//------------------------------// // Episode 7: Dragonshy // Story: Kingdom Hearts: The Path of the Heart // by Tetsuya Kintame //------------------------------// The past couple of weeks passed by for Kairi without any major incident, to which she was thankful for. As the following week after the Best Young Flier’s Competition progressed, she and her friends kept up a constant watch as they continued their daily activities. Yet, nothing out of the ordinary happened, to which they were all thankful for. Two things did happen during those two weeks though. Pinkie had thrown a welcome party for Rainbow Dash’s fillyhood friend, Gilda, a rather rude gryphon. However, the two ended up separating on bad terms thanks to Gilda tripping every prank Rainbow had set up. The following week had them befriending the zebra who lived in the Everfree Forest, Zecora. This had been a bumpy road at the start, but Kairi had managed to talk some sense into her five friends. Twilight had been on her side the entire time, even when she was a target of the poison joke. Kairi didn’t even want to know what the poison joke would do to her. After things settled down a little from the previous week, Kairi decided to pick up the second installment of the Daring Do books, and was currently laying sprawled out on Rarity’s couch. She was on the last few pages of the book even now, enraptured in the adventures of Daring Do. “Hey Kairi!” a high pitched voice sounded next to her. The suddenness of the noise sent Kairi jumping from her place, and flopping on to the floor with a loud yelp. “Are you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Yeah, I’m good. You just scared me, Sweetie,” Kairi replied, groaning a little from the pain in her back. “Did you want something? “Not really, I just wanted to see what you were doing. What are you reading?” Kairi climbed back onto the couch, re-taking her original position again as she read the words in her head. “Daring Do and the Gryphon’s Goblet. I read the first book, and I liked it a lot. I didn’t have a lot of time the past couple of weeks to borrow this one from Twilight, but I found some time earlier this week to do so.” “Is it any good?” “It depends on what you like to read, but I think fiction stories have always been fun to read.” “How do you know its fiction? Couldn’t the stories be real, but placed under fiction to hide true events?” Sweetie asked. Kairi rolled her eyes a little at the naivety of the idea Sweetie Belle presented. “That is a good point, but I would think somepony writing about her events like this might be a little too dangerous, especially since Daring seems to have a few enemies. It just doesn’t seem like a good idea to do.” “I guess you’re right, but it’s still possible,” Sweetie said in confidence. It seemed reason wasn’t going to change her mind. “Anyway, I was kind of hoping I could ask you a favor.” Pulling her eyes away from the book, Kairi gave Sweetie Belle her full attention. “Ok, so what do you need?” “Well, you know school is starting soon, and I’m a little nervous. Rarity said that a week after school starts that the teacher will ask us to bring something or somepony to show and tell.” “So you want to bring me along to show and tell?” “Yeah, I’m sure it will be fun, and I’m pretty sure everypony would want to know more about you.” “Heh, I don’t doubt many ponies do want to know more about who I am. Still, I don’t know if it’s such a good idea. I’m not really supposed to tell anyone I’m from another world.” “Well, even if you can’t say much about where you’re from, or about other worlds, you could talk about your sword. The, uh, oh yeah, the keyblade!” Sweetie exclaimed excitedly. “I’m definitely not going to reveal more about my keyblade than what’s already known.” “Aw, why can’t you talk about it?” “The keyblade can be a force of good, but it can also cause a lot of chaos as well at the same time. I’d rather not think about what could happen if the keyblade fell into the wrong hands, er, hooves. Also, I’m afraid I’ll attract the Heartless if I bring it out too often.” “Your sword attracts the Heartless?” “It because it’s a symbol of a strong heart, and the Heartless thrive on captured hearts. The stronger the heart, the more powerful the Heartless born from that captured heart.” “And even more reason for you to not talk about what it can do, if I’m correct,” came Rarity’s voice as she entered the living room. Kairi turned her head away from Sweetie, and nodded at Rarity. “Sweetie Belle, why don’t you find something else to do?” “Okay. But you’re still going to go with me to show and tell, right?” Sweetie Belle asked Kairi expectantly. Kairi, for the life of her, could not bear looking at Sweetie Belle’s pleading face. It was just too cute to turn down. “I’ll try to answer as many questions as I can, but okay,” she finally said. “Yay!” Sweetie exclaimed, before running off somewhere in the boutique. “Children are always so excitable,” Rarity said as she watched Sweetie go. She then turned to Kairi, who had returned her attention to the book. “I’m sorry she bothered you so much.” “It’s okay, children just like asking questions about things. I remember asking my surrogate father lots of things when I was her age,” Kairi replied as she flipped a page. “Oh my, I had no idea you were adopted.” “Oh no, you’ve got it all wrong. He took me in when I arrived on Destiny Islands, and gave me a home to live in,” Kairi spoke fast as she turned her attention to Rarity. “Oh, so then you aren’t an orphan,” Rarity breathed a sigh of relief. “No, I’m not. I don’t know where my parents are though; I got separated from them when my world was almost consumed in darkness. But I’m sure they’re somewhere among the many worlds out there.” “Well, I’m sure they are doing just fine. They’re probably incredibly worried about you though.” Kairi nodded her head in agreement. “I don’t doubt that. I would be too if I was in the same position.” “Mmm, so when you said you’re world was almost consumed in darkness…” “It came close to falling into the darkness before I was pulled away from my home. A special door kept it from being consumed though; a door that can only be opened by seven special hearts.” “What kind of special hearts?” Rarity asked. Her interest was piqued now. Kairi had to think about how to tell this to Rarity, not really sure if it was a subject she wanted to talk about. She’d likely have to tell this to Twilight as well if she did talk about it. “You don’t have to say anything if it’s too sensitive a subject,” Rarity said, interrupting Kairi’s thoughts. She thought on it some more, then said, “It’s alright, I don’t think it will hurt anyone if I talk about it. I do think I should talk about it with Twilight around though. She’ll likely hunt me down if you said anything about this to learn more.” Rarity giggled at this, “You have a point there. Are you almost done with your book then?” “Just about, I’m on the last page right now,” Kairi said as her attention returned to the book again. After another minute, she closed the hardback book, and said, “And done. I wonder what Daring’s next adventure is like.” After packing the book into her saddlebags, and strapping them on her barrel, Kairi and Rarity then made their way toward Golden Oaks Library. It was only when they stepped into the library/home when they saw their friend running about in a hurry. “Twilight, what’s all the rush about?” Rarity asked as she watched Twilight yank several books down off their shelves. “Hi girls! Sorry for the mess, but something majorly important has come up just a few minutes ago! I’m getting every source material I have before I make an announcement to Ponyville! I already sent Spike to notify Mayor Mare to call an immediate town meeting, and to let the others know somethings come up!” Twilight hurriedly spoke as she skimmed a few books before tossing them away with her magic. Kairi and Rarity exchanged nervous looks, wondering what happened. “Is this something you’re going to need my help with?” Kairi asked worriedly. “If we’re still on the lookout for strange ponies messing up our world, then I think it would be best if you came along on the trip,” Twilight spoke, finally finished with her search of books. She levitated a few in her personal saddle bags, as well as few other things like rolled up maps. “We’re going on a trip? Where are we going exactly?” Rarity inquired. “Take a better look at the sky, and you’ll find out. I need to get a few more things first, and then I’ll meet up with the rest of you at Town Hall,” Twilight said as she ran up the stairs to the second floor, “Just leave your book on the table Kairi, and go pack for the trip!” The two exchanged looks again before watching their friend leave the room. They then looked out the window, wondering what Twilight had meant as she obviously seemed too busy to explain things better. What they saw was a thick line of black clouds covering the sky. “Wait, are those clouds? Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything about a storm for the next few days. She usually lets us know about stuff like that sooner,” Rarity said. Kairi looked at the clouds as closely as she could, noticing these clouds seemed to be moving a little differently. “I don’t think those are clouds. It looks more like smoke, and the fact that it is traveling in a wavy line from somewhere just makes it more obvious now.” “But where is the smoke coming from? I didn’t smell anything like wood burning on the breeze outside.” Twilight silently came back down the staircase carrying a compass in her magic, and stuffed it into her saddlebags. “So, we’re going to wherever that smoke is coming from?” Rarity asked when she noticed Twilight was in the room. “Yeah, and it’s a serious threat. I’ve already asked Spike to tell the others to pack for a trip as well. He might be on his way to your home, Rarity, so you and Kairi should head back to prepare as well,” Twilight answered quickly. She was already strapping her saddlebags on as she made for the door. “I’ll be informing Ponyville about the danger soon, so be quick to get ready.” With that, she was out the door, and on her way to Town Hall. “If she’s moving this fast, then it must be serious. Let’s hurry back so Spike isn’t banging on the door for too long,” Kairi said. Before they left, she took out the book she had borrowed, and left it on the table in the middle of the room. After that, Kairi ran out the door, followed by Rarity shutting the door on her way out. It didn’t take them long to return to Carousel Boutique, and meeting Spike just as he was about to leave. “Oh, there you are. Where have you two been?” he asked. “We were visiting Twilight, and we know she has something important to say in town square,” Kairi replied. “Oh, well I guess I didn’t need to come out here to tell you then. Well, everypony else knows to pack for the trip, so I’m going to head over to Town Hall. Twilight is probably about to let Ponyville know what’s happening on the mountain close to here.” “So it’s not a forest we’re going to, but hiking up a mountain?” Rarity asked. Spike was momentarily lost as he gazed at Rarity before shaking himself out of his stupor. “Oh, uh yeah, the dragon is trying to take a nap at the top of a mountain nearby.” “A dragon!?” both ponies exclaimed. “Oh, I guess Twilight didn’t tell you about that,” he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Well, I can tell you since you two still need to get ready.” “Alright, let’s hear it then. What is this about a dragon now?” Rarity asked as she opened her door. Once inside, Rarity set to work on getting the necessities they would need for a hike up a mountain. “Okay, Princess Celestia sent a letter to Twilight saying that it came to her attention from one of her Royal Guard that there was smoke rising from a mountain in the distance from Canterlot. When she saw the smoke herself, she knew it was a dragon, and that it was about to take a nap,” Spike explained. “Okay, so that answers one question, but why is smoke coming from it?” Kairi asked. “It’s snoring. Matured dragons tend to snore as they sleep, and the smoke is coming from its snoring. A dragon’s smoke doesn’t dissipate as fast as normal wood smoke, and it probably won’t if it continues to sleep.” “Well that sounds unhealthy for the environment,” Kairi said. “At least it isn’t snoring fire. What are we supposed to do about it? I’m assuming we’re going up there to confront the dragon,” Rarity asked as she stuffed a couple of scarves in Kairi’s saddlebags. “I could imagine Rainbow saying we need to fight it,” Kairi muttered. “Princess Celestia said that there’s a possibility the dragon could be asked to move to another place to nap so that his snoring doesn’t hurt the environment,” Spike answered as he helped Rarity pack. “Whatever do you do mean, Spikey-Wikey?” Rarity asked. “Like I said before, dragon smoke doesn’t dissipate easily, especially if it continues to snore without end. If left alone, the smoke will manage to cover all of Equestria.” “Now that doesn’t sound good at all. How long do mature dragons nap then?” Kairi asked, fearing the answer Spike might give. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too- “About a hundred years, give or take. So it’s really important we encourage the dragon to move somewhere else.” “Right, that’s really bad,” Kairi stated, “Ok, here’s an obvious question. Why didn’t the princess send someone in her Royal Guard to talk the dragon into moving?” “Her letter said she was going to mobilize the Royal Guard to the other towns and cities to keep everypony calm, and have the Guard help with the evacuation efforts if we do fail. From what she said in her letter, it sounds like she has complete faith that we’ll succeed.” “Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to disappoint- Wait, you keep saying ‘we’. Tell me you aren’t going to be coming with us, Spike?” Rarity asked. She was finished packing things for the trip, mostly a couple of scarves and other accessories. “Well yeah, Twilight thinks any help to talk the dragon into leaving will help out in some way. If Fluttershy can’t talk to the dragon, then I’ll have to try. Twilight knows a bunch of shield spells, so I think we’re in the clear on safety at least. She even mastered the one she saw you use, Kairi.” Rarity went on to comment on how dangerous it would be for Spike to tag along, but Kairi’s mind was somewhere else. Over the few weeks, Kairi had gotten to know Fluttershy at least well enough to know the butter yellow pegasus was jumpy, and practically scared of anything and everything. She even saw her hide from her own shadow once. She didn’t doubt her friend’s ability in handling animals. She doubted that Fluttershy would be able to stand up to a fully grown, fire breathing, very scary dragon. If she were shaking in her hooves at attempting to talk one into leaving to find a new home, she didn’t have to imagine Fluttershy’s reaction to even considering walking to the mountain. “Kairi, dear, are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Rarity said after a few minutes. “Yeah, you aren’t looking too good. Are you going to be alright?” Spike questioned. “I-I’m fine, I just a little bit scared about our chances with a dragon, especially for Fluttershy’s sake,” Kairi answered, shaken out of her stupor a little. “Why so much concern, darling? Fluttershy is a top notch animal care giver. I’m sure she can handle anything a dragon might throw her way,” Rarity confidently spoke. “Maybe, but she’s never dealt with a full grown adult dragon before, only a baby dragon. The two are quite different from each other, and from what I’ve learned of Fluttershy, she isn’t exactly the bravest of ponies.” For a moment, both Spike and Rarity stood in silence to Kairi’s comment, understanding why Kairi felt worried. After a moment, Spike broke the silence, “I’m sure Fluttershy will come through for us when we need her. She doesn’t have to be the first to try and talk the dragon into moving after all.” “Of course, we’ll each give talking to the dragon a try, at least to convince him to find a new home. I assume that’s what Twilight is planning anyway. There’s no need for brash decisions after all,” Rarity spoke. Kairi felt a little envious that her friends could be so confident about the matter. She only hoped things would turn out well. “I guess since you two are done packing, we’ll just skip Twilight informing the town then. We did pass by the town square after all,” Spike mentioned, only just now realizing that fact himself. “Right, let’s go wait for everyone at the edge of town then,” Kairi said. With that said, all three filed out of Carousel Boutique with Rarity trailing behind to