//------------------------------//
// Sora Faces His Darkness 
// Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria 
// by Codex92 
//------------------------------//

	After Sora returned back to Equestria, he immediately went to his room in the Castle of Friendship. He couldn't fall asleep as it got late in the night, staring at his bedroom ceiling as his mind wracked through scenarios of the punishment he would face. Of all the worst times for his Anti Form to make an appearance, it had to be in front of his friends, wiser and more experienced Keyblade wielders, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and his own mother. Even though everyone forgave him, since it was an accident, he still felt guilty for his actions he couldn't control. But, when morning comes, they were all going to leave for the Mysterious Tower, to meet with Master Yen Sid and inform him of his dangerous powers.

He rolled around on his mattress, unable to fall asleep due to his worries. He gave up trying to shut his eyes as he sat up and looked out the window, Luna's full moon shining down on the land. She would probably be wondering where he was if he wasn't sleeping, if there were any Nightmare Dream Eaters needed to be taken care of or any ponies in Ponyville suffering from a nightmare he can help them with. He got up from his bed with a heavy sigh and took a stroll around the castle.

Thinking something to drink would help, he headed for the kitchen to see what was in the fridge. When he arrived, he yelped in surprise when he saw Ventus leaning by the counter, expecting him to walk in.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

Sora groaned, nodding his head slightly. "You have some sort of psychic link to my mind after being a part of my heart for nearly fifteen years?"

"Call it a hunch." Sora ignored Ventus and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. "That, and knowing you're in big trouble with a master can make any student tremble. Assuming that student isn't an arrogant know-it-all who thinks he's better than everyone else."

"I knew I was going to get in trouble the moment that...that form first came to me," Sora uttered, raiding the fridge as he poured himself some apple juice. "I really thought I could get away with hiding it, but I failed that. Twice. And I nearly got everyone killed. Again!" He growled at himself, slamming the refrigerator door shut. "My own mom was put in harm's way no thanks to Pete! Everything always ends up working out great for me until someone ruins it by putting someone I care about in danger! He was lucky I didn't kill him while I was a Heartless so that I'd take out his heart, or whatever's in that empty chest cavity if he stoops so low as to kidnapping my mom and two infants!"

"Sora, calm down!" Ventus shouted, stopping Sora's tirade. "What Pete did was despicable, yes, but he's a major idiot when it comes to his plans. He failed, everyone's not badly hurt, your mom and the girls are safe, no repercussions."

The older stallion grumbled as he approached the counter. "Except I'm gonna lose my Keyblade."

"And all of us thought you were supposed to be the Pinkie Pie of us humans," Ventus muttered to himself.

"What?" Sora asked.

"Not important," Ventus said. "Look, as badly as things can get, at some point, things will get better. Maybe you won't lose your apprenticeship. Riku hasn't been kicked out after what happened."

"But that was before we were even considered apprentices to Master Yen Sid," Sora corrected. "Everything before we really began our training was due to us getting involved with Ansem and Xemnas's plans, and we just so happened to be skilled enough to take them on and put an end to their plans. And we barely had any training at all. Riku was pardoned and he became a Keyblade Master after saving me. I'm pretty much like Terra; used darkness, but against our will in front of everyone...Right?"

Ventus knew Sora had a point, but he shook his head in disagreement. "When Terra wasn't considered a Keyblade Master by Master Eraqus, I think he knew what Terra did wasn't his fault and was willing to give him another chance after a while. You've saved dozens of worlds without any proper experience, just going by your own instinct and a style of combat that easily throws your opponents off guard." Sora just sighed, staring at his drink. Even though Ventus was trying to cheer him up, he still had a feeling that he wasn't going to remain a Keyblade wielder any longer. "Sora, I've watched from your point of view when I recovered enough to see and hear my surroundings. My heart came to you when I felt the light within yours, where you had a lot more potential than you realize.

"Everyone needs you, Sora. Your heart has connected with so many people, from every world in need of help from the darkness..." Ventus brought a hoof up to his chest, resting it over his heart. "That goes for Terra, Aqua, and me, too. You even said it yourself, and other times before: 'My friends are my power.' Your Drive Forms may show that's true physically, but at any other time, it's an undeniable fact, which is why I know you will always and forever stay a Keyblade wielder, fighting along with us against the darkness."

Sora looked up at Ventus, a little surprised at the wisdom he gave. Granted, he is supposed to be older than him, and he has seen the struggles he's been through from inside of his heart, but it was so weird for Sora to get a lecture from a teenager who really did have the proper training as a Keyblade wielder. With his Harmony Form, a Drive that held the power of six powerful gems united to create a magical power great enough to save one from the corruption of darkness and bring harmony to the land, it was also a connection between six special mares destined to become best friends. They were also his friends, adding to the ever growing number he's made, giving him more strength to win over his opponents as they also gave him the same power they wielded when united as one.

Looking down at his own hoof, the illusion of dark claws from his Anti Form flashed in his mind. He knew that the stronger one's heart is, so will their Heartless and Nobody, and his was by far incredibly strong. He was lucky enough to best Roxas, his own Nobody that could wield two Keyblades, but he was somehow able to pull through and deal a finishing blow after feigning to be defenseless when his Keyblade was knocked out of his hands. His Heartless was even stronger, his dark form always berserk after its time was cut short the moment Sora released his heart to save Kairi and taking control to find her as he followed her light. Its opportunity when he used his Drive Forms was like payback, letting out all of its pent up aggression and going for anything it sees just to spite him, and it gets harder and harder to take control every time his Anti Form overtakes any other form.

It was always a struggle for Sora to keep himself from relying on his Drive Forms. He never wanted to hurt his friends, or his family, and he fights so hard just to stop himself when his darkness is unleashed. He almost lost his mother, and even though she forgave him for something he can't control, he didn't want this to happen again after he struck Kairi when she first saw him like that. If there was a way he could fight his own Heartless without killing it, otherwise he would end up like Ventus and have his heart shattered, his light lost in the universe unless he found someone who would willingly let him into their heart.

Sora put his hoof down and sighed, conflicted on what his future will hold. "...I really hope you and my mom are right, Ven," he said, finally grabbing his glass of juice and downing it in a few gulps. "...I'll be prepared to expect losing my Keyblade, but I have no idea what I'll do if I'm forced to go back home."

"You won't," Ventus reassured. "It's too bad I can't give you any support with the others at Master Yen Sid's tower. Someone needs to stay and watch the castle while everyone's gone, making sure the worlds aren't covered in Heartless from the maps."

"Wait, Terra's coming?" Sora asked quizzically. "I thought he'd be the one volunteering to stay behind to lay low from Xehanort."

"He insisted on going. Said he had enough staying in Equestria for a while and needed to stretch his space legs." Ventus chuckled as he smirked. "Though, I have a feeling it's got a lot more to that than just leaving Equestria and visiting Master Yen Sid again."

"What makes you say that?" Sora asked.

"Well, ever notice how Aqua reacts when anyone walks in on her when she and Terra are alone in a room?" Ventus asked. "She freaks out, blushes, and stammers while trying to act aloof, while Terra's a lot more calm than her...I have a funny feeling they're not just hanging out all the time because we've all spent many years apart from each other."

Sora's interest was peaked, hearing a few instances from the others about Aqua's odd behavior with Terra, even remembering walking into the kitchen one day while they were together. "That might explain why she freaked out and threw Terra to the other side of the kitchen that day...You really think those two are dating?"

"Maybe, but Aqua's doing a poor job of keeping it a secret," Ventus said. "Reminds me of how you acted around Kairi when you two met. How exactly did that end?" Sora groaned, slamming his head on the counter in embarrassment. "Oh yeah! You said hi, then smacked into the wall while you paid attention to her than your surroundings."

"I thought you were still recovering during that time," Sora grumbled.

"Being a part of you, I could also look back at memories you reminisce on." Sora leered at Ventus, the younger pegasus wearing an innocent grin. "Hey, blame yourself. Not my fault you've got some fond memories that are also quite humiliating."

"...I hate you..." Ventus laughed, though Sora couldn't help but grin. His mind was diverted from what tomorrow might bring him, if only just a little. Sora lifted his head off the counter and put his empty glass in the sink to clean later, then approached Ventus and gave him a light jab on the shoulder. "Thanks."

"Eh. You just needed a little bit more of a pep talk," Ventus said with a shrug of his shoulders. "And a reminder of how strong you truly are."

