//------------------------------// // Foretellers // Story: Balance // by BioQuillFiction //------------------------------// On the roof of Canterlot High, stood the five Foretellers all in their robes standing across Zeke and Twilight, who were still in their armor, and Unum. “So who wants to start the conversation?” Gula said nonchalantly. “I believe you just did.” Zeke replied. “Well judging that you actually helped protect the people from the unversed, can we assume you are not an enemy?” Ira asked. “What made you think that? … it was the armor huh… maybe I should get it repainted?” “Why don’t we introduce ourselves first. I'm sure you are another survivor from earth right?” “Yup, seems like all the people with Keyblades are these days. I’m Zeke, this lovely lady in the armor next to me is my wife Twilight, and this other lovely lady with the Kingdom Key is Unum, my other wife.” ‘Wife? But that wasn't what it was in the movie. It looks like the natural balance is already out of it.’ Were Ira’s thoughts as well as most of the others… except for Gula’s. ‘Two wives!? I just must learn his ways! God I hope Pinkie never finds out I thought about that.’ were his thoughts. “So you are Zeke Ventral. Huxley talked about you quite a bit.” Of a responded. He pulled off his unicorn mask and reverted back to his civilian clothes. “Since we are all keybearer there shouldn't be any need to hide our identities. I am Lan, these are my comrades Jenny, Dan, Alex, and my little sister Kira. We are the present Foretellers.” Zeke and Twilight disbanded their armors, showing their normal selves. “Agreed… so you met Huxley… great, he made me out as a bad guy huh? … wait… what are the Foretellers?” “I’m guessing that you didn't ask God to show you what was going to happen in KH X.” Dan said. “KH X? Zeke, what are they talking about?” Twilight asked. Zeke quickly walked up to Lan. “Look, we got some things to explain to her… as well as a lot of people, but guessing from your looks and ages, you got classes to get to, right?” “Unfortunately.” Jenny mutteres. “We can talk after your usual day is up, Twi, Unum and I are just looking for a thief.” “Alright meet us at the front near the statue.” “Will do, in the meantime, we’ll be looking for the thief.” The two groups split ways. While the Foreteller were doing their normal class routine, thoughts raced through their heads. (With The Foretellers) “Are you sure it’s alright to have them roaming around the school? We barely know them.” Alex said. “I’m sure they will be fine. They helped us with the Trinity Armor, even if it got away, so they must be good.” Kira said. “What I don’t understand is why the Ventral is here in the first place. Wasn’t it supposed to be Twilight and Spike? Thats this worlds story after all.” Dan said. “That is something we can ask them about later. Right now, let's go through our normal day, and meet them after words.” Lan said as they all nodded in agreement. “Where did you take it!” A voice suddenly caught their attention. They looked down the hall, to see a cowering Fluttershy and a mad Sunset Shimmer standing over her. “I-i-I just found it, so I just took it back to Principal Celestia.” Fluttershy stuttered. “You shouldn’t just take things that don’t belong to you.” Sunset warned. “Well, it didn’t exactly belong to you either.” “What was that!?” “Nothing!” “That’s enough!” Lan said walking up to them. Placing himself between the two of them. “What do you want Lan?” Sunset asked. “You can’t just talk to someone like that Sunset. Have a little respect.” Sunset just laughed. “Did you just get here? I can talk to anyone I want, however I want.” “Why do you do this Sunset. What’s their to gain from suche petty behavior?” That struck a nerve in Sunset, but she kept her cool. “You are going to regret this. Sooner than you think.” WIth that she stormed off. Lan turned and held out a hand to Fluttershy while the others gather around them. “Are you alright?” “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks Lan.” She said as she took his hand. “Why was she harassing you anyways?” Kira asked. “She said she was looking for the Fall Formal Crown. I found it outside so I took it to Principal Celestia, and she saw me take it there before.” ‘So the Element of Magic is here. At least that is still part of it.’ Lan thought. “We should all get to class. The bell’s about to ring any minute.” With that they all head to class. While the Foretellers went about the rest of their day, Zeke, Twilight, and Unum were walking around the halls. “So, what did she look like Twi?” Zeke asked. “She had a hood over her, I almost got her, but she could summon those Unversed, so she managed to get away.” She replied. “No, I could sense her heart,” Unum added. “It was whole.” “Then what the heck is going in here?” Clearly those Foreteller people know about what my family has done, and Huxley made sure to put in a bad word… great, so the only decent first impressions I made were with Devin and Ben. I just have back luck with people from my own world. Zeke thought to himself. As they rounded a corner, they were met by… Celestia? “Can I help you three?” She asked, a distrustful stair worn on her face. Welp, lifetime of lying, don’t fail me now. “Um, yes, I’m Zeke, these are my sisters Unum and Twilight, you see, I’m gonna be a new parent soon, with my fiance having some kids already and one on the way, I was just looking at the school since we’re moving near the area.” The Celestia’s expression changed from distrust to cheer. “Oh, well in that case please, follow me.” As Celestia walked ahead, Twilight whispered to Zeke. “How did you manage a lie like that?” She whispered. “A lifetime of practice.” Zeke whispered back, the three catching up to Celestia. The tour showed a few classrooms, band room, gym, and lastly ended in Celestia’s office. “So, of what age are the ones who will be attending?” “Fourteen, and Sixteen.” Zeke lied. “Well, then I will be sure to find the proper paperwork. Are the transcripts in order?” “In the mail, so we will likely get them by the time we've moved.” This made the Celestia laugh. “Yes, most likely. Just stop by when they arrive and we can fill out all the paperwork. I’m glad you’re considering our school for your children.” “I look forward to seeing them grow and learn here. I am told your educational budget was very good?” “It’s fair, nothing like that Crystal Prep in the city, but we manage.” “Glad to hear. I suppose my sisters and I will be off, but can I just get the paperwork ahead so I can hand them to you with the transcripts and fill in anything else then?” “Sure, I think the front desk has some extras. I’ll go get them.” As Celestia reached the door, Zeke quickly pulled out Discord. “Stopga.” WIth that spell cast, Celestia froze in place. Zeke got up quick, and logged onto her pc. “That was too easy.” “Have you done this before?” Twilight asked. “Something close before.” Zeke muttered as the pc’s information on the students was displayed. “Wow, weakest cyber security ever.” After a few more moments, Zeke found the files on a ‘Sunset Shimmer’ as Celestia from their home had told them, and Celestia’s printer went off, not stopping until every last document on her was printed . With that done, Zeke logged out of the PC, and hid the documents under his armor sleeve. Just as everything was done, Celestia unfroze, and walked out, unaware of what transpired. “That was effective.” Unum said. “So, what did you do that was similar?” “Later, for now We can look over the fies after we get out of here.” Zeke, Twilight, and Unum sat around the statue/portal, going over the files and waiting for the Foretellers. “No name for parents, no resident address, no social security number? How is this school in operation with information this lacking?” Zeke muttered. He looked up at hearing the bell go off and saw a group of five kids walk his way. “Well, how was your day?” “Just a normal school day for a group of Keybearers.” Jenny said sarcastically. “Now that we are out, why don’t we move this conversation to somewhere more secluded. Like our mansion.” Dan said. “You have a mansion!? Wow, God must have liked you kids.” Zeke muttered the last part. The two groups traveled together, reaching the Foretellers residents. Zeke was surprised it was the mansion from Twilight Town, but didn’t speak until they were all seated in the living room. “So, what is it you want to know?” “Why are you here?” Dan asked. Getting straight to the point. “Like I said, Twi, Unum and I are looking for a thief named Sunset Shimmer. She stole some artifacts from Twilight and escaped to here.” “So it’s Sunset huh? Not surprised.” Jenny sighed. “She’s a student at our school if you haven’t already guessed.” Zeke pulled out the files. “I figured, hacked the principles computer and got this stuff… how your school is even open with files so empty on someone is a mystery though.” “Yeah, the security at our school isn’t the best, I’ve hacked it a few times myself.” Dan said. “So you want to get this artifact back from Sunset Shimmer. Would it happen to be a crown?” Lan asked. “Exactly.” Twilight answered. “I haven't used it since… well, events happened, but I’ve been keeping them in a safe. How she opened them I don’t know. It was locked with my magic and only my magic could have opened it.” “If there’s a locked door, then I’m pretty sure a Keyblade would have been involved.” Lan said thoughtfully. “If you want to get this artifact back then it will be difficult. It is in the possession of our Principle right now. And I’d rather not aid in a heist.” “Then what do you suggest we do?” Unum asked. “They had mistaken Twilight's crown for the Fall Formal Crown. And the Fall Formal Crown will be given to who is named Fall Formal Princess at the Fall Formal. But Sunset Shimmer is the only one running, mostly because others fear of what she would do to whoever opposed her.” Dan explained. “Maybe if we had someone running against her then we could get the crown. But you and your group are obviously not high school students.” Lan said. “I’ll do it!” Kira said. “Really Kira? You want to?” Jenny asked. “Yeah, what if Sunset tries to do something to you?” Alex said worried. “Well we don’t have much of a choice. Even if Sunset tries to threaten me, I’m sure I can handle her. I’m a master after all.” Kira said. “Plus I’ve always wanted to wear a real crown.” She muttered quietly. “Alright, so it’s decided.” Lan said clapping his hands together. “Now, I’m assuming that you don’t have a place to stay for the night?” “Oh yeah, we didn’t think about that.” Zeke said. “You are welcome to stay here. We have enough guest rooms.” Lan said. “Why don’t Unum and Twilight go with my friends to their rooms. You and I have more to