//------------------------------// // Chapter 37: Murphy's Law // Story: Kingdom Hearts: Harmonic Connections // by Mr Curious Writer //------------------------------//   (As Always Green Text means "click me" to play theme music to go with what you're reading. Red text means to stop the music. Any words with [color=#afa4cc26]This coloring to their text means to click on it for a sound effect. If there is music playing, then let it keep playing, the sound effect is brief Completely optional: You’re free to ignore this) Murphy’s Law Ponyville It was later in the day, Mogson’s store was up and running, doing business as always. Lately, he’s been seeing some rather more adventurous types among his customers. It would seem that the populace was becoming more accustomed to life with heartless and some would even slay heartless themselves to gain munny and materials of their own. He had heard word of other towns getting their own pylons and guards… How long would it be before the citizens in those places started becoming more daring as well? He would get delivery requests from the guard barracks of other towns to be sure. At this thought, he looked over toward his “Volunteer” help. The Crusaders wanted to try their hand at being shopkeepers for his business. They were nothing but trouble the first day, trying to go above and beyond thinking they’d get a cutie mark out of it. It didn’t help that they brought those struggle bats everywhere they went. Seriously, why did Merlin have to get them involved as well? He asked himself. Whenever there were no customers they would take a moment to “Practice” while they waited for Spike to finish his training so they could play at one of those Struggle Matches Sora told them about. All that did was make a mess as they would swing the darn things around knocking VALUABLE MERCHANDISE over. After a rant and scolding when they knocked the potions off their shelf he was so close to just kicking them out. But darn it if these ponies weren’t so freaking adorable with puppy dog eyes, even more so for the little ones. Thankfully they actually learned their lesson this time and practiced AWAY from the shop. He also had to admit, they weren’t too bad at the job either. They got the orders right -most of the time-, they didn’t try to get into the synthesizer room as he made sure to lecture them on how complicated the process is using it, so they would call him over when a customer wanted something synthesized. He shook his head at the memory. Even their looks of confusion are adorable. Business was great… but it could be better. As he continued to watch the fillies work a thought came to his head… He needed to expand. All that munny and bits out there and he’s not capitalizing on it. He rubbed his chin…. Using the mognet he found out that none of the other moogles knew of this world yet, it seemed he lucked out when he stumbled on the place. It probably wasn’t even charted on any star maps, though it wouldn’t stay that way for long at this rate. It was only a matter of time. He flew up as if the heavens just given him some kind of divine inspiration. This world is ripe for the picking and he was the only one to know of its existence! “THAT’S IT!” That little outburst startled the girls and their customers as they all looked at the flying furball. “That’s what?” Scootaloo asked as she was in the process of handing over an ether to a  Unicorn. “I just had the greatest idea in the history of ever my dear pegasus!” he flew up and patted her head. “I shall start a franchise!” It took a moment before Sweetie Belle asked “A what?” “Not now children, I must brainstorm! Look after the shop while I’m gone.” he then disappeared into the synthesizing room without another word, leaving everypony there with the same look of confusion on their face. However, before any of them had a chance to really process what was going on he poked his head back out “AND DON’T BREAK ANYTHING OR YOU’RE BANNED FOR LIFE!” before pulling back and slamming the door behind him. Both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looked to one another, then to Scootaloo, who was now trying to hide her struggle bat and return to work speaking to the next customer. This just left the other two fillies with a deadpan stare at their orange friend… Not like they were any different, they just like buying from Mogson’s store. Merlin would give them a Munny allowance whenever they completed special tasks or training for him. Potions came in real handy for whenever they were up to their usual antics and they or some other pony got hurt. At least when they get in trouble they’d be healthy again in practically no time at all, especially Scootaloo when she’s trying new things with her scooter. Sweetie Belle liked having an ether with her when she practiced her magic. It let her try more daring things, and if it was too much for her or totally drained her, she could replenish and try again when her magic was stronger. It was nice having a backup plan for their “Great ideas” and general everyday things. Applebloom was thankful for the potions as well, but her main reason for liking the Moogle’s shop is how Mogson could turn all sorts of weird stuff and junk from heartless into cool looking accessories. Magical accessories even. She never would’ve thought a belt could make her practically fireproof just by wearing it. She hoped one day she’d get on Mogson’s good side and he would show her the actual synthesizer. As they went through