lock up behind her. Kairi continued to stare at the mountain in the distance, watching as more black smoke drifted up into the atmosphere. She could already see that the smoke was blocking out much of the sunlight that was trying to shine down on the area. “Wow, that has to be some thick smoke to do that,” she said aloud. “Since it’s coming from a snoring dragon, I’m not really surprised,” Twilight spoke from the front of the group. She was pouring over a map as she, and her friends walked towards the mountain in the distance, checking, double checking, even triple checking the route she had decided was the quickest to their destination. “Ah still don’t see why a dragon wouldn’t nap among other dragons,” Applejack commented. The cowpony seemed to have packed fairly lightly, only having her lasso and a few other things in her saddlebags. Spike began to speak his mind next, “I think it’s because he or she is protecting their hoard of gems and gold. Most adult dragons that have been spotted in caves had a huge pile they’ve hoarded. I’m not sure why though; well except that gems are pretty tasty.” “I guess that makes sense. You can’t exactly guard something if you’re asleep anyway,” Kairi commented. She looked around to see all of her friends’ confident faces about their mission. Well, everypony but Fluttershy anyway. She seemed far more timid than all of them about tackling a dragon. She couldn’t blame the soft spoken pegasus. She was feeling almost as timid as Fluttershy normally would be. If anything were true about the stories of dragons, then this would inevitably end up in a fight to kick the dragon out of Equestria, rather than kindly talking it into relocating its nest. ’I can’t believe this is happening! This will be my second big fight as a keyblade wielder, and it’s against a freaking DRAGON! How am I supposed to fight that?’ Almost as if she were sensing her distress, Rarity asked, “Oh that’s right, you were about to tell me something this morning, Kairi. Something about your world I believe?” Kairi felt her thoughts being pulled from the dismal place it had been in, looking at Rarity with some confusion before she remembered what it was she was talking about. “Oh right, that. I completely forgot we were talking about the world I was born on,” Kairi said. “Ooh ooh! I can’t wait to hear me about Kairi’s world! I even have popcorn!” Pinkie exclaimed while holding a bucket of popcorn in her hoof. Where it came from, no pony really knew, and Kairi had stopped questioning her antics a long time ago. It was far more a relief on her brain in the long run. Rainbow flew up to Kairi, and got a little too close to Kairi’s face for her comfort. She then said, “Hey yeah, we don’t ever hear about the worlds out there, Kairi. You’ve always been training me and Applejack when we get together, or just plain hanging out. Which is cool and everything, but it’s so much cooler that you’re from another world. I’d like to hear more about what’s out there!” Applejack shoved Rainbow away, and giving Kairi some space. “Now Dash, you could ask her nicely about that, and not be up in her face. As much as I’d like to hear more myself, it’s not polite to pry unless she wanted to tell us more.” “It is okay, AJ, I have been a little eager to explain a bit more about myself. I just couldn’t find the right timing, really,” Kairi said. She saw the expectant faces of her friends, even Fluttershy herself looked curious. “How do I start this off? Well, I was born on the world called Radiant Garden, but I was raised on Destiny Islands after my home world was covered in darkness. A short time before that, its name was changed to Hollow Bastion.” “Oh my, that’s such a dreadful sounding name, Hollow Bastion. I much prefer Radiant Garden. It sounds more beautiful than the other,” Rarity stated. “It sounds a little too peaceful to me. A place called Hollow Bastion sounds more like a place with lots of stuff happening there,” Rainbow Dash commented. “Dash, isn’t that just a little insensitive?” Applejack questioned her friend. Rainbow had to think about it for a little bit, before turning to Kairi while flying backwards...somehow. “Sorry Kairi, but it really does sound more exciting.” “Heh, it’s alright Rainbow. Radiant Garden is slowly being rebuilt after all the damage that was done to the city, and with everyone there is working hard to make it better than it was a long time ago,” Kairi said, “Anyway, before my world fell to darkness when I still lived there, it was a governed by a man named Ansem the Wise.” The corridor of the old decrepit castle was beyond dusty, though thanks to the new residents that had taken it up as their base the cloaked pony had little trouble breathing as he skulked on through. He could smell the musty old books on the floor as he passed them, not paying them any mind while his hooves met the rug on the stone flooring. Much like the castle, the fabric of the rug and what remaining tapestries there were was in such disrepair that it would be pointless to restore it. That was fine to the cloaked pony though. If it didn't impede his plans, the place could stay a rotting fort. As he passed a broken, stained window, he looked out into the black sky. The overhanging black clouds never moved despite what the season, setting the untamed courtyard outside to look just as depressing as the inside. He continued on, attempting to find one of the members that he had a shaky alliance with. Truth be told, he really could care less about her attitude. A rumble in the dark clouds was made outside, another testament to how far the near collapsing castle had fallen. It was possible that the place used to look quite grand once, when the inhabitants of the world used to live here. But now it was only a broken reminder of what had befallen it. If the ancient scribbles on some of the odd parchments that littered the floor could be believed, it certainly made sense with the small grove of a particular blue flower managing to endure endless hardships over many generations. It was fairly likely that flower found its origin point here. With a sneer, the cloaked pony walked away from the broken window, and continuing his search for the insufferable Nopony he was looking for. "Wretched little witch, she better turn up soon..." he said in a low, dangerous tone. Almost as if summoned by the insult, a Corridor of Darkness appeared several feet behind him, and dissipated away to reveal another cloaked pony. However, her hood was down to reveal the slicked back bright blonde locks of her mane, with two long strands sweeping as if they were stylized antennae. Her fur reflected a darker yellow along with the electric aura she seemed to carry with her. Her cyan eyes gazed upon the cloaked pony with a piercing, underlying fury, almost as if she were calculating if she should attempt an assassination or not. She stayed her hoof however as she flared her wings a bit, stretching them out as she approached. “Well, did someone summon little old me? You do realize why I was nicknamed The Savage Nymph, right?” “Tis merely a title our illustrious superior gifted you with, along with your name, Larxene,” was the response she was met with. This caused her to scowl at the pony, who didn’t even decide to face her while speaking. “And yes, I did call for you. And also notably, you ignored it until I started looking for you.” Her gaze tightened on the pony in front of her, before giving an exasperated sigh. “If you think I was ignoring you, then you should think again. I was busy stretching my wings. After that assignment you put me on a couple weeks ago, I felt like I was getting rusty. Heh, though, I did get a kick out of that girls face,” she spoke, sounding rather gleeful as she recalled the events of that falling unicorn. “Why did you want me to do that anyway? Surely we aren’t here just to mess with these innocent ponies. If it weren’t for your order to stay my ground, I would personally be taking them out myself, one city at a time.” “Then you clearly underestimate the diarchy of this world,” the cloaked pony spoke, turning his head cast his eye on her. “They are more powerful than you or I. If our presence were more known to them, you can be assured we would be eliminated before our plans came to fruition. Now tell me, did the princess we brought do as we thought? You are two weeks late on your