discuss.” The other Foretellers nod, knowing what he meant. Zeke was hesitant for a bit before agreeing and nodding towards Twilight and Unum to follow them. “So… Judging from your body movement and tone… my family did something to you, didn't they?” He said once Twilight and Unum were gone. “You could say that.” Lan said seriously. “When we were back in our world, my brother got swept up in a gang that was run by a younger member of the Ventrals. During one of their escapades, he was caught and thrown in juvie. When he started working with the Ventral’s he completely changed. From a brother, to a stranger.” Zeke sighed. “People should know better than to try and join my old family… They put them through hell, and wait to hear if they laugh…” “Sounds like you had your fair share of hardships from your own family.” Lan let out a deep sigh. “Nevertheless, now that I am staring face to face with a Ventral, I have a few choice words to say.” “Won't be the first time people called us what we are… go on then, what is it?” Lan was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath. “I am sorry.” “... Repeat that? I was expecting bastard or demon, or the usual.” “I said that I’m sorry. When my brother changed and was sent to juvie because of the gang he joined, I hated your family. I hated them so much, up to the point where I tried to hunt down that certain Ventral that corrupted my brother. It almost took over my life, and the others worried over me. One day, I finally found him. I think his name was Kevin. When I found him, I fought him when he was alone. I had been training how to fight with Jenny for a long time so i knew how to hold my own, but it got to the point where I almost killed him. If it wasn’t for Jenny being there. I would have gone through with it. I realized, that in that moment, I became what I hated. So, I’m sorry. Your family may be full of criminals, but I know better than to blame the one instead of the whole.” “That's… new. Most people who meet us one on one either scream or shoot…” “Well, I am not most people, as well as the rest of my group. And now that I’ve met you, I can see that I was correct. You seem like a good person.” “Being good in my family is a death sentence.” Zeke pulled down the collar of his shirt, showing Lan his branding mark. “My uncle did that himself. If it wasn't for God, I’d be dead.” “That just shows how strong your will is. To keep sticking to your ideals even though the world tells you they are wrong. It takes a strong heart to do that. You have nothing but my respect.” “Hah, now that's a new one… So, you said this brother or yours… what was his name?” “His name was Crow.” Zeke flinched. “Then it's the same man… a while ago, someone managed to find a way onto my world. He called himself Crow, and managed to summon Unversed on the land. Was a short battle, but before that some of my kids fought him… he broke one of my sons ribs.” “I’m sorry to hear that, and I hope your son is okay. But, please don’t hold it against him.” “I already got some payback... I sorta pounded his head into the ground til he bled… though, what I saw disturbed me.” “Brutal, but I’m sure he deserved it. But thanks for not killing his dark half.” “Looks like I guessed right since he controlled the Unversed… though that won't explain why he bleeds black blood.” “Black Blood? I didn’t expect that. It could be an experiment of this Core person who ripped his heart in half in the first place.” “Core’s been here?” “No, but during my Mark of Master Exam, I was shown a vision of when Core came Into contact with Crow. He appeared out of a Door to Darkness into Crow’s Juvie cell.” “Core… Damn him. What do you think Core is?” “I don’t know much to begin with, but from your tone of voice I can imagine he isn’t something very good.” “The first born emblem Heartless, though, Unum says he prefers the term Demon.” “I see. Do you know what his true goal is? I would imagine he would need the Unversed for a reason.” “I don't know about the Unversed, but I do know he somehow makes it possible for… his experiments to be half Heartless, half human. He can make people into Keyblades, the ability to shift between key and human, and he has who knows how many of my family working for him.” “He sounds very dangerous, and like a very powerful evil.” “Well what do you expect when you’ve been around since the worlds were still one? He’s older than the stars, literally, just like God.” “So he’s like a God of destruction. That’s omonis.” “Sorta, try God’s younger brother.” “... Well I didn’t expect that. This whole situation is starting to look very grim. For all worlds.” “Yeah, You know, God conducted my mark of mastery… he told me something about earth, where it really is, and what he hides in it. Wanna know?” “Sounds serious. What was it?” “First off, where do you think earth is?” “I’d assume in an alternate Dimension.” Zeke pointed at his head. “Think.” “... Our world is just a thought God created. It makes sense. He is the creator after all. It’s hard to believe though.” “Exactly, our world, our reality we were born into was all made up by a crazy old man who just thought the ever vexing ‘what if?’ and he literally brought us from his imagination, to his reality, everything we’ve thought as fiction, exists in his reality as real, he drip fed it to us as fiction for just a day like our ‘doomsday’.” “To think, we were all just entities of thought that were created by our God.” “Funny part is, his name is actually God, that whole crap about ‘god's true name’ and that was his name the whole time.” “It is funny. It would sound silly if a deity of creation would be named Marvin if it were.” “True, so, can you guess what he hides within earth that Core wants?” “I’m not sure. What is it?” “The same power he used to make us real in his reality. Core only has access to earth to grab people because he uses the DTD’s to enter, but that confuses me, if he can already bring people from earth to here, why would he still want that power?” “There will always be more questions even when we find the answers. We’ll just have to seek the truth.” “Yeah, fair enough. So, anything else I’m missing? … Well, I guess we could trade stories now. So what has been happening since you came here?” “Well, since my group came to this world, we have been fending off the Unversed. The attacks didn’t seem to have any reason other than to stir up trouble, but I believe there is some merit to them. Recently, the Master of Masters himself came to commence our Mark of Mastery Exams.” “That person, who is he? Our worlds Crystal Heart was made by someone it only identified as The Master of Masters. Where did he go?” “Oh yeah, I forgot we didn’t talk about the events of KH X.” Lan cleared his throat. “Well, the Master of Masters is pretty much what his name implies. He was the first Master of the Keyblade. The original Foretellers, the ones who wore our masks before us, were his students. He wrote something called the Book of Prophecies, and gave each of his students a copy of the Book.” “Devin had one of those? He’s another survivor I ran into… and then things got weird not long after…” “Really? Maybe after this The others and I could go meet him. Which Keyblade is in his possession?” “The Gazing eye. THough, his book only tells the future of the world he is on.” “The Gazing eye? Interesting. The Master of Masters himself gave it to his sixth apprentice Luxu, but Luxu disappeared. He was told to pass down the keyblade to his students, and his after that. This eye, gave him the power to see the future.” “Probably threw the eye for a loop when what happened to me went down.” “Well anyways, back to my story. The Book of Prophecies told of the day the light will expire, and that day was the Keyblade war.” “Which it was wrong, or else no worlds would be here.” “That brings me to what I’m about to say next. The reason behind the Book was to prepare them for what comes after. He wanted them to train more and more Keybearers, and scatter them to the winds, like a dandelion. So when the war ended, there would still be hope in those who chose not to participate in the war.” “There were survivors though…” “Really? What were they like?” “I’ve only had the displeasure to run into one… he nearly killed off a whole world, using Nobodies to capture or kill the inhabitants… only sixteen survived… Only because I got there and killed the bastard.” Lan looked calm, but one could see how his fist clenched when he heard the news. “That is unexpected. But with all the darkness dwelling that day, it would make sense that a survivor would be lost in it.” “As far as I could tell, he wasn’t even working with Core, no contact at all… Makes you realize how outmatched we are, huh?” “Our numbers may be small, and our training isn’t as vast as their were. But the strength of the heart will always be a turning point in any battle.” “Fair enough. Still, things in Daybreak Empire has been getting much better in restoring the world.” “I’m sure the Master would be proud, even if he did disappear.” “Yeah, from what the heart told us when I activated it, the place, the Crystal Empire, was called Daybreak Town before, then stuff happened, now with that know, people mixed the names, now it’s Daybreak Empire. I was hoping to at least get a blueprint or a something so we could try and replicate the hearts ability.” “Perhaps us Foretellers could come and help? Maybe the presents of the original Masters Keyblades could uncover something.” “That might help, maybe when this crap is done with you can come over, the Empire has regrown in numbers with the refuges we took in. Everyone has a Keyblade, and the heart keeps everything aside from Unversed out.” “Makes sense. The Unversed are beings of negative energy, something that no living being can escape. I’d imagine that the heart was made specifically to counteract the darkness.” “It amplifies a worlds light, creating a barrier all over the world… I was thinking we could make a smaller version to protect a city or town, so darkness and light can be on the same world, but not have to be in danger of each other unless they strayed.” “Sounds like a great goal. Now, let's talk about you. What is the role you chose to take as a keybearer?” “When god gave me X, he said I have to keep the worlds in balance… that’s part of why I chose to control Heartless… Though, my balanced heart means that my light touches the Heartless, making the hearts lost within more… awake, in a sense. I plan to keep a balance between light and dark on the worlds, keeping the Heartless appearing just enough so the light can fight it, and it fight back, without harm to the world. It’s either that, or pick out people like those in my family and let them have at it, as God said, so I