"I guess...though, I doubt I'm strong enough to keep my Heartless in check if it happens again..." Sora let out a yawn, his exhaustion from today finally catching up to him. "I think I'm finally tired enough to actually get to sleep. I'm gonna hit the hay."

"Good luck, Sora," Ventus said, Sora giving the teen a silent wave with his wing as he walked past him.

Sora walked back into his room and climbed into bed, staring at the moon and bright stars out his window before closing his eyes. "I'm gonna need all the luck I can get..."





Morning seemed to have come far too quickly for Sora after everyone got ready to leave. Terra and Aqua would go on ahead on their gliders, mostly for the former to let Yen Sid know he was freed from Xehanort's control and where he had been the last few years since his return. The Mane Six followed Sora, Riku, and Kairi to their Gummi ships to travel to the Mysterious Tower, all six mares just as concerned about Sora's fate as a Keyblade wielder. Ventus and Spike came along to see them off, though the baby dragon was a little disappointed that he was forced to stay behind while the others went off to another world.

"Come on, Twilight," Spike whined. "Why can't I come too? I know there's other worlds out there thanks to the map. I wanna see some of them, too."

"Sorry, Spike, but it's a bit too dangerous for a baby dragon to be wandering around in another world," Twilight said. "Who knows how anyone would react if they saw a little dragon walking around with us?"

"So? I can take care of myself. I helped bring the Crystal Heart to Cadence while climbing down from the top of the castle and having those dark crystals nearly knock me off." His reason wasn't convincing enough as Twilight shook her head, still not allowing him to come along. "Oh, come on! All of you girls get to go! And apparently, you guys went off to have fun at a festival in another world without me! You didn't even get in any trouble after you left for their master's place before!"

"We should have, but Princess Celestia knows just as much as we do thanks to Master Yen Sid, so the laws of protecting the world order don't seem to matter much," Twilight said. "Especially with the Heartless running around and those with a Keyblade end up getting involved in some problems they can't help but solve in order to stop them."

"T-Then let me get a Keyblade too! I just need to touch one, right?" Before Spike could beg for Sora or Riku to let either of them touch their blades, Ventus stepped on the baby dragon's tail to keep him from getting any closer.

"Spike, it's not that simple," Ventus said. "Only a Keyblade Master or a wielder who recites the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony can give someone else a Keyblade. Or if one finds them. Considering how dangerous the situation is with Xehanort, I don't think Aqua's going to allow someone your age to get into any sort of danger like that."

"But what am I meant to do in the castle if I have a throne?" Spike asked. "I don't have a cutie mark and can't possibly do any friendship solving quests. I can't fight off anything unless I had the Crystal Heart with me to power up my fire breath..." He let out a miserable sigh and sat down, staring at his feet in sadness. "I barely go on any fun adventures..."

"Come on, Spike. You're just as important as the rest of us," Riku said. "Remember what we talked about when we were sucked in that comic of yours?"

"Yes, but I'm not a little kid anymore," Spike said.

"I know, Spike. We all do," Twilight said. "But this stuff is a lot more serious. With what happened yesterday...I'm glad you weren't there to see Sora like that, and he was a lot worse than any Heartless we've seen in his Anti Form. He could have come after any one of us out there." She walked up to the pouting baby dragon and hugged him. "It's not like with Sombra, even though he was a lot more dangerous than anything we've ever faced. I didn't have any choice but have you take the Crystal Heart to Cadence when I was caught in that trap. None of us wanted you to get hurt, even when you went to try to find yourself during the Dragon Migration."

Spike didn't say anything, but he understood why, even if he found it a bit unfair. Twilight let go of her number one assistant and walked into Riku's Gummi Ship, everyone ready to go once they were strapped in their seats. The blocky spaceships flew off and left Equestria, warping off through space once they were far enough away from the world to the Mysterious Tower.





Aqua and Terra arrived at the Mysterious Tower, jumping off their gliders as their armor disappeared. It had felt like an eternity for Terra since he last saw Master Yen Sid, and he was already feeling nervous meeting up with the wizard again. He's already come this far, not letting Xehanort continue scaring him into hiding forever now that he has Aqua and Ventus back again. There might not be any way to bring back Master Eraqus and the Land of Departure back to their knowledge, but they can at least avenge him and their home.

"Nervous?" Aqua asked Terra, seeing he was really tense just looking at the window where the old magician's study was located.

"Very," Terra answered. He took in a deep breath to calm his nerves, but it didn't do much to help. "I'm more nervous than we where about to take our Mark of Mastery exam...You don't happen to have any orbs of light infested with darkness to distract me, do you?"

"Just get inside, Terra. Quit acting like a terrified five-year-old." Aqua gave Terra a light shove forward, making him stumble toward the steps. "I'd thought facing the Unversed, Heartless, or fighting Xehanort would have been scarier than meeting Master Yen Sid."

"Yeah, well, try meeting with an old master when you were possessed by a madman who used your image to be a couple of dangerous creatures bent on destroying every world in the universe." Terra groaned, running a hand through his hair as he looked up at the door to the tower. "And I thought Sora was the one who was supposed to be more worried..."

"I told Master Yen Sid what happened to you," Aqua said. "He knows you had no part in anything Xehanort had done. All of us were used by him, and we didn't realize we were being tricked until it was too late." She took his hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. Terra calmed down a bit as he looked at her, feeling a bit more relaxed knowing she wasn't just going to let him enter Yen Sid's study by himself. "Don't worry. I'm right here."

"...I know," he said, squeezing Aqua's hand right back with a more confident grin.

The couple walked inside the tower together and climbed up the stairs to reach the study. They soon arrived at the door to the room after climbing up the enchanted stairway, Terra slowly opening the door to find the blue-robed wizard sitting at his desk. Yen Sid was busy looking through his books to notice the two Keyblade wielders walk up to his desk. Terra cleared his throat to get the wizard's attention.

"Yes? What is-?" As he looked up, Yen Sid paused when he finally noticed Aqua, and to his surprise, Terra. "...Terra..."

"...Master Yen Sid," Terra said, bowing in respect to his superior before standing up straight.

"...Well, I didn't expect this," Yen Sid said, standing up from his chair. "You have returned to us, Terra."

"Yes, Master," Terra said. "I've...been back for quite a while."

Aqua and Terra both explained how it was possible for Terra to have returned after his heart was possessed by Xehanort's darkness, the older master stroking his beard in thought once they were finished. "I see. That does make a lot of sense. Xehanort had returned when his Heartless and Nobody were destroyed, and taking control of your heart with his power meant you two were connected through your hearts. That also explains why Ansem and Xemnas looked similarly like you, Terra. But, why didn't you come back to my tower when you regained your former self?"

"I was...kinda worried about Xehanort trying to take back his old vessel, so after I tried to find Aqua, I hid in Equestria to stay low," Terra reasoned, rubbing the back of his neck in shame. "I sound a bit pathetic when I've been trained to fight Heartless for a living."

"I would have done the same thing after I had escaped from the Realm of Darkness," Aqua said. "Knowing Xehanort was still around, I would have fled somewhere and trained my absolute hardest to try to outmatch him if I encountered him again."

"I think you did plenty of that for a lifetime, even though it should have been me trapped in there more than you." Aqua lowered her head, clutching her arm as she let out a sad sigh as she was reminded of her greatest mistake. "Aqua, don't worry about it anymore. What's done is done."

"I know, but some things you regret can't ever be forgotten..." She looked up at him, wishing she could turn back time and stop herself from saving Terra so no one else had to suffer. "...Still, I'm just glad all three of us are back together again."

"'Three'?" Yen Sid questioned. "Do you mean Ventus? He has awoken from his slumber?"

"He has, and you would never guess where his heart was after all these years," Aqua said. "It was inside Sora's heart."

"Hmm..." The wizard was astounded by the information, but as he recalled the former unconscious teen from long ago, there were some similarities between Sora and Ventus. Yen Sid sat down and smirked, almost finding the two boys as twins just from their personalities and faces. "Well, Sora's heart must have had a stronger light than yours and King Mickey's, Aqua. We're quite lucky to have him around." Aqua and Terra winced, both unsure how much longer Sora will be around helping them save the worlds from the threat of darkness. "Where is Ventus? Was he not with you two?"

"Actually, he's back in Equestria," Terra said. "Sora, Riku, and Kairi are coming over as well with Twilight and her friends, but Ven stayed behind to watch Twilight's new castle for us."