report.” Larxene expressed her annoyance as a soft humph before answering him. “Yeah, she did exactly like you thought she would. After I shoved the purple unicorn off the cloud, she jumped off as well after throwing her Keyblade into the air. She managed to materialize her glider which took the form of metal, floral wings. I hope you have a good excuse for why I was given such a ridiculous assignment. Considering it meant revealing us, we could already be targets of the princesses of this world,” she explained with hint of sass in her tone. “A risk that needed to be taken and she thought better of leaving to find her friends, considering the reports I’ve heard from Ponyville.” “That reminds me…” Larxene spoke, an undertone of rage behind her words. “How can you trust that traitor?! Because of him, all our plans in Castle Oblivion were completely ruined!” With her statement, electric bolts flew off of her form with her show of rage. “Hmm, you truly are a savage nymph. Your title justifies your personality,” the cloaked pony all but mocked, causing her anger to rise higher. He finally turned to face her for the first time, his hood hiding his features. “Because he’s a good pawn right now, and unlike Marluxia, I’m not underestimating his actions.” “Talking about me, I see. You really shouldn’t talk about somepony behind his back,” spoke an echoing voice, which soon materialized the owner out of another Corridor of Darkness a few feet away from Larxene. Sporting a long, spikey red mane with dark brown fur, and bright emerald green eyes, Axel appeared before the two, a mocking smirk aimed right at his ex-comrade. “You should be ashamed Larxene; it’s not nice to talk so badly about one another. You’ll make me cry if you keep that up.” Her jaw tightened as she looked at Axel, restraining herself to not lash out at him. No, she wanted to wait for the right moment to end his life. Now wasn’t that time yet. “Axel, you’re back from Ponyville so soon? I thought you were enjoying your assignment there.” “Now I really am hurt. I guess that means you really don’t like me,” Axel responded with mock hurt, though the grin he wore spoke anything but. “Step a little closer, and I’ll show you just how badly I can really hurt you,” she snarled, her wings flared as if anticipating a fight. “That will be quite enough you two. We’re adults here, and shouldn’t be squabbling about like children,” said the cloaked pony, his calm tone suggesting something far more sinister to befall them if they broke out in a fight. “Heh, sorry boss, I couldn’t help but tease a little,” Axel quickly said, raising a hoof to rub behind his head. “Anyway, I have a short report before I get back. Apparently a dragon has taken to nesting in a mountain nearby the village. Figured you might want to know, and have someone do something about it.” “There’s a dragon near that village? What’s the big deal about that?” Larxene asked, managing to school back her anger. “You don’t know? Guess you didn’t study this world as much as I did. I’ll explain it once, so you better keep this memorized, Larxene. When a dragon separates from the rest, they’re seeking a place to hibernate, and sleep for about a hundred years or so. They’re notorious snorers as well, which causes them to exhale lots of smoke that takes a long time to dissipate. From the mountain this dragon has taken to nesting in, we can assume that if it stays asleep, all of Equestria will be covered by a dense layer of smoke. And without any sunshine for all the plants to grow from…” “It means there won’t be any food to grow at all,” Larxene finished, “So then the dragon needs to be taken care of if anything is going to get done. Fine, I can handle a dragon on my own. Since you came crawling back like a dog with his tail between his legs, I guess you just couldn’t summon the courage to face it.” She turned to leave before Axel piped up again. “A little eager to get out of the house, aren’t you? You should know dragons aren’t push overs.” “And your point is? At least I won’t have to listen to you for a while.” “Actually,” the cloaked pony spoke up, “I have a much better idea. Is that all your reporting about, Axel?” “Actually, as a side note, the princess and her new friends are on their way to deal with the situation themselves. I don’t see how they’re going to accomplish that though,” Axel mentioned, with some doubt being heard. “Then this will be fine. Larxene,” the cloaked pony gazed with golden eyes under his hood. Turning her head to look at him, Larxene waited for the pony to speak. “I think you will enjoy this little assignment. You will arrive at the summit of that mountain, and wait for the princess and her friends to arrive.” He briefed her of the plan he came up with, watching her expression turn from puzzled to vicious excitement. As soon as he finished briefing her, she summoned the darkness to create a portal. “I think you’re right, I really will enjoy myself. Don’t wait up for me!” she said in a near sadistic singsong tone before disappearing into a Corridor of Darkness. Axel watched as she left, not exactly thrilled with this plan. “Do you really think it’s a good idea to send her out? She’s bound to have some sore feelings towards the princess,” he asked the cloaked pony. “Never fear, if she wants to keep existing, she won’t risk any lethal damage. She knows the price she’ll have to pay if she does. Now, return to Ponyville, Axel, and keep me updated if anything else should turn up,” he so ordered, casting a cold gaze on Axel. “Alright then, I’m sure Kairi will manage to hold her own then,” he said, about to create a portal back to the village. His words caught the cloaked pony, stopping him from turning back down the corridor. “Actually, now that I think about it, perhaps there is something you can do for her,” he spoke, his tone belying the genius in his mind. By the time the group got to the base of the mountain, Kairi had managed to explain a little of Sora’s journey, though she focused mostly on her world, and how different it had become after being consumed by so much darkness. She had explained as much as she really knew about Ansem the Wise, most of which was what she heard from Sora, Riku, and King Mickey. Even growing up in Radiant Garden, she didn’t quite know the man herself, just that he governed the world. “I have to admit, what happened to your world is a really chilling thought, Kairi,” Twilight finally spoke up after a while. One glance in her direction told the human turned pony that thought disturbed her a little. “I don’t even want to think what would happen to Equestria if it were consumed in darkness.” “Yes, it is quite the terrible thought, isn’t it? I shudder to imagine what sort of plans that cloaked pony from the competition has running through their head,” Rarity spoke, just as easily disturbed. “Ah do have a question for ya, Kairi,” Applejack said. “Yeah, what is it, Aj?” Kairi asked. “When Ah think about it, you were describing a lot of what Sora went through, as much as ya told us, almost as if you were there personally. So, Ah hate to ask something personal, but how do you know about the parts you weren’t there for?” Kairi hesitated for a second, almost missing a step as they walked right up to the steep slope of the mountain before stopping. “Oh, right, I forgot to explain what happened on Destiny Islands. Well, the short version is that when the Darkness consumed the islands, my heart kind of left my body, and took refuge inside Sora without him knowing,” she explained, a slight blush on her cheeks as she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “Oh my! Your daring knight unknowingly keeping your heart safe as he searches for you across the worlds! How romantic!” Rarity said with near envy like any sucker for romance would. “R-Rarity, please, I was barely even thinking about that sort of thing,” Kairi said in her defense, even as her blush deepened. “Yeah, I don’t think the mushy stuff is necessary, Rarity. Besides, I’m sure she had other things to worry about,” Rainbow interjected. “Maybe so, Rainbow, but it does sound absolutely romantic. Who wouldn’t want a knight in shining armor protecting them from all sorts of dangers?” Rarity questioned her friend. “Well me, of course. I’m not one for that mushy romance stuff. I’d rather be kicking flanks, and taking names any day!” “Yes, well I guess you