choose the harder path. “It will take years, but it will likely be the best in the end, even though people will crave darkness, trying to disrupt the balance, light will be able to repel, or defeat the disturbance. Afterall, there is a beauty in darkness, cause without it, light would be too blinding, and we could never see how the worlds are truly meant to be.” (you write now “So what you’re saying is that you keep the worlds in balance. So If one world is engulfed in darkness you are meant to be its light. And if one world is outshined by light…” “I bring darkness… only enough to match the light.” “That’s a very unique job that you’ve been givin.” “My wives and everyone in Daybreak think I can pull it off, I just hope I can. Speaking of, you dating anyone? Just about every other survivor I’ve met is in a relationship.” A light blush appeared on Lan’s cheeks. “Not at the moment no. It’s true that I do notice how beautiful the women are here, but I don’t think any of them have any interest in me.” “Pfft!” A new voice appeared. Out of the corner of the room, the other Foretellers walk in. “Yeah right. Like any other clueless, harem, anime protagonist would say.” Alex said. “I take it you are seeing someone then?” Zeke asks as Alex takes a seat next to him. “I wouldn’t call it seeing anyone. Pinkie and I have somewhat of a connection, but I can’t exclude myself from the other lovely flowers of Canterlot high.” Alex said with a confident smirk. “Rune would wreck you…” “I wonder what Pinkie would say if she heard you say that?” Jenny asked sarcastically. “Don’t tell her!” “Oh, and Ventral, pretty sure i know your next question. We’ve been here for a while so we heard most of everything.” Jenny finished. “Alright, that all? And my name is Zeke.” “Whatever.” “Please excuse her attitude Zeke. She’s a bit hard headed.” Dan said. “Meh, better than the hardheads in my old family.” “I guess being one of the biggest criminal families in our old world will do that to you.” Dan replied cooly. “I never did much when I worked really.” “I knew you had some good in you. I never thought you would have to actually be the bringer of light and darkness though.” Kira stated. “Well, I am the black sheep in the family. There were a few things I enjoyed working with my family though.” “Well with that being said, it brings us to our next point. From what we all have seen, you are a good person. Also, not a threat to us now. But…” The other Foretellers slowly surrounded him while Lan stayed in front of him. They all summoned their keyblades, pointing them directly at Zeke. “If you come to our world as a bringer of darkness, we will do everything in our power to stop you. No matter how powerful you are.” “Cut the guy some slack guys.” A different voice other than Zeke’s spoke from him. “X, shut up.” “What was that?” Alex asked. “Well, part of what happened to me a while ago… I was fighting another survivor, basically cause he had Gazing eye, I have the X-blade, so we went to the Keyblade graveyard, cause Birth by Sleep… I made the mistake of picking up one of the keyblades there and… the whole graveyard possessed me… countless rotting, mad Keyblades all screaming to find new wielders and to forget the war… In the end… they summoned Kingdom Hearts using the X-blade and Kingdom Hearts turned me into a human Keyblade. I have them all stored within me, keeping them alive and safe until they find whoever is meant to wield them. Now the X-blade, and any other Keyblade, I can hear and they can talk through me.” The Foretellers jaws dropped in surprise. Never before did they hear about a human becoming half a Keyblade. Silence took over, until Lan smiled and lowered Unicornis. “To give up your humanity to appease the voices of hundreds of Keyblades. You Truly are a hero.” “Honestly neither Zeke or I had a real say in it, you try talking to mad Keyblades and not just accept what they try and do.” “Well, it’s still a point in your favor in being great heroes.” “Don’t leave me out of this, I’m the only reason this guy can use magic at all!” Another, different voice, spoke from Zeke. “Yeah, thank you Discord… He got turned into a Keyblade without the ability to turn back into his regular form, so he’s my second Keyblade and the only way I can use magic.” Zeke explained. “The God of Chaos got captured and turned into a Keyblade? I would think that he would just throw exploding pies and disappear in the pocket dimension he calls home” Alex said “You want exploding pies?” “Down Discord.” Zeke said. It’s good to see you again after all this time brother X. Same Unicornis, been how long? Wait a sec, Zeke, you mind letting them talk though you also, it will be a good thing for them to be able to speak to their wielders. Sure. “Hey, X wants me to act as a medium for your Keyblades to talk, that alright?” Zeke asked. They were hesitant at first, but nodded in agreement. “Alright.” “Finally, Alex, buddy, you fight good, but who masterbates that many times a day!?” “Agh! Bft! What the hell you talking about!? I do no such thing!” Alex replied. “Your bed sheet is stiffer than your dick!” Alex had no words as the others started to discreetly back away from him, and he tried to back away from them. “That won’t work you pervert! I’m your keyblade! Where and what do you think we do when you disband us?! We see everything you guys do, and buddy, you got problems.” Leopardus finished. “Man I’ve been wanting to say that forever!” “Jenny. It's good to finally be able to talk to you.” “Is that you Ursus?” Jenny asked. “Yes it is. I wanted to say that, I admire your strength. Almost exactly like my original wielder Aced. But you shouldn’t be ashamed to want to look more feminine. All those dresses you have in secret look pretty on you.” Jenny’s face turned as red as an apple. “W-w-w-what are you talking about?! I’ve never worn a dress!” “Those hours you spent posing in front of the mirror says otherwise.” Ursus finished. “Danny boy? Are you there?” A koi female voice said. “Um… yes? Anguis?” Dan said, caught off guard by his keyblades behavior and voice. “I am so happy that you are my wielder. Intelligent and cool headed. Just like little Invi when she was still around. I’ve been wanting to say. Just ask the Rainbow haired girl out already. It’s amusing, but also kind of painful to watch you two compete when you two are attracted to each other. Give it some thought, Danny boy.” Dan said nothing as he tried to hide his blush and his embarrassment. “Hello Kira.” A deep booming voice that made everyone jump spoke. Kira shuttered. “V-Vulpus!?” “Yeah, hey baby girl. You’ve been doing alright. Good grades, having fun, and for once, I’m being used in combat rather than just spellcasting. You a good girl. Just… can ya do me a favor?” “What is it?” She asked. “”Beat the shit out of Alex! I can’t stand that pervert! The way he acts he should be trialled! You hear me player boy?! I’m gonna rain down on you like ragnarock!” As the voice of Vulpus faded ALex could be seen hiding behind the nearby couch, and Kira in the corner of the room muttering to herself about how manly her “pretty” keyblade was. “Lan.” “Unicornis.” Lan greeted. “Let me just say how proud I am of you. Ever since we were paired, your mind was clouded with doubt and anger towards yourself. Now you are thinking clearly, and fight hard towards your goal. Just how Ira would have.” “Unicornis. I would also like to thank you. During my Exam, I almost believed you abandoned me because of my lack of skill and darkness. But you came back. Thank you for staying by my side.” Lan bowed. “You are very welcome. One more thing Lan. There comes a time in every man’s life where he needs to let loose of his goals for only a moment and take in the world around him. Just, try and see what's right in front of you.” Unicornis said, hinting at something. “I’m… not sure what you mean, but I’ll give it a try.” As the last of the Foretellers Keyblades let Zeke regain control of his own voice, he burst out laughing. “Oh my god! Alex you are just screwed!” He yelled in laughter. Lan sighed. “Well this has been an eventful night. Why don’t we all take the rest of the night to rest for tomorrow's plans?” “Sure, dinners ready.” Unum replied from the kitchen. “Also, Alex, come near me or Twi, and I will break you in two…” She said as she entered the living room, glaring at Alex. “Why is everyone picking on me?!” Alex yelled. “I’m just a regular guy with regular needs.” He said with comical tears streaming down his face. “That aside, dinner is ready.” Twilight said as she entered. “I just hope we got it like Luna makes the stewpots.” She added. With that, the large group of Keybearers sat down for a nice home cooked meal. Ending the night, as they all go off to bed. (The Next Day) It was early morning, While the Foretellers were just waking, Twilight and Unum already had breakfast ready, with only a few things to finish, while Zeke sat criss crossed in the backyard, meditating. “Meditating first thing in the morning?” Kira said, walking up to Zeke. When Zeke turned to look at her, his eyes were drastically different, one glowing a bright white, the other a pulsating black. “Whoa. What is that?” She asked surprised. Zeke shook his head, blinking til his eyes returned to their normal red color. “Was just… you could call it talking to myself, my dark half conversing with the light half. For me, the two get along well.” “So you’re heart really is in perfect balance of light and dark. Interesting.” “I know, from where I come from, you’d think not.” “Well, anyways. The others made a plan on how to get the crown back. We can’t talk about it in there cause Twilights in there.” “Sure.” Zeke got up and followed Kira into the dinning room, taking a seat at the table. “So, what are you guys gonna do about school?” “Here’s what we planned so far.” Alex started. “First we need this worlds Mane 5 to be friends again. That way we’ll have their help with Kira’s Princess Campaign, and they will be friends again so they can use the elements of Harmony against sunset.” “Why?” Zeke questioned. “Sunset is a thief, and from my understanding a former resident of my world Equestria. Once the crown is retrieved we can just imprison her back in Daybreak.” “We’re trying to stick to the natural order of this world. Or else there might be an imbalance with the chain of events.” “When Unversed mainly attack a school in a small town, you’d think the imbalance was present already given the fact you five are here also, the reflection of this world nearly was wiped out, and the fact that back home, everyone is an anthro.” Zeke stated. “This is reality, not a tv show or movie, not everything will be exactly like how we know it to be.” “No wiser truer words have been said.” Lan