all the customers they finally had time to practice with their new struggle bats once the line was gone. They could still hear some noises from within Sora’s house so it was safe to assume Spike and Merlin weren’t done yet, they would just have to make do on the front lawn as they waited for the next line of customers to show up. It seemed a decision was finally made between the girls in regards to their roles. Sweetie Belle finally accepted the support role after that big argument they had back then in the clubhouse So she held the star shaped bat. The Role of Offense, however was hard fought between Scootaloo and Applebloom as both had their reason why they should have it, and at the same time a reason why the other should be defense. After a long “debate” they decided to ask Merlin for help deciding. His answer?  A struggle match. ~~~ Sora’s Training Room A Few Days Ago Both Scootaloo and Applebloom stared each other down. Both holding the same offensive type of struggle bat clenched in their mouths, they stood in the middle of the room within a large drawn out square that was meant to be the boundaries of the ring. Merlin, Spike, and Sweetie Belle were standing on the sidelines as they watched the stare down. Merlin broke the silence by clearing his throat. “Ahem, are we all aware of the rules of a struggle match?” Both contestants gave a nod while never breaking their gaze from one another. Suddenly a hoof was raised. “Um, I may have forgotten a little of it actually,” Sweetie stated with a nervous laugh. This kind of deflated the tension a little. “What? I just don’t play it as often as you guys. I’m still trying to understand this support role thing and working on my magic, I’ve been busy!” Merlin scratched his beard “True, and I have been teaching you Cure as well. I must say, though, you’re adapting rather well to otherworldly magic. You might even give Ms. Sparkle a run for her munny with how quickly you’re picking it up.” Hearing his praise made the little filly beam with pride. “Wow! Really?” Spike decided to interrupt. “Well that aside, I suppose we can give you a quick rundown as we watch the match, okay Sweetie Belle?” With her nod, Spike turned to Merlin. “Right then, if all issues are taken care of.” He raised his hoof up high as Applebloom and Scootaloo got back into position. “Aaaaaaand begin!” He made a chopping motion with his raised hoof and the two girls immediately charged at each other, weapons clashing in a brief power struggle between the two. Spike took this as an opportunity to educate Sweetie on the sport. “So what do you know so far, Sweetie Belle?” As the power struggle ended with Applebloom pushing Scootaloo away due to her greater physical strength, Sweetie Belle tapped her chin trying to recall the rules. “Um, both opponents have 100 of these weird things called orbs on them.” As Scootaloo was pushed away Applebloom charged in and gave a swing. It was a hard one that knocked the little Pegasus for a loop as purple glowing spheres sprayed out from the general area of impact while she flew back before both she and the orbs hit the ground. Applebloom ran up to those same orbs and they soon gravitated towards her and vanished within her body. “Your goal is to knock your opponent’s orbs out of them and claim it while at the same time defending to prevent them from taking them back, as well as your own orbs.” Spike nodded at what Sweetie said. “And, I think there’s a time limit?” She turned to Merlin who was looking between the match and his pocket watch. “That is correct, my dear,” Merlin replied offhandedly. “The match would go on for far longer if the only objective was for one contestant to take every last orb from the other, and as safe as the Struggle bats are, getting knocked around too much might end up with a participant getting knocked into another object or person.” Scootaloo quickly recovered, briefly flapping her tiny wings to slow her knock back and landing back on her hooves. She glared at Applebloom before charging back in. “So for reasons of both safety and time constraints, all Struggle matches happen within a ring and timed to at minimum one minute, usually up to a maximum of five.” Applebloom went in for another swing but Scoots was ready this time. She jumped over it leaving the little farm girl open to a hit combo that started from above and then below her when Scootaloo landed and turned to make an upper swing finish. Orbs scattered from Applebloom as she was knocked back and tumbled away a foot or two before getting back on her hooves. “However, if one opponent manages to obtain all the orbs, the match ends immediately in their victory.” “That sounds kind of hard...” Sweetie Bell replied as Scootaloo was thrown for another loop, once more losing the orbs she’d just grabbed. Merlin nodded. “It’s a rare sight to see, but it definitely tells you that the skills and abilities of one individual outclass the other’s.” Applebloom couldn’t keep up with Scoot’s combo strings and would end up on the defensive to negate as much orb loss as possible before countering with a strong hit or two hit combo. Purple and reddish orbs were scattering all over the ring before they would be absorbed by one of the girls and almost immediately knocked back out again. For amateur struggle match fighters, they were pretty fierce, especially considering that they were a couple of young fillies. Then again, the fact that they were also having a great deal of fun may have been a