aren’t a mare who would appreciate the ‘mushy’ stuff. I, on the other hoof, would simply swoon if I had a stallion who would dash to my rescue.” “In any case, girls, we’re here at the mountain,” Twilight finally spoke up after a while, “I’ve marked the shortest route up to the summit, so we should be up there in short order.” “Um….Twilight… W-Would it be okay i-if I just stay down here?” Fluttershy asked, hiding most of her face behind her long mane. “Wh-what? But we need your help, Fluttershy. You’re the only one of us who is good with animals that I could trust talking to the dragon,” Twilight pointed out, causing the skittish pegasus to shrink even more behind her mane. Fluttershy’s only response was to whimper as she looked up the steep cliff of the mountain. Her eyes then fell to the ground, muttering something so quiet that most of them couldn’t hear what she said. It was pretty obvious what she was trying to say though. “To be honest, I’m not quite so confident about tackling a dragon, Twilight. Any sane pony would be right to fear a fully grown dragon,” Kairi spoke up. “Well I’m not afraid of it!” Rainbow exclaimed. To this, Kairi barely held back rolling her eyes, giving the brash pegasus a hard glare. “You… You’re scared Kairi? But you’re still standing here, and not staying back home. Why would you w-want to come with us?” Fluttershy asked, quickly rethinking her sentence, “Y-You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.” Kairi shook her head with a smile on her face. “But I want to be here with you girls. I mean, facing a dragon is scary, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let that stop me from coming along. I’d feel bad if I turned back now.” “She’s right darling, and you have made it this far. Wouldn’t you feel better if you came along, and went back home knowing you faced some of your fears?” Rarity asked Fluttershy. The timid pegasus spared the pristine unicorn a glance before her gaze went back to the ground. “B-But… I only managed that because I got to listen to Kairi talk about the other worlds. Even the brief mention of that scary world was nice to listen to,” Fluttershy managed to respond. As much as she was afraid to admit, hearing about all the worlds Kairi had talked about had stoked some inner desire to visit said worlds. She’d especially like to meet the monkey Kairi mentioned. “You really liked hearing about Sora’s adventures, huh? Okay, well-“ Kairi was then cut off mid-sentence by loud, roaring sound coming from atop the mountain that shook the landscape around them. The sound had been so loud that Fluttershy had retreated to the inside of a nearby bush. “W-Was that…what I think it was?” Kairi asked, feeling rather timid herself suddenly. “Eheh, yeah, that was the dragon snoring alright. Wow, that was pretty loud… Uh, hey wait, where’s Rainbow Dash?” Twilight said, only just noticing that Rainbow had disappeared. Blinking a couple times, Kairi looked around as well, but didn’t catch sight of the prismatic mare. “I’m in the tree!” came Rainbow’s voice, flying out from beyond the leaves. “Wow, that snore was powerful enough to knock me away! Now I’m super pumped to fight it!” Kairi wanted to bring her hoof to her head, still astounded by Rainbow’s ego. She only managed to stop herself because she heard a slight snicker coming from Applejack, low enough that the prismatic mare couldn’t hear above her own voice. Deciding to leave the issue there, Kairi went over to the bush that Fluttershy was hiding in. “I have to admit, that was pretty quick of you. You can come back out now, Fluttershy, it was just a snore. There’s nothing to be worried about right now.” Fluttershy didn’t respond immediately, her eyes becoming visible through a hole in the leafage as she looked out towards her friends. “A-Are you sure? I-It’s not about to breath fire on us?” “None of us are on fire yet, so I think we’re in the clear for now,” She reassured the skittish pegasus, and helped her out of the bush. She then looked up the steep cliff side, seeing it was just barely passable to walk up. “Well, in any case, there’s a path up this steep cliff. If we climb here, we’ll be able to cut our travel time up to the summit decently. The faster we get there, the sooner we can keep certain doom away from Equestria,” Twilight said. She was ready to start the trek up. “Is there another path up?” Kairi asked before the purple unicorn could even take a hoofstep forward. Turning, she faced Kairi when asked such an odd question. “Well, yes, there is. But why ask when we can just…Oh,” she said, striking her question from her head. One look at Fluttershy, and she understood why the question was asked in the first place. She saw her friend still shuddering in fright next to Kairi, unable to stretch out her wings due to fear. “You girls go on ahead then. You’ve got the way up memorized, Twilight. I can use the map to take Fluttershy around the long way, and we’ll meet up further along up the mountain.” “Whoa, hold on. Fluttershy can fly up, there’s no reason for us to go on ahead,” Rainbow declared. She then ushered Fluttershy to open her wings, and start flapping them, only for her wings stay clung to her sides as she tried really hard to unfold. “I-I’m sorry,” she said softly with her head hung low. Rainbow could only groan while hiding her face behind her hoof. Shaking her head, she leveled as soft a gaze at her as she could. “Look, just don’t take too long, okay? I don’t want that smoke getting any worse,” Rainbow said before taking the lead up the steep cliff side. “We’ll see both of you up at the higher path before it becomes too steep to climb. Be careful while walking up, okay?” Twilight asked. Kairi gave sharp nod in response, and motioned for Fluttershy to follow as the rest began making the trek up the steep slope. Kairi brought out the map at once, and studied it after a minute, finding a path that lead up the mountain on the west side. Putting the map away in her saddlebag, she then told Fluttershy which way they were headed, and the two began making their way around the base of the mountain. It took a few minutes for them to locate the path up the mountain, and began to make the trek up to meet back up with their friends. The journey was mostly quiet, though Kairi was thankful that she didn’t have to drag the butter-yellow pegasus along the ground, something she thought she would have to do. A look back, she caught Fluttershy shaking like a leaf while looking down at the ground. She looked to be on the verge of breaking down in fear. Kairi turned to look forward, keeping an eye on the narrow path so she wouldn’t misstep and fall. “You don’t have to force yourself to keep going if it’s too much. I certainly wouldn’t blame you for going back home right now,” Kairi finally said after a long moment of silence. She didn’t immediately get a response, save for a fearful sigh behind her. She stopped in place as she looked back at Fluttershy again, this time the butter yellow pegasus having done so already. “M-maybe…I would definitely feel a lot better hiding under my bed right now. B-but I just couldn’t live with myself if I went back now, especially since everypony is depending on me,” Fluttershy spoke quietly, at least loud enough for Kairi could hear her. Kairi nodded, but said, “If you want to, we can stop here for now until you can gather more courage. Even if we are pressed for time, I’d rather-“ She was cut off as her friend moved passed her, a bit surprised that she even did so, despite still trembling. “I can keep going. W-We can’t keep everypony waiting for us just because I’m scared,” she said, “B-Besides, you’re here with me, Kairi. After everything with the Heartless, I-I’m not too scared because I know you’ll protect me.” Kairi smiled at that, and followed after her friend. “Alright, but only because you’re being brave about this.” A loud snore from high up on the mountain echoed for miles again, drowning out the any nearby noises for a good minute. Once things were silent again, Kairi asked, “I don’t suppose you know anything about dragons, do you?” “N-No, I don’t. Nopony really does since d-dragons usually keep to themselves and their own kind. A-Any pony who have tried to learn more are usually frightened back to the nearest town or city. My only exposure is Spike,” she replied. “That’s what I thought. Let’s hope the dragon