said, taking a sip of his coffee. “How about this plan? We let Sunset win the Crown?” “False sense of victory then?” “Correct. She will think that she had won everything that she wanted. But then, when her true intentions show, we’ll be there to stop her.” “True, and if all else fails I can use X’s special ability, Reject Darkness.” “Reject Darkness?” Kira asked. “Basically I stab X into the heart of an opponent, then shoot a dose of light into their heart directly. The light will either try and expel the darkness, or stabilize it. I’ve used it once, it works.” “Let’s save that as a last resort. I still believe that Sunset has the potential to change and repent for her actions.” “If you say so, but what about the Unversed? When she stole the crown she could summon and control them.” “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now, let's focus on what we are going to do about this world's Mane 5.” “Why not throw a party?” Discord spoke though Zeke. “Get them all in the same place, five of you, five of them, sooner or later they’ll have to talk to each other, and if not we lock them in a room.” “Sounds like a plan.” Jenny said. After the planning, Twilight and Unum entered with breakfast. They engaged in small talk over the meal. “So Zeke?” Alex caught his attention. “Both Unum and Twilight are your wives right? Is polygamy legal in your world?” “We made a bunch of new laws when we rebuilt, but kept a lot from before also, and in special cases all laws new and old are allowed to play out if deemed needed in a trial. So, yeah, a herd of up up to sixteen wives, and one man are allowed. It’s one of the laws from before the Nobodies, but so far only a handful still enter into herd relationships.” Alex almost fell out of his seat, while the others looked shocked. “Sixteen!? How many wives do you have?” “... sixteen…” Zeke mutters, blushing red. Alex rushed Zeke’s side and bowed down on his knees. “You are a man amongst men! Teach me your ways master!” Zeke did the only thing that felt right in this situation. He grabbed Alex by the hair, and threw him against the wall. “Don’t do that again.” The other Foretellers all facepalmed at their friends antics. With that out of the way, they continued to enjoy their meal. After breakfast the Foretellers head to school as the other three keybearers stayed at the mansion in the meantime. “Okay, so during the day we can put our plan into action.” Dan said to the others. “Right. We all invite one of the five to a ‘small get together,’ before the dance. That’s when we’ll have to talk to them.” Lan confirmed. They all nodded in agreement, and went along their way to school. While the Foretellers attended school, Zeke, Twilight, and Unum were at the mansion, killing time however they could. “Maybe we can clean… cause I got nothing.” Zeke said, to which Twilight and Unum agreed and each went around to house to find something to clean. I wonder how many rooms are here? The game made this place look way smaller. Zeke thought to himself as he explored the rooms. Upon reaching a random door and opening it, he found it to be the library. “Oh… so this is a thing?” Zeke walked up to the table, seeing the same drawing on it as from the game. I wonder? Zeke tapped the table with the X-blade, and the floor lit up in a bright light. He found himself falling butt first into the entrance to the secret lad of the home. “Did they even know this was here?” Dan was hanging around his class room before classes started. ‘I wonder if they’ll find the training room? Zeke is a smart guy so he’ll probably find it.’ he thought. “Hey Egghead.” Rainbow said a she walked in and took her seat next to his. “Morning Skittles.” Dan said with a smirk as Rainbow gained a tick mark on her forehead. “How long are you going to keep calling me that?” She asked frustrated. “As long as you keep calling me ‘Egghead.” The two sat silent for a moment, waiting for class to start. “Hey. Are you going to the Fall Formal tonight?” “I don’t know yet. Why?” “Well my siblings and I were gonna host a small get together before the dance. I wanted to invite you. N-not as my date or anything! Just thought that I should invite someone who could make the party cooler.” Rainbow smirked. “Awe, you got the hots for me Danny?” She said slyly as she got closer to him. “Of course not! Are you coming or not?” “Sure, I’ll come. I definitely will make the party twenty percent cooler!” Witht that, the bell rang, and students began to fill the classroom. As Zeke entered the Lab, he saw the large Pc that Ansem the Wise used to create the simulation Roxas was in, and hopped right on. The password was easy to figure out, and when he logged on, he found a few new files. “So Dan and the others did find this? Looks like mostly journal entries.” Zeke clicked on the latest entry. Still can’t figure this whole thing out, the coding for the simulations is crazy advanced, and I’ve only been able to create a small training simulation. Most, if not all, the functions in this thing are locked down, so I’ve only found out so much. Looks like they could use some help.Zeke smirked, cracking his knuckles, and began hacking. “Been a while, but I think I still got it?” He muttered as a locked file opened for him. “Yup, I do.” While Zeke hacked away, Unum was having trouble finding any broom closets. “It’s smaller than home, but still hard to find anything.” She muttered, opening a door, and finding a bedroom… Well, they’re not here. She thought as she entered. The room was rather messy, posters of boxers and other sports hung on the wall, dirty clothes and heavy weights were all over the floor. “Teenagers…” She muttered, picking up the dirty clothes. Unum placed the weights to the side with ease. Darkness may be gone, but at least my strength and most other abilities are still with me. She thought, picking up a fifty pound weight with one hand, stacking it with the others. As she cleaned she looked for something to carry the dirty clothes in. She opened the closet, finding a bunch of small clothing boxes. She opened one, and saw an elegant floral dress, sadly not her size. So this must be what Jenny’s Keyblade ment… so this is her room? Wow, there’s like thirty dresses in their boxes here. Kira was roaming along the halls of Canterlot High looking for one of the five. Her hopes were high when she spotted Fluttershy in the courtyard playing with some animals. “Fluttershy!” Kira yelled as she walked towards her. “Oh, hey Kira. Hows your day going?” Fluttershy asked. “It’s going fine. School and all. Hey, I was sondering if you wanted to come to a get together with me and my siblings before the dance. Then we can all go together.” “Oh. I don’t know. I wasn’t sure if i was going to the dance entirely, since I would probably run into Pinkie.” She said with sadness in her voice. “Don’t worry. You’ll be with friends if you do come, and something tells me that everything is going to turn out for the best.” Kira’s smile turned sly. “And Lan will be there~. Maybe it’s your chance to finally ask him our?” Fluttershy’s face burst into a blush as she tried to hide behind her hair. “I-I’ll think about it.” She whispered. Twilight was done with all the dishes, cleaned and dried, and decides that, with from what Lan had told her about guests coming over, was going to find a nice room to hold the party in. There were several rooms she had seen, but none looked just right for a party. Come on Twilight, where would Pinkie throw it? … probably over the whole house… Well, the main lobby is large, and those rooms I saw had tables and sofas I could pull out… front yard, main lobby, and backyard are all right infront of eachother… yeah, that will do! She clapped her hands, and began searching for decorations. She managed to find the attic, to which there was nothing, save for spider webs. Maybe I can bring Pinkie here via the gateways… no, only Zeke’s keyblade can open the portals to reflection worlds… and I’d rather not risk someone seeing me enter the mirror portal. Twilight sighed. “I may have to shop for the supplies. Hey Unum?” Twilight called out. Unum came by, carrying a basket of dirty clothes. “Yeah?” “I might need to shop for the party supplies. Do you think this world takes old equestrian bits or munny?” “Well, it’s gold all the same. If not, just take it to a place called a pawn shop, they’ll give you this world currency for it.” “Thanks. If Zeke asks I went out to shop… haven’t done that in a while.” “I’ll let him know when he appears.” As Twilight exited the mansion, she summoned her glider, and rode it to the just outside of town, not being seen by anyone as she disbanded it. She walked around until she spotted the Pawn Shop, and walked up to the people. “Hey, do you accept gold for cash?” “Yeah.” The man said. “Alright.” Twilight said, pulling old fifteen old equestrian bits, and three hundred munny. “How much will this be worth?” The man looked at her with shock. He left and came back with a larger, bald, older man. “Hello miss, I’m Silver, the owner. Mind me asking where you got this much gold from?” His tone was friendly, so she didn’t feel too nervous at his presents. “Well, they’re just some old trinkets I picked up over my travels and such…” She lied. “Well,” Silver said, picking up one of the old equestrian bits. “Just this one gold coin looks like a 24k… I can give you three hundred for this coin, but I can’t buy all of it from you,” He picked up a munny block, one of the big ones. “Cause this block of gold alone will bankrupt me. I’ll buy all the coins from you for four grand, that okay?” “Sure.” Twilight took the munny back, and the green numbered paper they gave her for the old bits. Paper currency? That’s odd. Both Jenny and Alex had english class together with Applejack and Pinkie Pie. After class was over, the two walked over to both of them. Applejack and Pinkie were talking to each other about various things, not being on bad terms like the others seem to be. “Hey girls. Can we talk to you?” Jenny waved at them. “Hey Jen.” Applejack replied happily. In an instant, Alex stood beside Pinkie. “Well hello my pink party girl, how has your day been without me?” He said confidently. “Oh it’s been kinda long without talking to you, my stud muffin.” She said hugging Alex. As the two began to flirt with each other, both AJ and Jenny sighed. “Geez, those to were made for eachother.” Jenny said. “And how. So what was it you wanted to talk about Jenny?” AJ asked “Well me and my siblings are throwing a small party before the dance, and we wanted to see if you two wanted to come?” “A PARTY?!” Pinkie showed up out of nowhere. “Sure! I’d love to come!” “Why not?” AJ said nonchalantly. “I’d be nice to go to the dance with friends. And the party sounds fun too.” Her left eye began to twitch. Jenny smirked, knowing that’s what happens when AJ lies. “You sure that’s all? Or are you coming to see a ‘Specific someone?” AJ said nothing, only blushed as red as the apples from her farm. ‘Nailed it.’ Jenny thought. Twilight flew back to the manor on her glider. She decided to see if any other pawn shops would buy the munny, and a few finally did. In total, she had forty three million in the world's paper currency, and that was after all the shopping, to which she decided to splurge and get the Foretellers some nice things for letting her and her significant others stay with them. I hope Lan likes the car...s, I got them. The guys at the dealership said they’d deliver/drive them to the mansion just in time for the party to start. As she landed and took the massive bags of items, she entered seeing the lobby was set up, only missing the decorations. “Hey Twi.” Unum said, Zeke close behind. “How did you get all that?” Zeke asked. “Apparently since bits and munny are gold, they’re worth much more here than back home or in other worlds. So where were you before I left?” Twilight asked, handing the bags to Zeke. “Found something neat in the ‘basement’ and fixed some things with it, as well as left a few surprises for the guys.” He replied “Great, I hope the surprises I bought them are alright.” “Surprises?” “Let’s just say that after I sold all the munny I had fifty million, now I got forty three million.” It was moments before the last class of the day, and Lan was walking towards his next class. On his way, he see’s Rarity walking down the halls. She was distracted with writing in her design book. As Lan walked towards her, he sees a random banana peel. ‘What’s a banana peel doing in the middle of the hall way? It’s probably a coincidence, but if this were a story I’d say it was for plot convenience.’ Lan thought. But then he realized Rarity walking towards the peel.Thinking fast he dashed towards he, but she had already slipped on the peel. Before she fell, Lan grabbed her arm to stop her and pulled her back to her feet. But he pulled a bit too hard and she crashed into his chest. “Huh?” Rarity blinked confused what happened in the short about of time. She looked up, to see Lan’s concerned face. “Are you okay Rarity?” He asked. She realized that she was resting her head on his chest, so she blushed at quickly backed away. “Oh! Yes! Thank you Lan, darling.” She said sheepishly. Lan bent down and picked up her design book. “You dropped this.” “Thank you, and thank you for saving me from falling.” “You are very welcome.” Lan smiled. “Oh hey, are you going to the Fall Formal tonight?” ‘Oh my! Is he going to ask m to be his date?’ She thought excitedly. “Yes I am, but I’ll be there just to be there.” She said cooly. “Well my siblings and I are throwing a small pre-dance party. Would you like to come?” Rarity’s mood deflated a bit. ‘Oh boo. No matter! I’ll still be going to the dance with him.’ She thought. “Of course darling, I’d love to come to your party.” “Alright. I’ll swing by your place and we can go back to our house together.” Lan said as they waved by to each other to go to class. The Foretellers walked home, wondering what Zeke and them had done while they were out. “I really hope they didn’t mess up anything.” Jenny said. “They wouldn’t do that.” Kira protested, “They seem like well organized people. They probably just went exploring in the town or mansion or something.” “So did you all invite the others to our “party” tonight?” Lan asked. “Yeah, I invited Rainbow.” Dan said. “I was the one who invited Fluttershy. She didn’t seem to want to, until I mentioned you.” Kira said slyly. “Oh yeah.” Alex said, getting what Kira was going on about. “When we invited Pinkie and Applejack she seemed to want to see you the most Lan.” “Hm? What do you mean?” Lan said cluelessly. The others sighed and facepalmed. ‘Idiot!’ was their mutual thought. As they arrived at their home… their jaws dropped. THe whole mansion was decorated in formal decor, paper lanterns hung from strings, a long white carpet stretched from the front yard to the back, and tables with food of all sorts were spread out everywhere, there was even a new stone fountain in the front yard, depicting two men in a crossed sword stance. They saw Zeke, Twilight, and Unum walk out, all dressed formally. “Welcome home.” Zeke said. The Foretellers were all slack jawed. “What happen while we were gone?” Dan asked. “If we have known that this is what we coming home to we would have invited more people.” “Yeah, that was my fault.” Twilight said sheepishly. “I wanted to help you throw this party so I thought about how my friend Pinkie Pie would throw a party. I guess I went a little overboard.” “Where did you even get the money for all of this?” Jenny asked. “I sold some old Equestrian bits and munny. Apparently because they were gold they were really valuable.” “By the way, you guys are loaded now…” Zeke added, handing Lan over a large backpack… when he grabbed it, it dropped to the floor and took his hand with it. “Wow! What’s in here?” Lan asked as he unzipped the bag. “Forty two million, six-hundred-eighty-three-thousand, seven-hundred and ninety six dollars in cash Twilight got from every pawn shop from here to… Where did you stop?” He asked Twilight. “A pawnshop in Vegas… Traveling by glider is fast.” She replied. “W-w-we can’t accept this much money!” Kira said still shocked. “Meh, we have no use for it, paper money isn’t used on many other worlds. It’s yours.” Zeke said, patting Kira on the head. Lan coughed and regained his composure. “Well, all I can say is thank you, and you are welcome to come and visit this dimension anytime.” the others nodded. “Thanks… by the way… you all might wanna get your driver's licences…” Four cars, and one motorcycle were being carried by a large flatbed. Two were a Lamborghini Reventón Coupe, one red, one silver, a Ferrari SA Aperta, black painted, and a pink chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible. The motorcycle was a blue Dodge Tomahawk V10 Superbike. “Yeah… that was a surprise too… Well, she did start off with fifty million.” They were all again silent in shock. “Dibs on the Ferrari!” Alex said. “My dad went through like five of those.” Zeke muttered, recalling the more expensive cars his father crashed over his lifetime. “Well, I guess all that’s left to do is get ready for this evening.” Dan said. “Wait.” Zeke stopped them. “I found your ‘training’ area… and improved it.” Dan looked at Zeke with a surprised look. “How? I tried to open the files that were locked, but nothing I did worked.” “You clearly never hacked on the deep web. The security the pc had was good, white house good, but I’ve been there/done that. Wanna see what I did?” “Sure.” Dan said excitedly. They all followed Zeke down to the lab. When they arrived Zeke sat in the terminal chair. “So, remember that whole, no more than three organics in the simulation crap it had before, well it’s gone!” “Yeah. I read up on that in the manuals, but it was mostly destroyed so I didn’t get much.” “Well, the reason it was there was for manual exciting, however, When I unlocked a special file… you won’t believe what I found.” Zeke typed on the keyboard fast, and soon images of Twilight Town appeared, people walking around and living their lives. An image of the mansion came up, and Zeke’s armor waved at them. “Say hello to Code Keeper.” “Is that Twilight Town?” Alex asked. “And what's with your armor waving at us?” “The very same Ansum kept Roxas in. My armor was the only model I could make for the AI. That’s Code Keeper, your personal AI for overseeing your time in the simulation. Man, the work that wa put into this thing was crazy, but Code Keeper makes it easier. Say hi Code.” “Greetings.” A computerized voice spoke. “I am Code Keeper. I was made to assist in training, relaxation, and anything regarding this simulation station.” “Fascinating.” Dan walked up close to the screen. “Such advanced technology, with such great potential.” “User Zeke made me from bits of leftover AI code, and fixed majority of errors. I function at 97% capacity. I have added to the pre-made simulation by user Dan, as well as several new ones I made based on user Zeke’s memories.” “I can’t believe all of this was right beneath my nose and I couldn’t find it.” Dan said. “I hope we can work together in the future, Code Keeper.” “That is my primary function user Dan. Would you like to sample some of the new simulation combat I have made?” “We would love to.” Lan Interrupted. “But right now we all got to get ready for our guests coming.” “My scans from the mansions security systems show no one is within a seven mile perimeter.” “Lan, I think it would be a good idea for us to try it out immediately. For future purposes.” Dan said coolly, but if one were to look closely they would see him shaking in excitement. Lan sighed, “Alright, only for a half hour. We still have business to attend to.” “Would users like a list of the simulations?” Code Keeper asked. “Yes, Code Keeper.” Dan said. “There are currently eight combat simulations, one survival simulation, and two chain-combat simulations. Combat simulation one is a fight against a digital individual named, Riku Replica. THe second is with a digital individual known as Lingering Will. Third is with a digital replica of user Zeke as he currently is. Fourth is against a digital replica of user Unum, and I was asked to warn you about her difficulty.” “Are the levels of difficulty accurate to their original counterparts?” “95% likely they are. Give or take a few strings of code. Fifth is against a digital individual named, Leon. Sixth is against a digital individual named, Sephiroth. Seventh is against a digital individual named, Vanitas’s Ghost. The last is against an endless swarm of digital heartless. Would users like to know the rest of the simulations?” “It’s alright. We get the idea.” Lan said, giving a knowing look towards Zeke. “So Code said he wanted to warn us about Unum’s power level. How dangerous is it?” “Well… in reality… she can one shot the Lingering Will, and every other kh boss you can think of, so yeah… it’s more of a practice your evasion and blocking type of deal…” Zeke replied. “Wow. thats one hell of a wife you got there.” Alex said. “She’s from when the worlds were one. She’s been around… Can I tell you guys something about her? Just, don’t freak.” “We’ve been in a constant state of shock ever since we got home. I doubt anything more could change that.” Jenny said. “Well… she’s…. A parallel version of Core… she did work with him, but something called The Grandfather Light, something old and powerful, that made Kingdom Hearts, made her human again… It was just a speck of that