"Yes, I have heard from Celestia that her former student had earned herself a new castle," Yen Sid said. "And the six of you are now appointed as her knights to protect her new kingdom, I presume."

"You could say that," Aqua said with a nervous giggle. "But...about Sora-"

"Yo, gramps!" Barging into the room, Lea approached Yen Sid's desk, not even paying attention to his two guests. "I was just down at Agrabah yesterday to deal with those Heartless you said were-" He froze when he finally noticed Aqua and Terra, the former a little annoyed at his entrance, even though the more experienced Keyblade wielders walked in unannounced as well, the latter a little shocked and confused seeing him again. "...Didn't know you would be having guests, otherwise I would have set up some tea and crumpets."

"Lea!?" Terra finally exclaimed after his brain caught up with his voice. "W-What are you doing here!?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention Lea's a Keyblade wielder too?" Aqua said, making the brown-haired man balk in surprise.

"Since when!?" he asked. "...Wait, don't tell me you-"

"It just came to me," Lea said, holding out his hand and summoning his Keyblade. "Completely out of nowhere too after I requested to be a Keyblade wielder. Kinda weird coincidence, huh?" After showing off his blade, he hung it over his shoulder. "So, she's this special friend you were searching for, huh, Terra? I knew that armor on her shoulder looked just like that full suit back in Radiant Garden."

"So you really did know Terra," Aqua said, crossing her arms over her chest while leering at the lackadaisical red-head. "And you couldn't have told me about him being alive when we last met?"

"I promised him not to let anyone else know he was alive," Lea said, looking at Terra as he pointed a finger at his head. "Kept it memorized."

Aqua rolled her eyes in annoyance at his annoying catchphrase. "Anyway, what were you saying about Agrabah?"

"Oh, right. Nearly forgot." Lea dismissed his Keyblade and looked at Yen Sid. "Like I said, I headed down to Agrabah in my ship since you don't want me using portals of darkness to get around places...which is a bummer not to do anymore while I'm wearing this coat. But I digress."

"And what happened?" Yen Sid asked.

"Well...those Heartless you sensed were attacking that world...I didn't see any." The wizard lifted a brow in confusion, his stern gaze demanding an explanation. "I searched everywhere for them, but there was no sign of darkness anywhere. I even walked around the desert for a little, and still nothing."

Aqua chuckled, all three males' attention turned to her. "I went to Agrabah and a few other worlds the other day and took care of them for you."

"You did?" Lea asked. "How could you have known when you and the others were off in pony land?"

"Twilight's castle back in Equestria also became a hub for us Keyblade wielders," Aqua explained. "There's this holographic map created by the magic from the castle when all twelve of us sat in our thrones, along with a crystallized map in the center that showed a closer layout of not just Equestria's world map, but other worlds as well. How we knew of the Heartless invading the worlds, and even ourselves, were black and white lights on the worlds: black for Heartless, and white for us. It's still relatively new, and the map alerts all of us if there's a friendship problem to solve only in Equestria, so there's probably a lot more to the map than we know of."

Lea's jaw hung open, his mind completely blown, while Yen Sid was just as surprised and highly intrigued with the magic of Twilight's castle. "Wait a minute," Lea said, snapping out of his stupor as he counted out Aqua and Terra, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and the Mane Six on his fingers. "There's eleven of you. Who the heck is the twelfth ruler of that epic castle?"

"I think the twelfth chair belongs to Ventus," Yen Sid said, taking a wild guess at the obvious question.

That name clicked in Lea's head, memories of meeting with someone named Ventus several years ago flashing through his eyes. What was strange was the fact that, upon remembering the Keyblade wielder back then, he had the same face, eyes, and hairstyle that Sora's Nobody, Roxas, had. He slowly scratched the back of his head, trying to process the realization as it doesn't make a lick of sense to him.

"Ventus...Hey, did he have spiky blonde hair and wear a pale green armor thing on his left shoulder?" Lea asked. Terra and Aqua both nodded their heads, the confirmation only confusing him. "...I know it's been a long while since I met him with Isa, but...he also looks like Roxas..." He was then caught up on the confusing topic of why Sora's Nobody looked more like Ventus than him, even what had happened to the young teen after Lea last saw him. "...Wow...That's really confusing. No wonder why Roxas didn't look a lot like Sora...At least I know he's ok...Well, NOW he's ok after losing his heart."

Outside through the windows, Terra, Aqua, and Lea noticed Sora, Kairi, and Riku's Gummi Ships fly in and make a landing near the small patch of land with the Mysterious Tower. "Speaking of Sora...I guess we'll wait for them to come up here so all of us can discuss what we tried to say."

Lea winced when he saw Pinkie bouncing down the ramp of one of the ships outside. "Oh, great. You brought the whole gang. What exactly is this about Sora that requires everyone to join in on the party?"

"Did somepony say party!?" Pinkie asked, suddenly appearing behind Lea.

He yelped and leapt away from the pink menace, looking back at through the window and back at the earth pony repeatedly while stammering in confusion. "Y-You were just-How did you even-!?"

"I took the stairs!" Pinkie said. Lea was about to question how that was possible, but he kept reminding himself not to do such a thing when Pinkie's involved with anything. He gave up with a groan, slumping his shoulders while Pinkie approached Aqua. "So, is Sora in trouble?"

"We didn't get to the point of our visit yet," Aqua said, looking at Lea. "Apparently, someone interrupted us before we could say much."

Yen Sid stood up from his chair again as he looked out the window, watching the rest of the group begin heading inside the tower. "What exactly has happened to Sora?" he asked as he turned back to Aqua. "What trouble has he gotten himself into this time?"

"...You'll know soon, Master," Aqua said, already anticipating how things will go.

A moment later, the others finally reached the study as they walked in, the Keyblade wielders bowing to Yen Sid. "Now that everyone appears to be here, what was it that Sora has done?" No one spoke up, not even Aqua as she began feeling anxious for Sora. "Judging by the looks on your faces, it does not seem like good news after all."

"I'm a little curious myself," Lea said. "Did he pull some sort of prank that's not allowed in the Keyblade wielder's code of honor or something?"

"No...it's...a lot worse than a harmless prank..." Sora stepped forward as everyone's eyes were on him. He might as well get it over with instead of waiting any longer. He took in a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Master Yen Sid, do you still remember the day I first met you? When the three good fairies gave me a new set of clothes along with my new powers?"

"Indeed," the wizard said with a nod. "They are much better suited for you, as well as the power of your Drive Forms. They were vital for your journey when confronting the Nobodies."

"I know...but, this is where the worst part comes in..." Sora paused, bringing a hand up to his chest as he looked down. "...There's...another form I have that I thought I could hide...but it comes out by chance, and I can't control it." He looked back at his friends, all of them concerned for him as he explained everything to Yen Sid and Lea. Sora sighed and turned back to his master. "...It turns me into a Heartless."

"What!?" Lea exclaimed. "W-What the heck does that mean?"

"Exactly what I said," Sora said. "I turn into a Heartless: darkened body, yellow eyes, sharp claws in place of my hands, and impossible for me to control...It's happened many times in the past, but twice, I attacked my friends...I almost hurt my mom, too, when I brought her to Equestria yesterday for Mother's Day."

Yen Sid remained stoic as he took it all in, but Lea was utterly baffled. "This has happened several times in the past? And all by the luck of the draw when you use those forms of yours?" Sora and the others nodded their heads. "...Yeesh...And I thought being a Nobody was dark enough when you have no heart..."

Kairi stood beside Sora as she gazed pleadingly at Yen Sid. "Master, that form of his isn't Sora's fault. His Anti Form is dangerous, but he isn't using its power on purpose. I even tried letting my light give him power to take back control, but it didn't work. I knew this, and so have Twilight and her friends, all seven of us keeping it a secret because he was afraid of what would happen to him; as a Keyblade wielder and as a friend." She grabbed her boyfriend's hand, holding it tightly. "Sora was so upset when he attacked us, and he blamed himself for something he can't handle."

"She's right," Twilight spoke up. "As dangerous as his Anti Form was, we don't blame Sora for ever letting that thing come out."

"It ain't even his fault the first time," Applejack added. "He was pressured into showin' us what them Drives of his can do, and it just appeared without him wantin' it to."

"And our sisters saw it yesterday as well," Rarity said. "Luckily, we took them far away from him and they didn't get hurt, but even they can see it wasn't his fault."

