
There was no fight awaiting her, but there was plenty else to take her attention. A massive waterfall took up the center of the opening that they walked into, a pounding force of water that emptied into a massive lake that could hardly be called a pool. The lake was filled with the purest water that Xion had ever seen, making her eyes sparkle as she gazed into the water.
She then turned her gaze to the rest of the opening in the forest, finally taking in the rest of the area. The clearing was filled with sunlight, making the lake blaze with light. The waterfall was pouring down from a strange chunk of rock that jutted over the opening in a strange way. The water flowed from the peak of that, making Xion wonder how the water was traveling up a rock, unless there was a second pool at the top.
"This place is amazing," Xion whispered aloud, taken in by the beauty of the area as she walked into the center of it. Then her brain kicked in again and she lifted her keyblade in a defensive manner. "But where's the monster? You said that there should be a monster around here guarding the place, right?"
'Yes. There should be. But there isn't. That can't be good,' Sombra muttered in reply. 'But maybe it's just a stroke of good fortune. What do you think, puppet?'
"I think that no good fortune ever comes to beings like us," Xion replied.
'You know what, you're right. Grab some of the water and let's get out of here before the monster decides to come back.'
Xion did as instructed, using a glass bottle that Sombra conjured with his magic to scoop up some of the water. As she was filling up the glass Xion looked around for any sign of the monster that was supposed to be guarding the place, but nothing showed up. Once the glass was full she placed a cap on it and slipped it into her pocket (which she noticed vanished a moment later) before she turned to leave the clearing, to see a being standing at the exit.
'Xion...who is that?' Sombra asked. Xion couldn't respond at the moment, as her brain was in a war between telling her to run for her new life or telling her to strike the being down before it could do anything. The being wore a worn out cloak and had metal limbs. But instead of a small beard and eyes that could pierce her like an arrow, the cloaked being had a face and head of metal, one that held no emotion upon its features.
"Here you are. Ignoring my simple instructions," the being said in a voice that made the grass beneath him age thousands of years in a few seconds, turning to dust. "I told you to find Twilight and her friends. To unlock the secrets of their hearts. It was simple. Easy. A task for you. But you couldn't even do that. And even worse, you have fallen under the influence of a C level villain from this land."
'C LEVEL VILLAIN?! Let me tell you something, metal man, I am nothing less than an A++ villain!' Sombra roared from within the horn, but before he could say anything else Xion pocketed him and placed both hands upon her keyblade. 'The princesses of Equestria feared me! And once I find away past this pockets zipper, so will you!'
"Maestro. Why are you here?" Xion asked the metal man, who tilted his hooded head slightly at Xion's words, as if she had said something confusing and he was trying to piece her words together. "Okay, let's make this simpler for you. What do you want?"
"What I want? I want many things puppet, but I suppose that most of all I want to see what would happen."
'Oh hey, you call her that as well.'
"What would happen if I unleashed the king of the monsters upon an unsuspecting world. What would happen if I tore apart the world of reploids to atone for what that fool did to me. But most of all, I want to learn more about Equestria. Why is practically every version of this world so full of light and peace? Why is the magic of friendship and harmony stronger than the vices that plague every other world that I visit? What makes this place so different? But most of all, I want you to do what I instructed you to do."
'Preaching to the choir on that one, I've been trying to solve this mystery for most of my soon to be eternal life.'
"Sombra, shut it. As I told you, I'm done listening to orders! I'm done being a...a puppet and not being able to make my own choices! I am done being a slave!"
'You tell him, puppet. Now go kick his ass so we can get back to me telling you where to go next!'
"Not a puppet. Interesting. You want to be more than you were created to be, even though you constantly are tricked to be the servant to some else. You're naivety is so pathetic. You have almost ruined this world by falling into Sombra's hooves, for he would turn you away from those that you are here to seek out. But fortunately for you, I can fix your transgressions. Now hurry puppet, to the edge of this forest. There is one who needs your assistance."
"Why would I listen to you? For all I know you're leading me into a trap and there's a monster there that will kill me," Xion spat back.
"Why would you listen to me? Because you are a failed copy of the key master. And if you are anything like him, you will help those who are in need. You cannot fight against it, just like you cannot fight those that command you. That is the fate of a puppet such as yourself. Now go and hope that I do not feel the need to return again. For if I do, I will return you body to the nothingness that I pulled it out of."
Xion blinked and the Maestro was gone, leaving a ring of dust that had once been grass to show that he had been there to begin with. Xion didn't realize how nervous she had been until she felt drops of sweat run down her face, getting her to finally move so that she could wipe the sweat out of her eyes. She banished her keyblade and let out a sigh, exhaling the tension that she had been holding in.
'So, that was the Maestro that you told me so little about,' Sombra said to break the silence, snapping Xion out of her thoughts. 'First impressions? Wow. Just...wow. I could feel his power from in here and I don't even have nerves any more. That's scary.'
"They why did you try so hard to tick him off?" Xion asked.
'First rule of meeting or fighting somepony stronger than you, never show them how afraid of them you actually are. Make it look like you're the one in control of the situation. A snappy one liner or a funny joke can help with that,' Sombra said.
"Do you think he was telling the truth? That there's someone here in danger and we need to go help them?" Xion asked.
'Don't know. If it were me in control and you trapped in my pocket, which is impossible to get out of by the way, then I would leave and make sure that Maestro doesn't get anything out of me. But since it's you,' Sombra began, getting Xion to smile slightly as she realized he knew what she was about to do. 'I guess we're going to go see which pour soul is in trouble this time. Let's go.'
Xion took off towards the edge of the forest, smirking when she found a trail of Maestro's shattered magic leading her to where she needed to go. But while she ran she was also lost in thought, thought was very close to what Sombra was thinking at the exact same time.
'I've never felt anything like his power before. Even the first time I've faced him I never sensed that much power. But right then...he can't be a living being. He can't be anything less than a god or something along those lines. But whatever he is...if he ever decides to come after us, then it would be the end of us. I need to help Sombra get his body back then figure out what to do next. After I see what Maestro has in store for me now.'