key factor in that. “It’s getting pretty intense,” Sweetie stated while watching the match. Spike shrugged. “You should see it when Sora and Rainbow play. Orbs are like, all over the place and they’re both stubborn about getting to them first.” “Wait! Rainbow plays struggle with Sora?” Scootaloo momentarily forgot the match she was currently in, costing her big time as Applebloom gave a wind-up swing sending the poor pegasus flying to the other side of the ring, orbs flying out of her as if she was a comet and the orbs were the tail of it. “Whoa!” “Try to keep focused Scootaloo, your opponent is now in the lead,” Merlin stated looking at his watch. “How can you tell?” Sweetie asked the wizard, to which he pointed above the ring. There she saw two sets of floating numbers, one being greater than the other. Above that greater number was Applebloom’s face, leaving the lesser number with Scootaloo’s above it. Hilariously, it looked like the image of Scootaloo was glaring at the image of Applebloom while that one was smirking and blowing a raspberry at her. Merlin chuckled. “Thought I’d have a little fun and make a scoreboard. In any case, time is running short.” The battle raged on for another minute. Though Applebloom had gained a massive lead, Scootaloo had started going all out so as to prevent herself from losing. This gradually gaining back her numbers. “Time’s up!” Merlin said, causing everyone present to look at the scoreboard. “A tie? What now? They did this to decide who would take the offense role.” Sweetie asked. Merlin simply smiled looking at the two fighters. “Why don’t you ask them?” At his words, Sweetie turned to see her friends were now hoof bumping each other as they were panting away, Orbs of both colors strewn all around them as they began to laugh. “What? What’s going on?” She was thankful there seemed to be no grudge between the two, but this still confused her. “Well…” Scootaloo scratched the back of her head. “I kinda forgot about that when we started playing.” Applebloom had a sheepish look on her face. “It was fun, Ah kinda lost track too.” Spike jumped in with an excited look on his face. “I know right?! Sora always finds time to join me in a match or two. It also makes for a great stress reliever when I’m frustrated about something.” This drew a round of agreements from the two fillies as Sweetie and Merlin approached them. “So, who gets the role then?” Sweetie asked, silencing the group as they all looked to one another. The was when Merlin decided to speak. “If I may be so bold, I believe the answer became clear from watching the two of them fight” “Really?” The Crusaders and Spike asked in unison. With a nod, the wizard stepped toward Scootaloo and Applebloom who quickly tried to stand at attention like Spike would when Merlin addressed him during training hours. He first turned to Applebloom. “Applebloom, I have observed your and Scootaloo’s ways of fighting and I can safely assume that the defensive role suits you better. “Whaaat?” Applebloom seemed dejected while Scootaloo hoof pumped and cheered inwardly, knowing where this was going. “But we tied, ah’ couldn’t be that bad at fightin’, right?” Merlin shook his head. “On the contrary, you were on par with Scootaloo when it came to offense that much was for sure.” Now, this confused the two girls. “So then why am ah’ a better choice for defense?” Applebloom dared to ask. “Because with all due respect, Scootaloo would be terrible at defense.” “HEY!” Scootaloo blurted out while Spike snorted at the blunt response and Sweetie covered her mouth with her hooves to try holding in her laughter. Merlin turned to Scootaloo. “Make no mistake Scootaloo, I commend how quickly you got straight back into the fray after getting knocked away by Applebloom’s powerful strikes, and making up for your comparatively lower striking power by launching more attacks to compensate. It makes you a great candidate for offense… but not defense.” Scootaloo didn’t know how to respond to that. “You can be easily distracted it would seem, even during combat if what we’ve seen here is any indication.” Immediately Scootaloo’s mind recalled her blunder of looking away from Applebloom and getting knocked to the other end of the ring in response. “Applebloom on the other hand-er… hoof, she always kept her focus on her opponent, and would even defend herself to lessen if not nullify your assault.” He turned back to Applebloom. “I can only assume farm life and your Earth Pony traits helped in giving you the fortitude to hold your ground like you did.” Applebloom stood proudly at the praise while Scootaloo rolled her eyes. Then Sweetie Belle spoke up again. “So then, I guess you win Scootaloo. You’re offense now.” “Yeah, but now the reason I wanted it so bad is gone.” Scootaloo kicked a rock as Applebloom’s bat was traded for the one with handle guards. Spike shrugged. “Just take what you can get, Scoots.” ~~~ Back to the Present With that big argument finally resolved the three of them found themselves practicing moves that involved teaming up with each other, as Merlin’s suggestion was that their greatest strength was working as one. Most would have to agree that they had a great team effort and worked better as a group. Sometime during their practice, they took notice of someone approaching from down the road, it was a strange bipedal person that seemed to be hiding their appearance within a long hooded cloak. “Hey girls, check out that weirdo,” Scootaloo whispered