"Don't take his Keyblade away, Mr. Yenny Cid!" Pinkie pleaded, suddenly appearing at Yen Sid's feet as she begged. "We don't want him to leave Equestria forever!"

"Pinkie, for goodness sake!" Twilight levitated Pinkie away from the old wizard, Yen Sid not even batting an eye at the mare's randomness.

The old master shut his eyes, deep in thought. It was clear they all knew what Sora's form was dangerous and considered a threat if he ever used his Drives again, which they guessed he would face serious consequences for using it when it accidentally shows itself. Yen Sid opened his eyes and let out a sigh.

"Well, I figured that this would have eventually come up," he said. "But a lot later than I expected."

Instead of hearing what judgement Sora would receive, everyone stared at the wizard in confusion to his response. "...Uhh, what does that mean, exactly?"

"Wait. Master Yen Sid, you actually KNEW about this???" Aqua questioned.

"Yes." Everyone was shocked to know the old wizard had seemed to know all this time, which only made Sora worry more if he actually was planned on being punished if his Anti Form appeared.

Rainbow Dash flew right into Yen Sid's face, barely flinching while the others all winced at her actions. "You mean you knew about this and nearly got us all killed!? What the hay is the matter with you!?"

"RAINBOW!" Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, and Terra shouted, Sora and Kairi grabbing the pegasus by the tail and forcefully pulling her away from Yen Sid's personal space.

Twilight facehooved, wishing that the two of the most expressive of her friends didn't constantly act before thinking. "Relax. I believe I should be scolded for not telling Sora about this sooner. However, had I told him of what dangers there were with the abilities he would acquire, he wouldn't have been strong enough to fight back against the Nobodies."

"Then why didn't you tell me!?" Sora exclaimed. "Was it some kind of test for me before I was officially an apprentice under you!?"

"Would you have accepted this power if I did tell you?" Yen Sid asked. Sora grunted, unable to retort as the obvious answer would have been no. "Exactly. During that time, Sora, you had just woken up after a long sleep. You had been informed of what happened when Mickey, Donald, and Goofy tried to uncover what was wrong with Jiminy's journal."

"I also told him why he had been asleep for over a year," Riku piped in. "His memories nearly erased by Kairi's Nobody, Naminé, and were pieced back together by her while I tried to find the rest that were a part of Roxas."

"During that time in a deep sleep, the abilities you learned prior to wielding the Keyblade were lost, leaving you quite vulnerable until you gained it back," Yen Sid continued. "I needed to give you something to help give you an edge until you were back on your feet. Even if it meant withholding information on your dark form."

As Sora thought back to when he woke up in that mysterious lab in Twilight Town, he did feel a bit weaker than what he could remember before falling asleep. All the skills he learned, his strength, even the spells he learned were basically lost, almost like he had started his journey all over again. And if their master knew about this, then he had one question he needed to ask that everyone wanted to know.

"...How exactly did you know?" Sora asked.

Instead of answering right away, Yen Sid stood up out of his seat once again and began making his way to the door connected to another room of his study. "I suggest we all enter this room. I'll show you how I knew, but not just Sora's 'Anti' Form, as you call it."

Everyone grew curious as Yen Sid opened the door and walked into the adjacent room. They followed him inside, the room familiar to Sora, Riku, and Kairi as they've been in this room several times. More bookshelves with several other books on magic and whatnot, a large wardrobe in the corner of the room, and several mirrors covered by tarps scattered around. As much as Twilight wanted to see what were in the books, she restrained herself and focused on how Yen Sid knew about Sora's darkness manifested as a Drive Form. The alicorn soon realized that this looked like the very same room she spoke with the old magician through the mirror Celestia used to communicate with him when the princesses were kidnapped by Discord's chaotic vines.

"Look at all the mirrors in here," Rarity commented. "Why are they all covered?"

"All of them may show reflections, but all of them are magical in their own way," he explained. "Princess Twilight knows of the one I use to communicate with Celestia, though I don't want her to panic hearing the knowledge of one of my pupils with a darkness he cannot control."

Yen Sid lifted his hand, waving it around as he levitated six of the concealed mirrors he needed up into the air and over to them. Placing them out in a row in front of the group, Sora recognized the strange power that radiated from them ever since he glanced at them the first time he entered the Mysterious Tower.

"I sense some incredible power coming from these mirrors," Aqua said. She looked at each mirror, and even though the reflective surfaces were covered, she could feel a different kind of power flowing through just from sight alone. "These mirrors must be radiating energy from what Sora's Drive Forms can do."

"You are correct, Aqua," Yen Sid said. He gestured Sora to step forward to the far left mirror, doing as he was told as he stood in front of the mirror. He then lifted the tarp away from the first mirror, showing Sora's reflection, but the clothes the mirror of him wore were red, just like if he were in his Valor Form. Surprised, Sora looked down at his own black clothes, seeing he hadn't changed while the others watched in awe and confusion. "The first of your many forms; a form in which your strength is amplified, allowing you the ability to wield two Keyblades at once, and enhancing the speed of your strikes to attack head on. Valor is given for this form, where your courage knows no bounds and charges head on through the most dangerous and terrifying of scenarios."

"Incredible," Twilight uttered, able to feel the strength from the mirror's form coming straight from Sora's reflection.

"Hey, lemme see if it works on anypony else!" Rainbow flew toward the mirror in front of Sora, seeing her new reflection. Though she wore no clothing, her appearance had changed in the reflective surface: her mane showed a lot more red than the rest of her rainbow mane, the tips of her wings' feathers were red, and marked on her chest was a red lightning bolt. The pegasus posed as she looked over herself if she were in Valor Form. "Aww yeah! Pretty awesome! Hey, old timer, you think I can get a Keyblade and have this power? But make mine a bit cooler than Twilight's."

"No, Rainbow!" the Keyblade wielders all said, making Rainbow Dash grumble in protest.

"I have to agree with the others," Yen Sid said. "You are not exactly...mature enough to wield a Keyblade." She was about to argue, but the old wizard spoke before she did. "Sora may act childish with his personality, but he at least knows of humility; putting the well-being of others over himself rather than 'looking awesome' and showing off all the time."

The pegasus grumbled and flapped away from the mirror, angry that even the superior of her Keyblade wielding friends had the same answer. "Get over it, Rainbow Dash. No matter how many times we all say it, you are not going to have a Keyblade. Ever."

"And yet Twilight's the only one of us to get one!" Rainbow argued.

"Which I gave her by complete accident because I didn't know having someone in contact with my own hand AND Keyblade at the same time could give someone their own," Riku stated in annoyance.

"Moving on," Yen Sid said, getting everyone back on track as he lifted the tarp off the next mirror. This one showed Sora in his Wisdom Form, the blue clothing and an air of powerful mana seeping from the reflection. "Wisdom grants the wielder an increased range of magical potential, unleashing spells in rapid succession while keeping them mobile to avoid getting surrounded by foes. And even though mana must be recharged after exerting too much, the user can still defend themselves from a distance as they fire bursts of non-elemental energy from their Keyblade. Magic users are not truly known to be proficient fighters on the battlefield as they keep their distance from foes while strategizing, using their weakness of elements instead of brute force."

"That's why I like using magic in combat," Aqua said. "Every foe has some kind of weakness. Not one single being, sentient or non, is truly invincible. The same goes for Xehanort, but he hides his pretty well..."

"Ooh! Let's see Twilight all blue!" Pinkie said, grabbing the alicorn and pulling her over to the Wisdom Form mirror.

"Pinkie, I don't want us wasting time having one of us randomly-!" Twilight paused as she looked at herself in the mirror. Similar to Rainbow Dash's look in the Valor Form mirror, her purple mane was now blue, leaving the pink streak as it was, her feathers' tips were blue, and a blue six-pointed star rested on her chest. The only difference was her horn was glowing a blue aura on its own, releasing blue sparkles from both her horn and her hooves. "...Oh...Wow." Twilight looked herself over, feeling like her body was overwhelming with magical power, almost exactly how she felt with Celestia, Luna, and Cadence's magic inside of her. "It's...so strange. I actually feel magically empowered just looking at myself like this."

"Blue really does suit you, darling," Rarity complimented. She looked at Riku, the young man's cheeks turning pink as he rubbed the back of his neck, apparently agreeing with the unicorn. "And it seems like Riku thinks the same thing."

Twilight looked back at her human boyfriend, who averted his gaze from her, but she noticed the growing blush on his face. She stepped away from the mirror and fluttered over to Riku, hovering behind him and wrapped her forelegs around his neck.