is as nice as Spike then.” Silence fell between them again as they traversed the narrow path. It had been pretty linear, only ever turning when hardly walked path made sharp curves up the steep mountain side. Near half an hour later, they finally regrouped back up with the rest of their friends, earning a surprised “You guys got here a lot sooner than I thought,” from Rainbow Dash. Twilight took the map Kairi offered back, unfolding it to assess their path once more. “I’m glad you two didn’t have any problems getting here. For a while, I thought you might encounter Heartless or something,” Twilight expressed her concerns. “Nope, nothing out of ordinary other than the snoring. We should get moving though. The sooner we take care of the dragon, the better,” Kairi replied. Everypony and dragon was ready and moving once Twilight was satisfied looking at the map, and traveling on the path again higher up the mountain. “So, you were saying before we got split up, Kairi?” Rarity asked after a minute. Kairi had to think for a minute before she remembered where she left off. “Right, so after Destiny Islands was consumed in darkness, my heart took refuge in Sora, and my body sort of drifted around in nothingness, I think. I’m not really sure what happened after that,” she explained. “Wait, how does that work? Wouldn’t your body become a Heartless since your heart wasn’t in it?” Rainbow asked. Out of all their training sessions, Kairi was glad something she explained did stick to rainbow-maned pony. “It’s…complicated. And the complications don’t stop there once Sora got to Hollow Bastion. I think it would take me most of the day explaining everything that did happen. To keep it short, Riku had found my body, and had brought me there. However, he had been steeping his heart in Darkness at the same time while working for an evil witch named Maleficent. She had him kidnap certain girls to be brought there as well. When Sora confronted him, they fought each other, and Riku lost their duel. Shortly after, a powerful Heartless known as Ansem possessed him, and he forged a new keyblade from the hearts of the girls who were kidnapped: a Keyblade that could unlock hearts. “The way Ansem used it, he unlocked the darkness in others hearts, and he did this to Maleficent, and so much power turned her into a huge black dragon. Sora managed to defeat her though, ending her plans for me and others. Of course, there was still Ansem to deal with. Sora fought Ansem/Riku again in the Grand Hall of the castle. That was when Sora learned my heart was inside him, and how I learned just how special I was. They needed me and six other special girls. Girls with hearts filled with Light: The hearts from the Princesses of Heart.” Twilight muttered something under her breath as she listened, but otherwise didn’t say anything. Kairi had been so engrossed in telling her friends what she knew and experienced, that she hadn’t even realized they all had made a small jump to another path up the mountain. Even Fluttershy had made the jump, too absorbed in the story to really care of how high they were. “So what happened next?” Spike asked while sitting on Twilight’s back, “And why was your body brought there in the first place?” Kairi smiled, and continued, “Ansem/Riku explained to Sora why I couldn’t wake up, at least my body anyway. And if I woke up, he could accomplish what he had set out to do. And then they fought. Sora fought hard against Ansem/Riku, but he managed to beat him. He even managed to relinquish the keyblade Ansem/Riku had been fighting with. Of course my heart was still trapped inside Sora. And he did the most reckless thing he could to free me. He stabbed himself with the keyblade Ansem/Riku had been fighting with, and unlocked his heart. “And it worked, better than I suppose he expected. He freed my heart, and destroyed the keyblade as well, releasing the other princesses hearts as well. Our hearts went back to our bodies, and I woke up. And then Sora disappeared in front of me before I could reach him. But I didn’t have time to feel sad since with my waking, the room began filling with Darkness. Goofy, Donald, and I had to leave the Grand Hall quickly to keep from being overrun by Heartless, with them protecting me the entire way, and with one Shadow Heartless dogging our trail. “We got so far, only to be surrounded at the exit of the castle, and that one Heartless still there. It took me a moment to figure out it was actually Sora’s Heartless. When the rest attacked, I just held on to him as tightly as I could to try and protect him. And he came back in a flash of light that got rid of the Heartless there.” “Oh my goodness!” Rarity started. It was clear she was near ecstatic with the drama of Kairi’s story, and on the verge of going on about how romantic the last parts had been. “Keep it to yerself, Rarity. I think we all know what you want to say,” Applejack said, cutting her friend off before she could start. She then said, “Still, Ah’m mighty impressed with this Sora fellow. Ah’d like to meet him if we ever get the chance.” “Totally! He sounds pretty cool, even with the mushy stuff going on!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Uh-oh, this doesn’t look right,” Twilight said, rechecking her map. Every one’s attention was suddenly on her, having interrupted the current conversation. “What’s wrong?” Kairi asked. “This part of the path is supposed to be an avalanche zone, but it looks like it already happened,” she replied, pointing a hoof toward the large mounds of dirt and rock covering what should have been a less-than-traveled road. “With all that snoring, I’m not really surprised, dear. I would be amazed if an avalanche hadn’t happened yet,” Rarity said, making a good point. “I guess you’re right, but I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t have to walk over an avalanche made hill. At least we’re almost there now. Let’s keep going, but stay silent for now just in case. I’d rather we not cause another one,” Twilight directed as she put the map away. As they made their way over the hill, no one noticed the broken, yellow object hiding behind a stray rock nearby. It took them a while to traverse, but they were soon over the small rock littered hill. It was an even shorter trip from there to the mouth of the cave that the dragon resided in. Now that they were there, each of them were hesitant to go inside. “Right, time to talk a dragon into leaving,” Twilight muttered. Turning to her friends, she spoke up, “I believe Fluttershy, Spike, and I should head in first, and try to convince them to leave. You girls get a little rest and keep look out.” Fluttershy began shaking in fear again, remembering it again now that they had come so far. It seemed Kairi’s life story had been enough to distract her up until now. “A-A-Are you s-sure you r-really need me? C-Can’t somep-pony else go in?” “You’re the only one I can count on, Fluttershy. Please, if not for us, then for Equestria? Lots of ponies are counting on us,” Twilight pleaded. It seemed like her plea had done the opposite until Kairi and Rarity rested their hooves on her shoulders. “Have no worries dear, we’re right here when you need us. I know you can do this,” Rarity said encouragingly. “That’s right, we’ve got your back, Fluttershy. I’ll come in if-“ Kairi stopped, looking towards the cave entrance. Having focused on Fluttershy that instant instead of her fear, she now felt something inside. It felt dark, and it felt sinister. And worse, she hadn’t heard any loud snoring since the avalanche area. It had been frequent enough before, but now it had stopped. Then she felt it. Darkness. “Applejack, Rainbow Dash! Follow me!” she said urgently, galloping inside quickly. The ponies barely hesitated as they ran in after her, followed by the rest out of sheer curiosity. What they found was worse than they could have imagined. The dragon they were sent to kick out was awake and standing up, its brow furrowed dangerously. It had brilliant red scales and pink fin-like spikes running down the back of its head, with a rich yellow front. Or at least it would have if its colors didn’t look muted. And standing in front of the dragon with a hoof outstretched to it was a cloaked pony, channeling darkness into the dangerous creature. Kairi jumped in immediately with a yell, calling her keyblade into her mouth, and