to her friends as they all stared at the approaching newcomer. Sweetie Belle glared at the pegasus. “Scoots, don’t be rude, you should never judge a book by its cover. Besides, you’re only saying that because they’re wearing a cloak.” “And walking on two legs.” Scootaloo tried to defend herself. “Spike walks on two legs,” Applebloom stated. “And Sora and Merlin are actually two-legged aliens.” “And don’t forget the minotaurs.” Sweetie Belle added. “Alright, alright, poor choice of words, but you gotta admit they seem suspicious.” “What does?” A new voice came from behind the three, causing one of them to jump, one to stiffen, and the other yelp before they all slowly turned their heads to see the very same being they were referring to looming over them, its face still hidden within the darkness of their hood. For a while, there was a tense silence before the being spoke again. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to scare you there, it seemed like you were talking about me.” All three of them rapidly shook their heads as they replied in unison. “Nope, nope, nope, nope.” “Ah, I see, well if you don’t mind I’m a tad lost, and I heard there was Moogle shop somewhere nearby.” Upon hearing this some relief returned to the fillies, though they still felt tense as Applebloom spoke to the being. “Um, well then, if you’re looking to shop, you came to the right place. It’s right over here.” She started walking toward the stall, her friends close behind. “Ah, wonderful.” The stranger replied as he followed behind them. When they approached he gazed over at the stall. “Where’s the moogle that runs the shop?” “Uh, he’s busy right now brainstorming, we’re covering for him until he’s done,” Scootaloo said. “Is that so? That’s very responsible of you three to help him. If that is the case, I was hoping to make a few purchases.” “O-oh, well, right this way then,” Sweetie replied reluctantly as the trio hurried over to the stall. The sooner they get this done, the sooner he would leave. ~~~~~~~~~~ Ponyville Train station A few hours later It was a long Ride back, but when the train from Manehatten finally arrived in Ponyville Sora and the girls were more than eager to get off and stretch their legs and wings again. The construction on Manehatten’s pylon took two days longer when compared to Ponyville’s, so they had some free time to enjoy the sights together and such. However, some significant events during their time there were not so easily dismissed or forgotten. Twilight felt that there were issues that needed to be addressed. One being about that brief moment where Sora could FLY with ethereal-looking pegasus wings. Another issue… Well, it was something her and the girls had to discuss WITHOUT Sora’s presence. She could feel the heat rising on her cheeks and her heart start to beat a little faster just thinking about confronting the girls, and she immediately tried to alter her train of thought before it would become noticeable. Celestia only knows the other girls, or rather everyone other than Pinkie were feeling just as awkward and uncomfortable about it as she was. They had all agreed that this kind of topic was better discussed at home rather than in Manehatten, where they were still on call in case another Heartless incident occurred. During much of that time, the girls had trouble speaking with one another. Again, except Pinkie Pie of course. Try as the others might, one does not simply ignore the Pinkie. ( Sorry guys, I just had to do it. :3 ) At the very least she didn’t seem like she was gonna up and spill the beans either. Whether that was due to not having the nerve or simply waiting for the others to talk about it was anyone’s guess. Putting all that aside, however, it was still a welcomed relief to feel the train finally stop at the station and make their way out. “Ugh, finally… Why does the ride back always feel longer?” Rainbow asked as she stretched her body to work out any kinks. “Honestly, I don’t know how you can even ask that when you slept the majority of the way home,” Rarity asked as she hopped off her seat and making her way down with the others. “Hey, even I can tell when I’ve had a long nap. My wings ache whenever I accidentally sleep on them.” Rainbow turned to one of her wings that she seemed to be stretching a bit more cautiously than the other, as she felt a little sore to move it at the moment. “Never one for sitting still, are you Rainbow?” Sora remarked with a smile as he walked past her. Before she could respond, Applejack beat her to it. “She seems to be just fine staying in one spot whenever she wants to be lazy.” This got the pegasus to give the farmer the stink eye while Applejack just walked on by with a smirk, not even glancing in her direction. “Alright everypony, let’s not snipe at each other. We’ve all been itching to get back I know, but we’re here now.” Twilight replied as she was already out in front, followed by Fluttershy and Pinkie. “I know I for one can’t wait to get back to my studies, but just so we don’t forget. Sora? I hope you don’t mind taking a moment to discuss that whole flying thing with us tomorrow.” She looked back at the Stallion. Sora raised an eyebrow. “From how you were going on about it earlier I figured you’d want to start talking about it the moment we stepped off the train.” The moment he saw her eyes sparkle and knew he should’ve kept his mouth shut. “CAN I?!” “U-um, actually, I’m gonna go ahead and take you up on the waiting til