"If you like me in blue, you should have seen me in the Gala dress Rarity made for me a couple years ago," Twilight said, nuzzling her cheek against his. "I think it still fits me, but now that I have wings, I'm not so sure anymore."

"Heh...I'll take your word for it," Riku said, bringing a hand up to rub the alicorn's cheek.

"Ooh! Speaking of dresses, I'll have to make new outfits for everypony for the Grand Galloping Gala this year! Terra, I'm going to need you, Riku, and Ventus to come by my boutique when we get back so I can get both your measurements!" Riku and Terra both groaned at the thought of being fitted for a tuxedo for a ball.

"Why do we need to?" Terra asked. "I've heard of the Grand Galloping Gala, and noble dances like that aren't really my thing."

"Well, get used to it," Aqua said, nudging Terra in the side with her elbow. "Since Celestia knows us personally, we're all going to get invitations to go. And like it or not, everyone's going."

As Terra slumped over in irritation, Yen Sid moved on to the next mirror, smirking in amusement as he recalled the most fun Gala Celestia told him about that involved the Mane Six, Sora, and Kairi. The next mirror held Sora's Master Form in the reflection with his yellow clothes.

"This one entitled 'Master Form' gives the user both an increase in physical and magical power," he lectured. "Again, wielding two Keyblades, far faster and stronger in attacks with quicker reflexes and swifter magic casting. It's more of a mastery of the two different styles of fighting a Keyblade wielder can do, even though physical combat is still a mandatory lesson involving self-defense against the Heartless." Pinkie was about to volunteer someone else to shove Sora out of the way to see what they would look like, but Yen Sid was ahead of her, using his magic to keep the excitable mare still. "Moving on, with no more interruptions.

"The next one will give a little sense of déjà vu for some of you." He unveiled the fourth mirror, which showed Sora in what appeared to be his old clothes he wore when he first received his Keyblade, but thankfully, they were the same length as the clothes he wore now. Sora had never realized how embarrassing he must have looked being taller and wearing those smaller clothes after waking up, and he looked a lot better in the ones he wore now. "Limit Form holds Sora's skills he had learned in the past, represented by the older attire he wore back then. His abilities are enhanced, though it is more physical as the skills he uses requires mana to cast. They even have regenerative abilities for each successful hit against his opponents in place of curative magics."

"Yeah, you looked a bit ridiculous in those clothes back then," Riku commented, Sora leering at him in response.

"Oh, gee, thanks," Sora said, though he was a little thankful that everyone was trying to keep the topic away from his Anti Form, if only for a little while longer.

Yen Sid stood behind the fifth mirror, but before he lifted the tarp concealing it, he looked at Sora. "Now, the form in this mirror is far more powerful than Master Form. Sora, can you tell me what you sense just from looking at this mirror while it's covered?"

Sora stepped in front of the fifth mirror, having a feeling this is where his Final Form rested. As he sensed the power emanating from it, he did feel something familiar about it: it was similar to his own strength, but it was also different, as if that power came from someone else.

"...It feels like...someone else that I've fought before," Sora responded. He looked at his master, the wizard nodding his head, giving him permission to remove the tarp. Sora reached out and pulled the covering off of it, revealing the reflection as everyone gasped at what was shown. "Roxas..."

In place of Sora's reflection, mimicking his every motion, was his Nobody. It was so shocking for Aqua and Terra to see Roxas standing in Sora's place in the mirror. He looked a lot like Ventus, but his clothing was styled differently, even though they seemed to match colors. Roxas didn't wear any armor on him, looking more like a normal teenager.

"So...this is Roxas," Aqua finally said. "My goodness...They're so alike..."

"But he's Sora's Nobody, not Ven's," Terra said. "With their hearts connected after what happened to Ven, it was like a slight chance between who his Nobody would appear as."

"So, why is it that Roxas is what his Final Form appears to be?" Lea asked. "From what I heard, isn't his clothing supposed to turn white?"

"Yes, but this form gives him the similar abilities that his Nobody, Roxas, had when his power was fully unleashed," Yen Sid said.

It began making sense to Sora now. He acquired his Final Form while he was in The World That Never Was after he fought Roxas within his own heart. Aside from being able to dual wield Keyblades with the Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades, how he fought was far more than he expected: unleashing a volley of light orbs, firing beams of light with each wild swing he took from his similar style of unexpected swordplay like Sora had, and able to levitate both blades around him while also gliding around and warping around in a flash of light. It was like Sora inherited Roxas's power in that form.

"I guess seeing Roxas again in the flesh isn't possible anymore," Lea said as he scratched his head. "But, when I've got some vacation time, I'll visit pony land and meet Ventus again after all these years...Too bad Isa won't now that he's under some kind of mind control Xehanort placed on him..."

"Maybe we can open the way to the Mirror Pool again and have Sora pull Roxas back out, we could have a fun reunion!" Pinkie suggested, only for the ponies and Sora to have flashbacks to the horde of Pinkie clones running amok in Ponyville.

"We are not doing that!" Twilight said. "Not even to bring Roxas back for only a while so he can see Lea again!"

"Eh, don't worry about it," Lea said, shrugging off the idea. "Ventus looks just like Roxas, so I don't mind it. They're like twins...sort of. But Roxas was Sora's Nobody, so that means they're...half-brothers, kinda-sorta?"

While Sora continued looking at the mirror, he looked behind him in the reflection where Kairi was supposed to stand behind him with Fluttershy and Applejack. Instead of Kairi, he saw Naminé in her place: blonde hair in the same style Kairi used to have it before growing it out, wearing a plain white dress and blue sandals. Ever since Mickey, Donald, and Goofy recovered what had been missing in Jiminy's first journal, the only words inside was the short sentence, "Thank Naminé,", he never really did get the chance to officially thank her for what she did for him, even if he can't really recall those memories. He thought he had a chance while waking the sleeping worlds with Riku, but he had fallen for Xehanort's trap while in the illusion of The World That Never Was and the illusions of his friends, Roxas, Naminé, and that black-haired girl in the black coat Naminé suddenly turned into the moment he blinked. He still had no idea who that girl was, or why she looked like Kairi as well, but he can't help shake the feeling he somehow knew her despite not really knowing her.

"Sora?" Kairi snapped Sora out of his thoughts as he looked back at her. "You went quiet for a moment."

"Oh. I guess I got lost in my thoughts," he said. He looked at the last mirror laid out for him, his blood running cold as he felt a dark presence from beneath the tarp. Everyone was just as anxious to see what lies in the final mirror, though most of them had an idea of what would be seen. Swallowing the growing lump in his throat, Sora stood in front of it, ready to see himself in his Anti Form. "...Ok...So, the last one's how you knew of...my worst Drive Form..."

Yen Sid slowly pulled the tarp away, the strong sense of darkness seeping out as the others backed away in fear. Once the reflection could be seen, Sora winced as he saw himself in his Anti Form. Lea gasped in surprise at the darker reflection of Sora standing like the real one was, finding it creepy that the Heartless was standing there with its yellow, beady eyes seemingly staring at all of them. The magician stepped around to get a better look at Anti Sora, the Heartless mimicking Sora's movements as he lifted up his hand and flexed his fingers.

"So, this is how you looked," Yen Sid said. "I knew of its power, but not its appearance since it is different for each creature who stands before the mirror's surface." Everyone else had kept their distance, avoiding having themselves in the reflection to see what their darkness would look like. "Darkness is like a wild animal: ravenous, out of control, and unpredictable."

"...Was this...even possible for me to shift into this all this time?" Sora asked out of fear.

"No. It is just like you told me earlier. But I have a theory as to why it happens." Yen Sid stared at Anti Sora, a strange Heartless that was a mix between a common Heartless the likes of which Maleficent and Xehanort could control, but as it resembled a person, it could have a mind of its own like Ansem. "As you turned into a Heartless to wake Kairi, you were the first out of any knowledge stored throughout Keyblade wielders' history to have returned back without having your Heartless and Nobody destroyed. Heartless may have a goal to extract all living things with a heart while reaching the heart of each world, but just like Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem, some may have cognitive thought and do much more than anticipated of them."