old light, in a box no bigger than the ones for a ring, and it cured her, her heart is pure light now.” They were all silent, before they all let out a simultaneous sigh. “Still shocked. But more so than before. So she was one of Core’s grunts?” “A parallel version of him… just as powerful as he is I imagine. She managed to escape with the Grandfather Light, and it’s back in Daybreak. It’s the only thing strong enough, powerful enough, to cure or kill Core… He already marked her for death, so that’s something she and I have in common.” “Then I guess that the Grandfather light is our only hope in defeating Core.” Lan said seriously. “Most likely. Unum says it has a mind of it’s own, so research has been slow.” “I guess only time will tell. I just hope the answer will come before it’s too late.” “Same. After this is all done and done, you are gonna come with me to Daybreak to see if your Keyblades can do anything, right?” “With what you’ve done for us in the past few hours? It's the least we can do!” Kira cheered. Zeke waved it off. “Please, that was all Twilight, I just did this simulation stuff. Oh, and Dan, there’s a copy of the manual in the PC, so that helps.” “Alright. Let’s make a full dive!” Dan said. “Really, an SAO reference?” Alex asked Everyone went into the simulation, and tried their luck against the simulation of Sephiroth… needless to say, it was a short battle, but they did manage to get him halfway gone before they were KO’d and kicked out of the simulation. They all finally went to their rooms, surprised to see them all clean, and got ready for the party. The Five of them were all dressed formally. Jenny even wore one of her dresses that Ursus said she had, with a little persuasion from Unum. Right when AJ and Pinkie arrived, Lan drove up in the silver Lamborghini with Rarity in the passenger seat. When Rarity walked up to the group, she gained a sour look when she looked at Pinkie. “Hello, Pinkie.” She said, still trying to be civil in front of her other friends. “Rarity.” Pinkie replied. “Now, now. Let’s not stir up any bad blood at our friends party.” AJ interrupted. “Let’s all just have a good time.” Just then, another car drove up to the mansion. When it parked, the door opened and Rainbow Dash walked out. “I’m here to party!” She yelled. She saw the others, as well as her former friends and she frowned. “Hey Egghead.” She walked up to Dan and rested her elbow on his shoulder. “You didn’t tell me Applejack was gonna be here.” “Well the others invited her.” Dan replied. “Yeah Rainbow.” AJ retorted. “It’s not like I said I was gonna come, and then just not show up.” “Ladies.” Zeke said, appearing and startling everyone. “Please come inside, the party will start shortly.” He walked inside. This may be tricky. He thought as he left them. Hopefully this will work out. As they all were heading inside Rainbow whispered to Dan, “Who’s the old guy?” Which was pretty audible to hear. “Madam that is such a rude statement.” Zeke said, somehow behind Rainbow, freaking her out. “I am only nineteen.” He said with a smile. “O-oh. Sorry dude. My mistake.” She said, backing away slightly. They all entered the Mansion. Lan was the last one going through the door, until he paused when he saw someone else walking up to the manor. It was Fluttershy. “Hello Lan.” She said shyly, “you’re looking nice tonight.” “Thank you. You’re looking as beautiful as always.” Lan said, extending his hand, “Everyone's already inside. Come on in.” She slowly took his hand as they both entered. Inside the mansion was a bit tense. The party was going on, the decorations were on point, but the five of the guests were on edge around each other. The Foretellers tried to lighten the mood, it was effective, but he five were still not talking to each other. “So guys.” Rainbow asked the Foretellers. “Is it just us at this party? Cause this place looks like it’s expecting to celebrate New years at Time Square.” “Yeah… that was kind of our friends doing. She went a bit overboard.” Dan said. “But she did a good job.” “Well I’m smelling something fishy here.” Applejack accused. “That may be the fish crackers in your hand mam.” Zeke said, appearing behind Aj and scaring her. “They are a new type of western take on sushi.” “I ain’t talkin’ about the food.” AJ sighed. “I’m saying that it seems a bit strange that all of us were invited here specifically. When we all know that we told you guys our beef with one another. Is this really a party?” “Um… well..” Jenny tried to say something, but failed. “Out with it sugarcube. I know when someone is lyin’.” Jenny sighed, “Alright. This wasn’t all about the party. It was so we could help all of you be friends again.” The others looked a bit mad at the Foretellers. “You lied to us? Why would you do that?” Rainbow asked. “Because we know you were all friends once.” Lan said, holding a picture he found in an old yearbook. It was of younger versions of the five, smiling and having a good time. “And from what we’ve heard from each of you, we all can safely assume that Sunset Shimmer was behind all of this bad blood.” “It’s a nice theory darling, but it lacks the proof to say otherwise.” Rarity said. “Will this do?” Twilight said, coming into the room holding a leather book. “This is Sunset Shimmers journal, and it’s contents are rather revealing.” “Was easy to snatch from her home.” Zeke added. “When did you sneak into Sunset’s house?” Alex whispered to Zeke. “When the guests first arrived, I knew this was not going to end well, so I improvised. I left, found her home, and unlocked the door.” He finished with a smile. “Old habits die hard.” They all read Sunset’s journal, and were shocked to what they found. “It is true! She’s the one that sent me that text from Fluttershy to turn her silent auctions into a party.” Pinkie said. “She’s also the one who’s been sending me the messages from Pinkie that always denies my help for decorating events.” Rarity said. “She’s been behind it all.” Rainbow said. “But why would she do this? What’s so important about us to her?” “More than you realize.” Zeke said, dropping his formal tone of voice. “It’s a lot to fill in, but the dance started ten minutes ago, so we may want to hurry if we are gonna make it to the crowning event.” With that, they all began to head towards the dance. Although, Fluttershy kept reading out of curiosity. “What are you doing Shy?” Kira asked. “There’s something strange in her latest pages. It says something about a person named Crow. He gave her the ability to control these Unversed. What does this mean?” she said. “Means we might wanna hurry.” Zeke said. “Those monsters around town, they’re Unversed. Negative emotions given physical form. If she somehow was given control, then we’re in for a fight.” “But then the other students are all in danger.” AJ said worried. “All the more reason for us to be there. We’ll fill you in on the way, but right now we need to go.” Lan said. “May I make a suggestion?” Zeke asked. “What is it?” “Would five more Keyblades be alright?” “For these five?” Kira asked. “Who else?” “But they don’t even know yet. We don't know if they will accept this power.” Dan said. Lan walked up to Zeke, “I may not want to put them in anymore danger, but even I know we might need more help. But can WE at least be the ones to bestow it on them?” “Do you know how?” “The originals did it, it shouldn’t be impossible for us to. How do you do it?” “The Keyblades stored within me, I ask who here would be your wielder, they pick, I summon them and give it to the person.” “Could you summon them now?” “Yeah.” Zeke snapped his fingers, and five Keyblades appeared, floating behind him. “They once told me that there’s one Keyblade for every intelligent lifeform out there, so here’s the ones for these five.” They floated into the main fives hands. Each looking at them curiously. “Key-swords?” Rainbow asked. “Just like those five… which means-!” in that instant, the Foretellers donned their masks and their robes. “You’re them!” “That’s right.” Dan said. “Sorry for not telling you. We didn’t know how you would feel being so close to the ‘new heroes in town.” Lan walked up to face them all. “I know this is sudden, but may we ask you to fight with us? From what we’ve heard our fellow students may be in grave danger. These Keyblades chose you because they sense your potential. What is your choice.” They looked hesitant at first, but they all grabbed the hilts of each of the keyblades before them. (We should add which ones they are later) “Still can’t believe you were the heroes everyone was talking about.” Rainbow said. Zeke summoned his armor. “Yeah, but no time to fangirl out. Just trust us, toss your Keyblades as high into the air as you can, and a glider will appear.” Zeke demonstrated, throwing the X-blade into the air and his glider flew down. “Much faster than any car.” The Foretellers followed his lead. Their gliders were… very different from what they expected. Instead of their Keyblades taking the form of gliders, they turned into armored beasts that took after their designated animals. Lan’s was a Unicorn, which Twilight found offensive, Jenny’s was a large bear, Kira’s was a fox, Alex’s was a leopard, and Dan’s was a giant snake. “Well, this is unexpected.” Lan said. “But no time to question.” He mounted Unicornis, as well as the others with their Keybeasts. “Hya Unicornis!” “Is that this world's version of Unicorns?” Twilight muttered. “Sadly yes.” Zeke replied. “To be fair, in this world a Unicorn is a mythological creature.” She huffed, but accepted it as she donned her armor, and summoned her glider. The new Keybeares followed their lead and summoned their gliders. Rarity’s and AJ’s were in a bike form, Rainbow and Pinkie’s took the board form, and Fluttershy’s took the form master Aqua’s glider looked like. With they, they all flew towards their school. They arrived at the school… only to see a demon Sunset, with a strange tattoo of a snake on her arm, and a mass horde of Unversed, along with a horde of brainwashed students. “We’re too late.” Lan said. They all hopped off their gliders turning them back into Keyblades. “Oh, did i miss a few?” Demon Shimmer said. “Well no matter. I’ll just take control of your minds as well. Then take my army to Equestria!” “Sunset!” Ira yelled. “You don’t have to do this! What do you have to gain with all this darkness and chaos?” “She has power to gain.” They all turned, seeing Crow walk out of a DTD. “Dark power is the best after all.” “All I wanted was the power.” Sunset started, “I was Celestia’s prized student. I just wanted the power to make my mark as one of the most powerful magic users of all time. But she denied me, and sent me here! Now she will pay!” “She’s too drunk on power.” Zeke said