swiping her weapon at the pony, breaking off the channeling of darkness. With nowhere to go, the cloaked pony stood there facing Kairi behind the dragon now. Her friends stood behind her with Applejack and Rainbow having summoned their keyblades as well. “Kairi, what’s happening to the dragon?” she heard Fluttershy ask. Holding the keyblade with a leg, she replied, “This pony has channeled darkness into him. If I’m right, he’s just barely being controlled.” “Right on, a clever little deduction, princess,” came the words from the cloaked pony, the hood hiding her face. The voice, Kairi knew that voice, but she couldn’t recall where though. Just hearing it made her fur stand on end though, and a little flinch crossed her face. “Oh? You look like you’ve seen some ghosts, or at least one anyway.” “Who the hay are you?!” Rainbow called out, sounding angry about the slight growling din of the dragon. “Hmm, I dunno if I should really tell you. I mean, I am supposed to keep a low profile, but really, the only one here who would even be able to recognize me is our dear little princess here,” the cloaked pony replied, her words like a dagger as she spoke about Kairi. Seeing no reaction from the ponies, she continued, “Hmm, guess she’s spilled the beans on being a princess if you lot aren’t acting surprised.” “I do know you from somewhere, but I don’t think we’ve really met before, have we?” Kairi asked. She wasn’t sure how she knew. She just did for some reason. A soft, pregnant pause lingered in the air for what felt like an eternity before the pony responded. “Well, we have met before, but haven’t met yet.” “What kind of answer is that?” Applejack asked. The pony turned her head towards the group, holding off attacking with the dragon just yet. Oh but how she so wanted to. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to reveal my face,” she said. She reached up with her hoof, and pulled back the hood of her cloak, revealing the blonde, slicked back mane with two antennae-like strands sweeping back, darker yellow fur, and cyan eyes that pierced with an underlying rage and anger. Kairi gasped as the face she witnessed brought memories that were not hers to her mind. The memories of her Nobody, and her time spent with this individual in Castle Oblivion. “You? But how? Sora defeated you, didn’t he?” she asked. Those cyan eyes squinted just enough to express her anger towards the name of the one who had managed to one-up her. She huffed slightly before saying, “Yeah, he did, but neither he nor that girl realized that I faked my death. Before his final attack on me, I managed to replace myself with a doll to be taken out in my place. Didn’t help that I was too weak to re-engage Sora, and finish him off. I had to retreat from that castle, and hid myself here in this disgusting world ever since. Ugh, too much light everywhere, and too many happy songs for my liking.” “I feel we’re missing some context here,” Rarity said, promptly ignored by the Nobody. “So, I hear you and Naminé rejoined, princess. Congrats on your little reunion,” the blonde-maned pony said, “I guess since you recognized me, that means she's still knocking about in that head of yours. Not that I really care, but I do owe a little revenge for what she pulled.” “I guess that means you're going to take it out on me then?” Kairi asked, but the question went unanswered. The smirk she received was enough to be one. “So wait, you actually know this pony, Kairi?” Twilight asked. “Yeah, her name is Larxene. Nicknamed, The Savage Nymph,” Kairi answered back. She then glanced at the dragon, and sensed the darkness pervading from it. “Good. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, listen up! The dragon hasn’t been converted into a Heartless yet! We got here just in time to prevent that! You two need to fight it to try and break the control she has over it!” “What?!” cried Rainbow. “Have you lost yer mind?!” Applejack asked, bewildered at Kairi’s statement. “This is a full grown dragon! We can’t beat it!” “You don’t have to, you just have to fight long enough break her control!” she informed. “Oh, this is precious! You really think they can handle both me and the dragon?” Larxene asked. “They won’t have to, because I’ll be fighting you,” Kairi said before she jumped into action. Gripping her keyblade in her mouth again, she charged at Larxene. With a smirk, the Nobody jumped back into the air, her wings unfurling from the hidden flaps at her sides, and flapping them to keep herself in the air. At that moment, the dragon lunged with a hand with razor sharp claws in an attempt to rend the ponies. “SCATTER!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she ran away from the claws. Fluttershy followed after her with a shout of her own while Twilight teleported herself, Rarity, and Spike out of the cave. Rainbow flew up and above the claw, and Applejack ducked and rolled under the sweep, barely managing to avoid getting torn apart. From under its arm, she swung her keyblade against its scaly hide. The impact barely fazed the dragon as it loomed over her threateningly. Rainbow then swooped in, and hit it across the face, earning a loud roar for the attack. Kairi had to dodge out of the way as Larxene began flinging daggers from her hooves, avoiding the lightning tipped weapons as best she could. She tried to get in close to her opponent, but every time she jumped up to attack, Larxene easily evaded away and countered by throwing another dagger. Their fight soon became a game of cat and mouse, each trying to get the advantage on the other, but neither gaining much ground if at all. The only reason Kairi held her own was because she was mixing spells in with her dodging, flinging ice and fire magic at the Pegasus Nobody. Back with the dragon, it was clear that Rainbow held a home advantage over the creature. The tight confines of the cave were just spacious enough for her to move around, and avoid any lunges or sweeps it made at her. She was easily keeping its attention while Applejack maneuvered around on hoof, landing a blow whenever she could. Yet with all the attacks the two ponies made, whether it was keyblade strikes or magic, nothing would have much effect on the dragons tough scales. “It’s like I’m trying to hit a tree with a stick! I can’t keep my speed up enough to land a harder hit!” Rainbow yelled out. “Ah’m not having much luck either, Dash! We have to distract it somehow, or we’re never gonna end this!” Applejack called back. Off in a corner, huddled behind a rock, Pinkie and Fluttershy watched as their friends fought with the full dragon and a dark being from another world. The sight was something to behold as the three keyblade wielders fought against the Darkness. “Oh, if only there was something I could do to help,” Fluttershy muttered. “What are you talking about, Flutters? Of course there’s something you can do to help,” Pinkie said. “No, I really can’t. I’m too weak and scared to be of any good.” “That is absolutely. Not. True! Even if you are scared of your shadow most of the time, and you have trouble speaking to new ponies, you’re one of the bravest ponies I know Fluttershy! You made it this far with us, haven’t you?” “But…” Fluttershy looked away, eyeing a particularly interesting bare part of the ground. “I only got this far because of everypony, and Kairi’s stories.” “So? That just means we helped bring out your courage. It’s always been in you, Fluttershy. You just have a hard time seeing it. And you can definitely, absolutely, most certainly be able to help Applejack and Rainbow Dash right now! You’re the only of us who has experience speaking with other species! Why not try to talk to him to help our friends?” “That doesn’t sound like a very good idea, Pinkie!” “And what else does? There’s not much I can do except cheer them on, and you want to be helpful. I can cheer you on from back here!” “B-But…” “No butts, no fuss, no coconuts, Fluttershy! I know you can do it! Now get out there, and do anything you can do to help AJ and Rainbow!” Fluttershy shook in fear even as Pinkie urged her on to go help, swallowing the lump in her throat. Yet somehow, for whatever reason she couldn’t fathom, her wings unfurled, and started flapping herself into the air. She got closer to the battle as Rainbow and Applejack continued to hit the dragon, despite how useless it seemed to