"...Just like the Dark Hide," Aqua uttered as everyone's attention was on her. She wrapped her arms around herself, looking back at the most life-threatening years of her life in the Realm of Darkness, including her last encounter with the deadly Heartless in Equestria during Nightmare Night. When she was at her most vulnerable, instead of just taking her heart, it wanted a challenge before it finally ended her. It had toyed with her, even after resurrecting several times with each defeat, finding new ways to catch her off guard and able to think of strategies, though they were not well planned out in the past. "That thing had a vendetta against me, toying with me every time we ran into each other...The last time, I was so mad that I couldn't concentrate...and it knew it had the advantage when I expected it to kill me when it didn't..."

Terra noticed Aqua shuddering in fear, her breathing suddenly growing heavy as those moments encountering the Dark Hide came flooding back to her. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her thoughts as she began to calm down upon looking at him. Aqua took a few breaths to calm down, but everyone could still see she was still shaking.

"S-So, Heartless can really think for themselves?" Fluttershy asked, her body shaking in fear as well. "T-That's...really scary..."

"Not all of them," Riku said. "Ansem was the only one we knew of that was somewhat cunning. Especially when he kept trying to come back to take over my heart with his darkness. Thankfully, he's finally out of my life when Sora and I traveled through the sleeping worlds for our Mark of Mastery exam."

"Really?" Twilight asked curiously. "He was that persistent?"

"You have no idea." Riku sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "After Sora stopped him when he tried to open the Door to Darkness, I thought he was destroyed by the light that came out of it. When I appeared in Castle Oblivion, I was haunted by him, his darkness forcefully trying to corrupt my heart and turn me back into him. I thought I would lose, but King Mickey gave me support and helped me fight through it. Once I was close enough to escaping from the basement of that place, I fought back and destroyed him, but not for good.

"Throughout the year Sora fell asleep, the real Ansem, who was known as DiZ at that time, helped me a little while I escaped, he gave me the same black coat Organization XIII wore to hide myself from them and I used a black blindfold to help me suppress my darkness." Pinkie lifted her hoof, waving it around wildly. Riku rolled his eyes as the party pony interrupted him. "Yes, Pinkie?"

"How can putting a blindfold over your eyes keep you from using darkness?" she asked. "And you can't see where you're going with a blindfold on. Were you also playing a never-ending game of pin the tail on the pony, too?"

"I could still see through it. It was used as a reminder that I hated what I did when Ansem took control over me...I even used it while escaping Castle Oblivion to fight back against the Nobodies who were there at the time, even a replica of myself one of them created." Lea remembered the Nobodies who were assigned to Castle Oblivion, three of them he knew of where back in Radiant Garden while he had no idea who Larxene and Marluxia's real selves were and if they were back. At least he wouldn't have to deal with the only girl from the Organization with her sadistic nature anymore. "When I finally found Roxas, I was losing against him and finally took off my blindfold, unleashing the darkness and transformed into Ansem. I was still myself after that, but with my appearance changed and giving in to using that power, I was resigned to my fate looking like the Heartless who caused so much trouble for us."

"So, how did you turn back to normal?" Rainbow asked. "Shouldn't you have stayed like that evil Ansem?"

"It's...kind of difficult to explain how that happened," Riku admitted, unable to fully understand why or how. "When we finally stormed Organization XIII's castle, Ansem the Wise was there with a strange device he had aimed at the Kingdom Hearts they created from all the hearts they gathered. The machine malfunctioned and blew up, then a blinding light flashed as it exploded, and as soon as we could see, I was back to my old self. It somehow...cleansed me of the darkness that changed me, no longer burdened by it.

"But that wasn't the end of Heartless Ansem, no thanks to Xehanort a couple years back," Riku continued. "During mine and Sora's Mark of Mastery exam, Young Xehanort was able to travel back in time and brought him back, using him as one of the thirteen seeds of darkness Xehanort needed to create the X-blade. It was like no matter where I went, no matter how many times I wanted to avoid him, he keeps coming back to try to haunt me. But I was done running away and fought him again, hopefully putting an end to him constantly coming back. I faced my darkness head on and I'm no longer afraid of it, but even though I've conquered it, I still regret the actions I've done despite moving on from them."

"Hopefully we don't see that Ansem ever again," Twilight said. She looked at Anti Sora, her skin crawling just from the soulless eyes staring at them. "So, what exactly can we do about...that? Can Sora find some way to control it?"

"Taming the Heartless is considered very dangerous," Yen Sid said. "Those like Xehanort and Maleficent, with darkness in their hearts, can control them, but it is not an easy feat. If they in any way show weakness, the Heartless can retaliate and take their hearts. But if Sora were to face his own darkness, if in any way he confronts it and fights with it, then he may end up in the same state Ventus was in the past."

"His heart shattered from destroying Vanitas, leaving him comatose as his light ended up elsewhere," Aqua uttered.

"Correct," Yen Sid said with a nod, the others now greatly worried if Sora were to try to beat his darkness into obedience. Sora looked at his reflection, the dark form that had began haunting him the moment it first appeared mere weeks after gaining his Drive Forms. He clenched his fists, sick of his own darkness just like Riku was with his own/Ansem's darkness, always dreading what it would do to his friends and family if it appeared. "The only possible way this can finally end is if Sora were to give up this power I gave him. With no ability to activate his forms, there won't be any worry of his darkness taking place of what he decides to become in any situation."

"But what about his Harmony Form?" Kairi asked. "Is that going to be taken away, too?"

"Even that will be inaccessible to him." The Mane Six gasped in shock.

"But there's no mirror for that!" Rainbow pointed out. "I-It can't be gone with the others, right!?"

"Even though we have our new rainbow power thanks to the Tree of Harmony, Sora might need Harmony Form to stop anymore threats we have in Equestria alongside us," Twilight said. "Taking that away is like taking away a part of us for him. Would that mean he'll also lose the Keyblades of Harmony?"

"...I really don't know," Yen Sid admitted. "But given the circumstances and the risks I knew would be grave, in order to keep this darkness of Sora's from haunting him, then there is no other-"

"I'm not giving up my Drives," Sora disagreed, the magician turning to glance at him while the others flinched at his response. Sora leered at his Anti Form, which would have mimicked his actions if it didn't have those yellow eyes. "I'm done being afraid of this thing. If I have to quit using my forms, I don't want to give them up when I really need them. I'll stop using them if that's the case." He looked down at his hand, lifting it up to the mirror to see his reflection's dark claws. "But if I can beat it, I'll show it just who's really in charge of my body. My heart."

"Sora, that's just crazy," Terra said. "That Anti Form is far too fast to even keep up with."

"And nothing could stop it or leave a single scratch," Kairi added. "Even if you could, how would you know if you can even beat it yourself?"

"I was always trapped within my heart every time it decided to take control," Sora said. "That Heartless was lucky I was being held down when I struggled to break free. This time, I'm going to make it a fair fight, nothing holding us back."

"Yeah!" Pinkie cheered. "Show that evil dark you what for! Teach it a lesson!"

While Pinkie agreed to Sora's idea, the others were a bit more concerned about it. They all knew of the risk if Sora accidentally killed his darkness, even he did, and they all knew he was sick of feeling guilty for what his Anti Form tried to do to them. Whether he was desperate to put an end to this nightmare or too stubborn to give up all of his Drive Forms, they thought it was probably both.

After much silence and deep thinking, Yen Sid finally spoke. "...Well, if you think that you are able to master this darkness of yours, that is your decision. But it will be far too dangerous to enter your heart alone."

"M-Master Yen Sid!?" Aqua exclaimed in surprise. "You're really allowing this!? Sora could-!"

"I won't destroy my darkness," Sora interjected. "I might not get it to cooperate with me, but I'll show it I'm stronger than it. That my light is stronger in my heart than my darkness."

As much as Aqua wanted to protest about this, she could see Sora wasn't going to back down. Reluctantly, she sighed and gave in, hoping she wouldn't regret this. Yen Sid placed the covers back over the mirrors and moved them back to their original places in the room.

"Let's make some room, everyone," Yen Sid ordered. "Riku, just like the last time, be careful while you're in Sora's heart."

"How exactly can somepony go into another's heart?" Twilight asked.

"It's basically the same as traveling into a dream, but that person needs to be in a deep sleep," Riku explained as Sora laid down in the middle of the room. "It's also pretty dangerous for anyone to fall asleep while traveling through the sleeping worlds, making you an easy target for Nightmares."

"'Nightmares'?" Applejack asked. "And y'all can walk through dreams?"

"Sora and I have done it, but I don't know if Aqua or Terra have." Riku turned to the more experienced Keyblade wielders, but they both shook their heads.