tomorrow offer.” Seeing her pout he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry, there's just a few things I wanted to take care of and it might take the rest of the day.” Reluctantly, she nodded with a sigh. “I suppose so.” She then proceeded to step out of the train. “Well, at least we can finally relax now that we’re-... What the?” Five steps out of the train she stopped in her tracks at what she saw in front of her. Soon the rest of the group spilled out of the train donning the same looks as her. Ponyville was a mess, and not the usual kind. Things just didn’t make sense. Roads leading into the sky, sideways homes and upside down buildings, a school of fish walked past the group to get into the train as if they were preparing to ride it. They could see one portion of the town that seemed to be painted entirely red, while another portion seemed to be rising and lowering as if the very ground beneath it was… breathing? Meanwhile, they watched as Town Hall flew over them and started spinning like a classical UFO before actually pulling them up toward an opening in the bottom of it. “Beam me up, Scotty!” Pinkie stated with a fake serious tone as the others were busy freaking out at their loss of gravity “Uh, girls? Is this some kinda pony holiday or event you didn’t tell me about?” Sora asked as he watched the ground get smaller and smaller. “No, it is not!” Twilight said as she was slowly rotated in place “What is going on here?!” “Ah think we’re ‘bout ta’ find out. Hold on, everypony!” Applejack pointed to the entrance above them that was sucking them into the building. When all 7 of them were inside the entrance beneath them swiftly closed back up board by board, eventually looking like a normal wooden floor again. Then gravity decided it’d had enough of these shenanigans and had them all come crashing down onto it.   “Ow… Ok, Ow. I think landed on my leg wrong there.” Rainbow said before flapping her wings and lifting off the ground. “Which one?” Sora said somewhat sarcastically as he got up as well. “All this, nonsense… It can’t be…” Twilight got up next and looked like she was trying to deny something she’d just thought of. “It can’t be what?” Sora asked before the door toward the Mayor's office suddenly opened, beckoning them to come closer… Literally, the door handles had stretched out and were beckoning them towards it. Seeing no other paths the girls reluctantly walked forward with Sora in tow. “Sugarcube, Ah’ honestly can't think of no one else who could be responsible for all this.” Applejack stated as she summoned her gauntlets. “But he should still be sealed in stone.” Twilight tried to convince herself as she watched Rarity and Pinkie summon their gear as well. “Who’s responsible? Who are you talking about?” Sora wasn’t enjoying being out of the loop, and the feeling only intensified when even Fluttershy summoned her element weapon as well. It looked like a rather snug, light yellow silk scarf around her neck with the element gem at the front of it, acting as if it was pinning the accessory together around her neck. The ends of it seemed to be attached to what looked like silk butterflies with gold engravings that outlined their body, antenna and wings, and not only were they moving, they were flapping their wings and hovering on both sides of her for a moment before landing on her and instantly becoming motionless cloth like the rest of the scarf. When the group entered the room, Sora finally got his answer. Behind the mayor's desk, the chair was turned to face the opposite direction, but two mismatched horns protruded from the top of it. Then the chaired turned as if it was a swivel chair and Sora saw… Honestly, it was only the third or fourth strangest sight he’d ever laid eyes on. There sat a rather oddly assembled being. Its body was long, and he’d confuse it for a snake’s if not for the fact that it was covered in a coat of brown fur. It had a gray goat’s head, white goatee included, with one horn resembling an antler while the other was an oddly shaped, light blue horn that might have belonged on the head of a drake. The aforementioned head was attached to a long neck with a short cropped black mane. One of its forelimbs was what Sora could only recognize as a griffin’s foreleg since he’d managed to see a couple in Manehatten, while its other forelimb was a Lion’s paw similar to Simba’s. On its back was a pair of wings, one blue and feathery while the other was purple and leathery like a bat’s. For its legs, one was a light brown cloven hoof and the other was a green dragon’s claw. Finally, completing the whole setup was a serpentine tail with red scales, off-white spines and a tuft of white fur on the end. However, the moment it opened its eyes and grinned at them Sora was struck by it’s most distinguishing features, red eyes with yellow sclera, and a single fang protruding from its mouth. The creature sat there like a cliche spy movie villain as it held and petted what looked like a small cat with features and coloration that made it look alarmingly similar to Mayor Mare. “Discord,” Twilight spoke the name with a venomous tone that honestly surprised Sora. Looking around he noticed that she and the girls were all already tensing themselves as if preparing for a fight. Meanwhile, the creature now named Discord simply smiled and continued petting the visibly scared feline Mayor before eventually speaking. “Why hello everypony… did you miss me? Cuz I’ve sure missed you.”