be. She soon noticed that it was struggling to keep its mouth closed, and she could feel heat wafting away from it. She gasped as realization came to her, and flew up to the dragon with purpose. Rainbow gasped when she saw Fluttershy getting so close, however she was interrupted by a clawed hand swiping up at her, causing her to dodge further away. It took only a second for the dragon to catch the butter yellow pegasus in his sights, growling as it started to swipe at her. Without really knowing what else to do, her gaze hardened as a shout left her throat, “STOP!” The sudden shout, and power behind it stunned the dragon, looking at her with surprise. The dullness of its scales seemed to brighten a bit. Shaking from her stupor, Applejack charged in, and landed a solid hit against the dragons torso, causing it to flinch back a bit. Rainbow caught this immediately, and went in as well, stringing together several combos together on the dragons scaly hide. Fluttershy herself was a bit stunned as well, amazed her voice had held so much power at that moment. “Did I do that?” Behind her, she could hear Pinkie cheering her on, and felt encouraged to do what she could to help. Back with Kairi, she had managed to land a Blizzard spell on one of Larxene’s wings, and grounded her for the rest of the fight. The fight was quickly becoming one-sided in Kairi’s favor, but The Savage Nymph wasn’t going to let her have a victory without a fight. She proved to be quick on her hooves as well, managing to dodge away from Kairi’s attacks, and sometimes having to use her daggers to make her back off. It was clear that she was losing the fight and fast. “Well, you certainly adapted to being on hooves rather fast! You’re actually putting up more of a fight than I thought you would!” she exclaimed as she flung a dagger at Kairi. She rolled away from the projectile, and back up a little to eye Larxene’s next attack. “What’s the matter? Can’t talk with something in your mouth?” Kairi replied in kind with a low wicker, stomping a hoof on the ground. “Heh, that’s good, at least I don’t have to hear you make a redundant hero speech in the middle of a battle!” She flicked a dagger at her opponent, not expecting the block Kairi made to send her own attack back at her. She hopped out of the way, only to have to keep moving when Kairi closed the distance, and started swiping her keyblade at her. However, it had barely been a minute since Kairi started this attack that Larxene felt her control over the dragon waver dangerously. A half glance showed her that the butter yellow pegasus stunning the dragon with a shout of something, and then two keyblade wielding ponies channeling light into their weapons. Dodging away from an attack, she attempted to flick one of her daggers at the timid pegasus, but it was sent upward into the stone ceiling as Kairi hit her leg with her weapon. “Please! Control yourself, Mr. Dragon!” Fluttershy shouted, stunning the dragon once more. Ever since she joined the battle, she managed to help Applejack and Rainbow Dash in breaking the control of Darkness. And now her friends were channeling something through their keyblades as the dragon slumped to the ground, and bright lights shone from the ends of the blades. They then swung their blades high, and the light burst brilliantly over the creature, purging the shadows from it. Its scales returned to their brilliant sheen, and he let out a low breath. She flew in, and then pet his long snout, and asked softly, “Are you alright? Do you have control of yourself now?” She received a slow nod, which made her smile warmly at the dragon. Finding herself standing triumphantly over her opponent, Kairi held the keyblade at Larxene, daring her to make a move. She was panting hard through her mouth around the hilt and her nose, glaring dangerously at the Nobody. And yet, she was still smirking back at Kairi. “Wow, congrats on the victory, even if it’s not much of one.” Larxene glanced behind her, seeing the ponies approaching, and the dragon glaring a thousand deaths at her. Before any of them could respond, Larxene moved her hoof an inch, and a portal opened up underneath her. “Until the next battle, princess. Enjoy this victory while you can, because you won’t be so lucky in the future,” Larxene said with a sharp tone. And just like that, she was gone. An empty spot took her place in the cave. Kairi didn’t dare unsummon her keyblade for a long moment, reaching out with her senses to try and find any hint of darkness nearby. But she found none at all. Slightly satisfied the Nobody was not coming back, she let her keyblade vanish. “WOOHOO!” came a loud cry of happiness. Before Kairi knew it, she found herself tackled and squeezed in the near death trap that was a Pinkie Pie hug. “P-Pinkie….too….tight…!” she barely managed to say. She was grateful as she sucked in air into her lungs as Pinkie Pie went on and on without end about the battle in excruciating detail. She was still catching her breath when Twilight, Rarity, and Spike made their way back in after hearing the chaos finally settle down. “Is everypony okay?” Twilight asked with some concern. “There’s probably a bit of bruising, but we’re otherwise alright, Twilight. Nothin’ a little rest can’t cure,” Applejack replied. “Yeah, but we certainly kicked some tail today!” Rainbow exclaimed, riding her high on her ego. “Good job, girls. I knew you could do it,” Kairi said as she focused on AJ and Rainbow. “Well, we couldn’t have done it without Fluttershy’s help. If she hadn’t flown in when she did, we might still be fighting the dragon,” Applejack pointed out as she looked at her timid friend, who was tending to the dragons injuries. She was fussing over him like a mother hen. Noticing they were the subject of the conversation, the dragon spoke low enough to not rattle the stone cave, “Thank you for breaking that despicable woman’s grip on me. Had I been myself, I would not have attacked without provocation.” “Shoot, Ah understand. Besides, Ah think Ah speak fer all of us that it didn’t sit right seeing what she was doing to ya,” Applejack spoke proudly, earning nods from everyone else. The dragon then turned his attention back to Fluttershy as she fussed over a small bruise. “And thank you for showing such kindness to me. Is there anything I can do to repay you?” he asked. “Well, now that you mention it, before this all started we were on our way up to ask you to find new place to sleep. You were snoring an awful lot, and the smoke you were making is covering our home. If it’s not too much to ask, can you move to someplace where your snoring won’t be a health hazard to other creatures?” Fluttershy asked. “Of course, you can consider it done. I only settled up here to rest my wings anyway. It was a good thing you were headed up here anyway. I’ve been known to drift off to sleep when I’m tired,” he admitted, rubbing a claw behind his head. Twilight beamed as their goal was accomplished, and thankfully without anypony getting seriously hurt. “Thank you for understanding, Mr. Dragon,” she said. As the dragon moved to pack up his hoard, Rarity finally caught sight of the glittering gold and gems in the pile. “Oh my, it really is true. A dragon’s hoard really is an amazing sight to behold,” she exclaimed, before a gasp left her. “Ideeeaaaa!” Lighting her horn with a light blue aura, she lifted a notepad, quill, and inkpot enveloped in the same aura out of her saddlebags, and began drawing up a new design for a dress. “Inspiration can hit a pony anywhere.” Kairi watched as the dragon left the cave, happy that things had settled the way they did. As they all began to leave as well, Fluttershy began telling them that she had noticed the dragon had been trying hard to hold back in the battle. She was thankful for that, knowing that the dragon never really wanted to hurt them, and was actively fighting against the control Larxene had forced upon him. And then there was Larxene herself. In Naminé’s memories, it seemed like it was so impossible that the psychopath had managed to survive. And yet she was there, in that cave channeling darkness into the dragon in order to control him. She shuddered, hoping that she managed to do enough to the woman that she wouldn’t be acting up anytime soon. ’I’ll have to be more careful in the future. I don’t think Larxene is done with this world yet.'