standing by Ira. “All we can do now is take it away. That’s the best course of action now.” “Now just a second.” Crow said, gaining their attention. “I’m here, and the boss wanted to join.” He stepped to the side of the DTD, and Core walked out. “Long time since I’ve seen the Foretellers, even if you are a sad copy of the originals.” Before anyone could react, there was a blur of light, and Unum was crossed Keyblades with Core. “Been awhile Yellow.” “That is not my name!” She stepped forward, and there was a shockwave of light and darkness, shattering windows and cracking the ground under the two. “I got this basterd! You handle the she-demon and Crow!” The two vanished, but what looked like lightning was seen in the sky above them. Light and Darkness were clashing above them. Lan faced all of his comrades. “Like Unum said, she has Core occupied. I want Gula, Ava, Aced, and Invi taking care of Sunset Shimmer. Make sure she stays occupied while Zeke-!” Before Ira could finish, Crow jump kicked him across the ground. “You talk too much!” He said, clashing blades with Ira. Ira quickly broke the lock. “Thunder!” Ira sent a bolt of lightning towards Crow, making him jump back. “As I was saying. Me and Zeke will take care of Crow. You five,” He looked towards the main 5, “Keep the students and smaller unversed occupied.” “I’ll handle the larger Unversed.” Twilight said, running off with the human versions of her friends. While Ira blocked Crow’s front words attack, Zeke side swiped him, sending him flying a fet feet. “This is gonna be fun.” “Let’s do this Zeke!” Ira said They both charged at Crow. Ira was the first to attack as he tried to swipe at Crows feet to knock him off balance. But Crow swiftly jumped over Ira. While in mid air, Crow prepared to bring down Soul Eater onto Ira, if it weren't for Zeke coming in quickly to kick him away. “Ars Solum!” Zeke yelled, hitting Crow with every combo of the powerful attack. “Why do you have black blood?” Crow jumped back up. “Was a snake lady that replaced my blood with it, it’s very addicting, and just adds to the power.” Crow said, throwing Soul Eater into a strike raid. “What was her name?” Ira asked. Blocking the Strike Raid from hitting Zeke. “It was a witch named Medusa.” He said nonchalantly. “Now let’s get back to fighting. But what’s with you brother? Can’t fight me on your own? I knew you were weak.” Ira tightened his grip on Unicornis. “This isn’t going to be like last time. I have gotten stronger since then. Now that I have a goal. I will bring you back to your old self.” “Good luck finding my light half.” Crow laughed. “I’ll show you my strength!” Twilight, as well as Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were holding back the unversed and the hypnotized students. Twilight was doing great against the larger unversed, but the numbers were still great. The new Keybearers were faring rather well, but they still had a lot to learn. Surprisingly, the best of them was Fluttershy. Fluttershy slashed her Keyblade at an Unversed, making it disappear. “Dang Shy. I didn’t know you were this good at fighting.” Rainbow said a she destroyed another Unversed. “It’s actually a funny story. When I was little my dad said I was too cute, so I’d probably be prone to kidnapping. So he signed me up for self defence classes.” Fluttershy explained. “This is going nowhere.” Twilight muttered. “Well, I leaned it for a reason.” SHe looked at all the unversed in front of her, then a cold aura appeared around her. “Absolute Zero.” She was a blur of ice as Twilight froze most of the Unversed, and shattered many others as she passed through them again, until finally stopping in an explosion of ice. “Well that worked better than expected.” “Cool trick Twilight.” AJ said. “But we still got to deal with them.” Pointing at the hypnotized students. Twilight ran in front of them, pointing her Keyblade at them. “Sleep.” She said, as three of them in front of her fell asleep on the ground. “Not sure how long that will last.” “Can we do that?” “Won’t know unless we try.” Rarity said as she dashed towards a group of students. “Sleep!” The spell worked, but only two of the students were affected. ”Guess we need more practice.” “It has to be good enough.” Twilight said as more students ran up behind her. “Sleep!” “I see being darkness free hasn’t affected your power.” Core said, clashing blades with Unum. “Why are you here?! Is it just to kill me?” She cast Thunder in its strongest form, striking Core, but he seemed unharmed as her went in for another attack, and the two crossed blades. “Not entirely. I wanted to see the power of the new Unversed we developed.” They broke the cross, each now pointing their Keyblades at eachothers throats. “So tell me, why did the Grandfather Light expel your darkness?” “Like I know, but it's the best thing to happen to me.” She flew back, slashing at the air, sending waves of energy to strike Core. He blocked them. “I am you! That means the Grandfather Light can save you aswell Core!” Core chuckled. “No, it won’t.” “What makes you so sure?!” “Look at yourself Unum. Did it never strike you as odd that you were the only reflection of mine to be female?” Unum was silent. “Did you ever wonder why I kept you so close?” “What are you getting at?!” “You were never my reflection… you were…” “Your wife… I am not here!” “You were close enough! The only version of her I found alive in all the reflections! I lead the Heartless to burn your village and kill your husband. You took my bait, and never questioned the story as they were similar enough.” Unum was shaking, pure rage filled her, yet her light did not give into the darkness. “You really are sad. Pathetic! You made me into a demon! Made me believe we were the same! And used me to practice and perfect your experiments!” In Unums other hand, a Keyblade, the whole thing looking like plant vines grew into it’s shape, appeared. “I will avenge my late husband, but I will keep in mind the one I now have, the one who made me realize that even with my sins, I deserve happiness!” She Went in for an attack, Core tried to block… only for his Keyblade to be sliced in two. “NO!” He screamed, backing up as it reformed into a jet black heart. Unum took it. “Without this, you’re just a Nobody filled with Pure Darkness. You can’t even control the Heartless without this, can you?” Core huffed. “Like I needed that thing.” He faded into thin air, leaving Unum floating with his heart. “I’m not you, but you can be whole again.” She whispered to the heart, unaware of the small flash of light that flashed within it’s darkness. “Stay out of my way!” Sunset yelled as she threw fireballs at the Foretellers while in the air.. They had been doing as they were ordered and keeping Sunset busy. “Sorry, can’t let you do what you want Sunset.” Gula came up from behind and attacked. It knocked her back a few feet but she regained her composure and launched another fireball towards Gula. Which he dodged. Aced appeared in front of her, clashing her keyblade with her claws. Though Aced’s attack was too powerful for her as it knocked her out of the air and Sunset landed on the ground. Ava stood across from her with her Keyblade ready, “Is this really the kind of power you wanted?” “I have all the power that I ever wanted. Now Celestia will be sorry that she expelled the best student she had! I only wanted to show her how grateful I was by being the best! But she didn’t see that and sent me here!” She yelled angry. “You ran away!” Zeke said, running up the the fight. “You left Equestria, you left your home! She never banished you! You made that to try and make sense of your own actions!” “You know nothing of what happened between us outsider!” She said as she threw a fireball. “I would think the woman carrying my child would tell the truth.” Zeke stated, Dodging the fireball as a look of disbelief went across Sunset’s face. “You, are Celestia’s lover?” She asked hesitantly. Here demonic eyes slightly flickering back to normal. “Nearly a year now. She never banished you, you knocked out the guards taking you out of the castle and ran into the portal to this world. She has been waiting for you for years Sunset.” “S-she’s been worried about me? D-did I-?” Suddenly, dark energy began to surge through her body as she tried to remember something. “Now, now, I don’t need you remembering anything.” Crow said as he appeared behind Sunset. He was holding dark energy in his hand and it was directed towards Sunset’s head. Lan had entered the scene along with the others. “Sorry, I couldn’t keep still.” He looked towards Crow and saw what he was doing to Sunset. “What have you done to her!?” Crow smirked. “You think a regular person could gain this kind of darkness regularly? No, when I wanted to give her this power her heart wasn’t dark enough. So I did the next best thing, I changed her memories slightly so her strong negative emotions could be a nice vessel for the Unversed.” “It’s another of Core’s experiments!” Unum said, floating down with the others. “We gotta find the Unversed somewhere on her.” “Then stand back. I’ll just purge the darkness from her heart.” Zeke said. Before anything else could say anything he dashed towards Sunset with X in his hands. “Reject Darkness!” He stabbed the X-blade right into Sunset’s heart. In an instant, dark energy flowed out of her body like a river as she was covered in light. When the light died down, it showed Zeke standing with the X-blade at his side and Sunset on her hands and knees breathing heavily. The Unversed surrounding them started to disappear, and the students of Canterlot High snapped out of their hypnosis. “The deed is done.” He said as he walked away. But as he did, Lan started walking towards Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer.” He said seriously. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “The guilt of all her sins are hitting her at once, you should have seen Unum, and that was the Grandfather Light’s doing. You’ll need to look after her.” Zeke said. Lan nodded, and looked back towards Sunset. “You let your darkness guide your actions for a long time. You’ve tormented other students, stolen the Element of Magic from Equestria, and tried to attempt an attack with your other students under your control. What do you have to say for yourself.” “I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I remember what happened now. I did run away. I only wanted to do what I thought would make her proud of me, but I took it too far. She expelled me, and I was too embarrassed to face anyone. I confused it for rage, and ran into the mirror she always warned me about. I ran into this world. I’ve done such horrible things.” She said as she continued to weep. “That is all true. You’ve rejected all the friendships that were extended to you, and went through it alone. But it’s not too late to accept one now.” He extended his hand to her. “This could be the last helping hand. Are you going to take it?” Her eyes went wide. “But… after all I’ve done, after what I tried to do. You would still give me a chance?” Everyone walked up and stood beside them. Unum stepped forward, kneeling down to Sunset’s eye level. “I’ve been in the same boat Sunset. I was tricked, turned into a demon among monsters, and accepted darkness as the only path. Then, somehow, someone reached out, felt sorry for everything I went through, and that lead to a, rather quick, chain of events that made me who I was again. The sins I’ve done will never be forgotten, nor will the blood on my hands ever wash off, but I’ve accepted it’s part of my past, and now I look forward to my future. “When I was first cured of my darkness, I ran to Zeke, who rather than doing what everyone told, rather than killing me for my crimes, he let me live. So I could slowly, but surely, make up for them. He made me realize that, even with sins crawling on your back, people like us deserve happiness.” Sunset listened to her words intently. She looked towards the group. Zeke smiled and nodded. So did Lan, the other Foretellers, even the Main five. They all agreed with Unum, and she saw that they were willing to give her a second chance. Her focus settled on the still extended hand of Lan. Slowly, she reached out to grab it. Until... *ZAP!* “AAAHHH!” Sunset’s snake mark started to glow violently as dark energy began to leak out and consume her whole body. “Well, well, well. Looks like our little experiment is actually working.” Crow said, appearing behind Sunset. “What’s happening to her?!” Lan asked as he and the others got into their battle stances. “This is Core’s latest experiment.” He directed towards Sunset. “To be able to give individuals the ability to control the Unversed, they have to have one sealed within their bodies. The Unversed within Sunset is now beginning to take over her body now that her heart is vacant of any darkness.” The darkness around Sunset began to grow large and larger, until it formed into a Trinity Armor Unversed. “This just got difficult.” Aced said. “We have to finish this quickly.” Unum said as she readied her kingdom key. “I remember seeing this back when was with Core. Her heart is unstable in this state. If we don’t defeat it fast then her body will be destroyed.” She dashed straight forward towards the Trinity armor, only to be interrupted by a yellow Jellyshade. When she struck, it disappeared, but not before sending a high amount of electricity to stun her a bit. “Now I can have you finishing this so soon traitor.” Crow said as he gathered negative energy in his hand. “We’ll lose valuable data.” He slammed his hand into the ground, summoning a large swarm of JellyShade’s of all different colors. “Keep her busy.” They did as ordered and focused specifically on Unum. The others tried to go help her but she refused. “Stop! She needs you more than I do now. Defeat the Trinity armor. I’ll be fine.” “She’ll be alright guys.” Zeke confirmed. “Let’s get Sunset out of that thing before she’s gone forever.” The Trinity Armor broke apart into five different parts and flew quickly towards the heroes. Aced and Invi took the right arm, Ava and Gula took the left, the left leg was being taken care of by Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie, the right leg was fighting Fluttershy and Rainbow. Lastly, the torso headed straight for Zeke and Lan. “Looks like it chose for us.” Lan said, dodging one of the torsos small lasers. “Or maybe Sunset is fighting, choosing wisely who it’s attacking.” Zeke said, dodging the lasers and throwing the X-blade into a Strike Raid. “That would seem to be the case, but like Unum said we need to finish this quickly. Follow my lead.” Lan said. “Your call.” Lan started out by simply charging straight forward, making it focus only on him. He slide right under the Torso to be behind it. “Brutal Blast!” Lan knocked it higher into the air before delivering a powerful blow to disorient it, and forcing it towards Zeke's Direction. Zeke summoned DIscord in his other hand, and threw the X-blade into a Reflect Raid. Once X-blade made the first impact, he pointed DIscord at it. “Repeat!” Rather than stopping at the fifth reflect raid combo, it kept going, and went on three more times til the X-blade returned to Zeke. “How much more can this thing take?” “Let’s end this in one final strike simultaneously. Ready?” “Always.” They both charged towards the downed torso in sync. They jumped into the air, delivering their strikes making it appear to be slashed in an X figure. The Torso floated there frozen, until it started to disappear. What came out of the torso was Sunset’s body, but it looked like it was fading in and out of reality. Lan quickly caught her and placed her on the ground. “Unum was right. Her body is unstable.” Lan said. “Then we take out what’s left of the Unversed.” Zeke stated. “Everyone! Wrap it up or Sunset’s gone forever!” With the four other Foretellers, the arms seemed to have reunited and began to fight them. They heard Zeke’s words and nodded in agreement. “Looks like we have finish this now.” Gula said. His Keyblade began to generate electricity and spun around his hand. “Take my finisher! Rolling Thunder!” he sent it towards the right arm. “I’m not being left out!” Aced Slammed the ground and made large rocks fly out. “Grand Impact!” In an instant the battlefield was covered in lightning and Meteor shrapnel. When it all settled, the arms faded away like the torso did. “Well, that was fun.” Invi said. “You heard them girls!” Rainbow said. “Shy, AJ, with me.” Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy charged in, each landing hits… Fluttershy’s body began to glow as she felt something new to her. Confidence. She attacked faster and harder, startling her friends, until she landed one last grand attack, slamming her Keyblade through the remaining parts of the Unversed and onto the ground with a visual impact radius. “Wow, Critical Mass… I haven't even done that move yet.” Zeke said, watching the last of the Unversed vanish. Everyone looked at Fluttershy in amazement, but it only made her embarrassed. “Um… sorry, did someone else want to do it?” She said trying to hide behind her hair again. “No, just, haven’t seen it performed before.” With all of the Trinity Armor parts destroyed, Sunset’s body began to return to normal. She lyed there unconscious now. “What a pity.” Crow said with a bored look. “It fell rather easily. But at least I got some valuable data on her.” A door to darkness appeared behind him “This is your victory today Foretellers. But you can bet that I’ll be back.” With that, he left. Sunset’s body began to look stable, her body didn’t look like it was fading, and her color was starting to brighten up. Zeke and the others ran over to Sunset’s unconscious body. “She looks like she just needs rest.” Zeke said. “Her breathing is fine, so I think she’ll be alright.” “Um..” Another voice said. They turn around, to see Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna staring at them, along with some of the student body that woke up from their sleeping states. “I would like to know just what exactly happened here. If you please.” Lan walked up and removed his mask, shocking everyone there. “It’s a long story Principal Celestia, but all that’s important right now is that everyone is safe. Now I believe that the Fall formal is still going on?” Without the energy to question it, she nodded and turned to the students. “They are right everyone, let’s not let this night go to waist.” “PARTY TIME!” Pinkie yelled as they all began to celebrate. The night had ended on a high note for everyone. The Foretellers, the main five, and even Zeke and his companions joined in the festivities. In the middle of it all, Lan took Sunset to the mansion by his Keybeast to keep her safe. Now we find out heroes in front of the Canterlot High statue. “I believe this is your’s Twilight.” Kira said as she gave Twilight her Tiara. “Thank you.” She said as she took it. “Now, are you gonna come with us to Daybreak?” “It’s been a long day for all of us. So let’s save that for, about a week from now?” Lan said. “Sure. I’ll come by in around that time.” Zeke said. “Just look after Sunset, she might have woken up already.” “Will do. So I guess this is farewell?” “More of a, til next time.” Zeke said as He, Twilight and Unum walked into the portal. Leaving the Foretellers to themselves.. “Man, this has been one hell of an adventure huh?” Alex said. “It sure has.” Dan agreed, “and this is only the beginning.” “It was one hell of a wake up call too.” Jenny said. “We can’t let our guard down. Or else the enemy is going to get stronger.” “And we still need to find a way to locate Crow’s light half.” Kira said “But no matter what, we’ll stick by each other and push through any ordeal the future has for us. Together.” “Together!” The others said. “Ahem.” They heard behind them. They turned around to see the Main Five standing behind them with expecting looks on their faces. “So I guess you guys want an explanation?” When Twilight, Zeke, and Unum walked back into Equestria, everyone greeted them back. Zeke informed Celestia about Sunset, and that she may return one day after she has made peace with what she has done. It was all in all, a long two days. As Zeke was making his way to bed, Unum stopped him. “Can we talk?” She asked. “Sure.” Zeke replied. To his surprise, Unum pulled out Core’s black heart. “You… you did it.” “His body is still out there though. I’m sure we can purify this, then work towards destroying his body, then we release his heart and either her comes back, or moves on… He also told me some things…” “What?” “That I’m not his reflection… I was his wife's… I should have guessed thinking back, but the darkness kept me in line.” Zeke pulled Unum into a hug. “So he’s the one who…” “Yeah…” “Then it’s no wonder the Grandfather Light saved you. You never belonged there in the first place.” Damnit! Easy Core! You lost a battle, this was to be expected sooner or later. Not against her! Without my corrupted heart Keyblade the Heartless won’t obey me, even with the Pure Darkness within me. Then perhaps it’s time we give ___ ___ ___ another go? That failed horribly! What chances do we have now that it works this time?! We didn’t have the minds of Medusa and ____ working for us then. After all Medusa made the black blood. True… fine. Have those two working on it and report any and all progress to me. I want this to work, or else I will personally skin them alive. I’ll get right on it.