"I've read of it before, but Terra and I have never traveled through dreams before," Aqua said. "Not even as a lesson while we were apprentices."

"And to answer your question about Nightmares, Applejack, they're actually called Dream Eaters," Sora said. "They're like Heartless, but they take the shape of animals and affect the dreams of sleeping worlds and people. But there are also tame ones that are called Spirits, a lot more friendly and helpful partners against Nightmares."

"Oh...Now Ah'm afraid of havin' a dream if them Nightmares are worse than a normal nightmare," Applejack uttered.

"Riku, I'm coming with you," Kairi said as she stepped forward. "I hate seeing Sora suffer with this, and I want to help him get through this."

"You think you can handle dream traveling for the first time?" Riku asked, Kairi nodding her head confidently.

"Even with Spirits helping you, that Anti Sora's going to be a problem with just you two," Kairi said.

"Can I come along?" Twilight asked, her eyes glinting with curiosity as she tapped her forehooves together. "I want to see what these Dream Eaters look like." Riku blankly stared with a raised brow at the alicorn, crossing his arms across his chest and tapped his foot. Her thirst for knowledge had the same stubborn streak as Sora's stubbornness in proving he was better than him. "My Harmony Links could be helpful if things get worse."

"She did save you yesterday using her Links," Kairi reminded the unamused Keyblade Master. "You may save her on occasion, but she also saved you, and us, a few times as well."

Riku groaned, looking at Yen Sid, Aqua, and Terra for backup. Aqua was a little against letting Twilight go along as she was still a novice in fighting for herself without assistance, but her abilities with the links that came from her friends have been helpful in the past. While distracted by their decision, Twilight approached him and reared up on her hind legs, leaning against him as she looked at him, giving him pleading, puppy dog eyes with a little pout for added measure.

"Oh, come on, Twilight," Riku moaned in agony. "Not the face." The others began snickering as Twilight used her cute charm as a weapon, more dangerous than her fighting ability. "Ugh...Fine."

"Yes!" Twilight cheered, her excited dance halted as her boyfriend picked her up and looked her straight in the eye.

"But you stay behind Kairi and I, and don't wander off. Got it, you dorky knowledge-seeker?" She grumbled and scrunched her face in annoyance at being called a dork, but she nodded her head.

He lowered the alicorn back down to the ground, giving her a light boop on the nose. Kairi knelt beside Sora as Yen Sid prepared his magic to place him in a deep sleep, grabbing his hand, noticing the anxiety he was feeling.

"We'll be there soon, Sora," she said, leaning down to give him a light peck on the cheek. "Don't go finding your dark self before we get there."

"If I'm crazy enough to give up my heart for you, then don't be surprised if I do," Sora said with a cheeky grin. "But seriously, I won't run on ahead by myself."

Kairi gave Sora a light bop on the head for his dumb joke, standing back up as she was ready to dive into his heart with Riku and Twilight. "Are you ready, Sora?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Sora answered his master, giving him a thumbs up.

With a wave of his hand, Yen Sid cast his spell, light sparkles sprinkling down over the teen. Sora soon began feeling drowsy as the spell immediately began taking effect, his eyes closing as he drifted into a deep sleep. Riku then summoned his Keyblade, concentrating on the light from Sora's heart as he aimed it out in front of him. Releasing a beam of light, it created a portal into the sleeping wielder's heart, the mares all staring in awe.

"Ooooh. Pretty," Pinkie said.

"Is this safe?" Twilight asked. "I'm not going to turn into a human again, am I?"

"I don't think so," Riku said. "Let's hurry and find Sora before he gets impatient and runs off to find his Heartless."

Letting the girls go first, Kairi walked on through, though Twilight was a little nervous along with her excitement. The alicorn stepped through, then Riku walked in last, the portal disappearing behind him, the others forced to wait until they return.

"Is there any way we can see what's going on inside Sora?" Rainbow asked. "I don't want to miss the action."

"Hmmm...There might be a way..." Levitating a spellbook from one of the shelves, Yen Sid skimmed through the pages until he found what he was searching for. After closing the book, he then lifted a plain mirror in the room with his telekinesis, placing it beside Sora as the reflective surface faced the others. Rolling up his sleeves, the magician held out his hands as he cast a spell, a flash of light shining from Sora's chest that dimmed out as the mirror shined after. As the light faded from the glass, an image waved about until it finally stopped, where everyone now saw Twilight and Kairi slowly falling through darkness. "There. We will be able to see everything inside through Riku's point of view."

"Heh. Pretty convenient, gramps," Lea complimented, only to get smacked in the face by a flung book by Aqua.

"Show some respect for your superiors!" she exclaimed.

"Sheesh. Women are so touchy." His comment received looks from all the girls present in the room, most of them leering at him disdainfully. "What?"

"Lea, you're just digging yourself into a deeper hole," Terra said.

"Hey! Twilight looks different!" Pinkie noted as everyone looked back at the mirror.





Twilight felt herself falling down into a void, apparently feeling like she passed out after stepping into the portal Riku created. Opening her eyes, she noticed the same empty void she was in before when Aqua helped her find her light to create her Keyblade armor. Slowly falling upside down, she looked up and saw a glowing platform below: Sora sporting his older clothing since his journey began, resting on one side with Keyblade in hand, head shots of Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy in circles on the top left, and on the bottom was an overlook of a seaside, a palm tree leaning from the left of the image with a paopu fruit hanging off its branches.

While amazed by the image on the platform, Twilight realized she was getting closer to it as she began slowly flipping over onto her hooves. She instinctively flapped her wings as her descent slowed on its own, never going to get used to how she'll appear in these realms. She heard Riku and Kairi land behind her, turning around to get a good look at them when she noticed their appearances had changed slightly.

Riku's style of clothing was similar with a few differences than back outside the dream worlds: his vest was white with a yellow back and a black collar, his jeans were a paler blue, a black belt with a silver buckle around his waist, white high top shoes, and on the back of his vest was a black, curvy sigil Twilight had never seen before. Kairi wore a completely different outfit instead of her usual dress. She now wore a bright pink tank top with a white heart over her breast, differently shaped and colored hearts on the back that connected into a bigger one, a pair of matching pink thigh-high shorts, and pink and white striped sneakers.

"Whoa," Twilight uttered. "When did you two make a sudden wardrobe change?"

Kairi looked over herself, surprised at the new look, but it was a little better than trying to fight in a skirt. "I kinda like this. I should ask Rarity to make something like this for me. No more fighting Heartless in that old dress of mine."

"Well, I looked like this after Sora and I got separated when we first went into the dream realm," Riku said. "We even had our old clothes when we started out, but they changed due to Xehanort luring us into a trap. Mostly for Sora. But we're not the only ones. Take a look at yourself, Twilight."

Looking down at herself, Twilight noticed the vest she was wearing. From the six-pointed fuchsia star on her chest that was just like her cutie mark, the points separating six different sections of her vest into different colors matching hers and her friends' coats: starting clockwise from the top left, purple, white, pink, yellow, blue, and orange. She figured her clothing was a symbol of her and her friends' friendship, all of them there for her no matter where she went.

"At least I'm not a human," Twilight said after admiring her clothing. "Better at fighting with all four legs than just two." As she looked at Riku, she couldn't help but wonder what that sigil was on the back of his vest. "What kind of symbol is that, Riku?"

"That's the symbol that Dream Eaters bear on them," he explained as he turned around and pointed his thumb at his backside. "For Sora, I was his Dream Eater, ironically enough."

"You're a Dream Eater?" Twilight asked. "...Does this mean we're all Dream Eaters?"

"In a sense, maybe, but it looks like I'm the only one with it," he said, turning back around to Kairi and Twilight. "Like I said earlier about Dream Eaters, the ones you need to watch out for are Nightmares. They're easy to tell them and Spirits apart since they have darker, more foreboding colors, and red eyes."

"And Spirits?" Twilight asked curiously.

"More bright and colorful, easily able to stand out in a dark room," he answered. "Might be hard to believe, but I'll show you."

Bringing his fingers to his mouth, Riku let out a whistle that echoed around the realm of Sora's heart. Suddenly appearing in front of them in a flash of light, a brightly colored bat popped in with a squeak. Twilight was astounded by the dream bat's multicolored form, watching it flitter around before landing on Riku's shoulder.

"You really weren't kidding when you said they were pretty colorful," Kairi said.

"This is a Komory Bat," Riku introduced, Komory Bat waving a wing at Kairi and Twilight. "This is one of the first of many Spirits I've met. Or, more like created, actually."

"Created?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, Spirits can be created from special dream items Nightmares drop," he explained as his bat companion nodded its head in agreement. "Of course, getting them can be a pain, but Sora and I managed to create every single one of them. At least we aren't separated and need to drop every so often." Before Twilight could ask what dropping meant, Komory Bat flapped over to her and landed on her head, interrupting her as she leered at the dream bat making its perch in her hair. "I would usually end up passing out like I had narcolepsy, but Sora and I couldn't go through the sleeping worlds at the same time while we actually had been going through them at the same time, too."

"How does that make any-?" Twilight was interrupted by the Komory Bat draping its wings over her eyes. "Ok, I thought you were kind of cute, but now you're getting a little on my nerves."

"They can also have different personalities depending on their disposition." Riku commanded Komory Bat back over to him, the bat flapping off the alicorn's head and landing on his outstretched arm.

"'Disposition'?" Kairi asked. Riku gave Komory Bat a few pokes on the face, confusing the two girls as it somehow liked it as it sparkled a little. Eventually, the bat's green eyes had suddenly turned blue after enough poking, changing its disposition as it flapped over to Kairi and began nuzzling her. "W-What in the world just happened? Its eyes changed."

"Depending on how you pet or poke them, their disposition will change, which is seen by their eye color," Riku explained. "But as much as I'd love to keep explaining how the Dream Eaters function, we need to find-"

"Hey! There you guys are!" Looking out across the void of nothingness, while they were too distracted by Komory Bat and teaching Kairi and Twilight about Dream Eaters, they spotted Sora waving at them from another platform several yards away. His clothes didn't change, whether it was because he was in his own dream and entered the confines of his heart or the dream clothes he did wear were Xehanort's creation as he lured him and Riku into his trap. "I guess we ended up dropping in at different spots! I was looking all over for you guys!"

"You didn't run off and encounter your darkness, did you!?" Kairi asked. "If you did, so help me-!"

"I didn't!" he replied, waving his hands in front of him defensively. A staircase appeared in a flash of light between the two platforms, the steps more like small stain glass flooring almost similar to the images on the ground they stood on. Riku, Kairi, and Twilight met Sora on the next platform. "Good thing I didn't wander too far. Now, let's go find that Heartless and show him a thing or two."

"Where exactly do we go to find it?" Twilight asked. "There's not really a lot of places to go in your heart...or do they just show up at random like those stairs?"

Sora scratched his head in thought as he looked around the emptiness around them. "I think he might be hiding somewhere deep in my heart. Which could be anywhere."

"Please don't tell us it's really that big," Twilight groaned. "With how many friends you have, I'm surprised it hasn't been filled with their memories all the way to the brim."

"It's really hard to say," Sora said. "I think it gets bigger and bigger every time I end up here." Suddenly, a doorway appeared behind Sora, but he wasn't as surprised as the other three when he turned around to look at it. "Let's try looking through there."

"And...where exactly would 'there' be?" Riku asked. He then noticed Komory Bat acting strangely as it landed on Kairi's shoulder, Kairi herself seeing the sudden behavior the bat had from its wary gaze on Sora. "Komory, what's the matter?"

"I guess it might be nervous about fighting my darkness," Sora said as he approached Kairi. "It is pretty powerful, but we can handle it, right, buddy?" He reached out to pet the bat, only for it to screech at him and flap away, landing on Twilight's back. "...Ok. Someone must be cranky today. Were you woken up too early, Komo?"

To the others' surprise, Komory Bat hissed at Sora, staying far away from him. Riku found this odd, considering the two of them shared the Dream Eaters they each made. They were supposed to be loyal companions to them, but Komory Bat seemed to hate him for some odd reason. The bat's disposition was meant to make it friendly and resort to being a supportive healer at the moment, but the wariness and distance it had for Sora was confusing.

"Ok...No idea why Komory's acting like this..." Riku shook his head, shrugging off the bat's odd behavior toward Sora. "I'll call more Dream Eaters to accompany us. We can use two at a time in battle, and use either one or both their powers to increase our strength."

He called in more Dream Eaters to assist them, five of them appearing before them. Riku kept Komory Bat and a Sir Kyroo, Kairi had a Wheeflower and a Tama Sheep, and Twilight a Majik Lapin and a Peepsta Hoo. The summoned Dream Eaters stood beside their partners, but just like Komory Bat, they all seemed to be wary of Sora.

"Sora, aren't you going to need some Dream Eater assistance, too?" Twilight asked.

"Nah. I think I can handle myself solo," he said, which was odd for Kairi after feeling how apprehensive Sora was before diving into his heart. He somehow felt completely confident taking on his darkness on his own in only a few moments, and the Spirits were staying far away from him like he had some kind of disease or did something awful to them. "Let's not waste any time and get to searching for that Heartless!"

Sora approached the door and opened it up, the doorway shining a bright light that nearly blinded Twilight. He offered his friends and girlfriend to go first, the trio and their Spirits making their way inside first. Once the light faded as they passed through, Riku, Kairi, and Twilight got a better look at where they ended up: Destiny Islands. Highly confused being brought here, Kairi and Riku turned around to Sora, only to see the door they went through had disappeared without him walking through.

"What the heck just happened?" Kairi asked. "Why didn't Sora walk through?"

"He's really not planning to find his Heartless by himself, is he?" Riku asked. "And he better not have trapped us in here."

"Where exactly are we, anyway?" Twilight asked.

"The island we played on back home," Riku answered, but as he stepped across the sand, he had a horrible feeling of déjà vu with how silent the place was. If this was a memory of a place Sora had been in, which he has several times throughout his life, there should have been the sound of the ocean waves lapping at the shore, but the water was completely still. "Something's not right..."

"Yeah," Kairi agreed, looking out at the eerily calm ocean. "We need to find some way out of here, and find Sora."

Komory Bat's ears perked up, hearing something with its supersonic hearing. It squeaked, alerting the other Spirits as they looked out to the small island platform where the paopu fruit tree stood, though it seemed to be much further away from the main island than it should have been. The Dream Eaters began running/flying up to the wooden bridge and went toward the island, surprising the trio of Keyblade wielders.

"Where are they going!?" Twilight exclaimed.

"I have no idea, but they sound really freaked out," Riku said. "Come on! We better follow them!"

Riku, Kairi, and Twilight chased after them, leaping up onto the bridge and running across to the island. As they ran across the incredibly lengthy bridge, the sky began to grow darker, black storm clouds blocking out the sun. They were feeling a bit unnerved as the atmosphere grew dreary, the ocean drying up as the island farther ahead looked bigger and appeared to have been struck by a terrible hurricane.

"Riku, what's happening?" Kairi asked. "Is Sora having some kind of nightmare?"

"Not inside his own heart. But I hope that's not the case." He grimaced as he recalled what had happened to Sora as he fell asleep in the dreaming realm, darkness swirling around him inside of the barrier he was contained in. It was worse when he dove into his heart to free him from his darkness, where his body was encased in black armor that resembled Ventus's Keyblade armor. "Sora, what is wrong with you?"

After what felt like several hours of running, they finally reached the large, weather destroyed island. Many of the trees were nearly blown out of the ground from their roots, debris from what looked like pieces of the treehouse and shed back on the island were torn off and flung from the untouched main island. Even the paopu tree had been broken away, leaving only a stump behind while the rest was lost to the endless abyss of the empty sea beneath them.

In the middle of the now floating island, they spotted the six Dream Eaters crowding around something, letting out cries of worry over something they sensed where they couldn't. Approaching the friendly, multi-colored dream creatures, Riku, Kairi, and Twilight gasped in surprise as they saw Sora laying on the ground, unconscious and slightly battered.

"S-Sora!?" Kairi exclaimed. "Oh my gosh! What happened to him!?"

"How did he even get here?" Riku questioned, now having a feeling that something was really wrong with Sora earlier, or whoever it really was they met outside of this desolate version of Destiny Islands.

"Hey, guys!" Quickly turning around in surprise, the Keyblade wielders and Dream Eaters spotted the other, uninjured Sora. He stood there calmly with a grin, giving them a wave. "Had to take a detour after that door closed on me." The Dream Eaters growled and stood in front of their Keyblade wielding partners in defense, giving the teen a view of the other Sora laying unconscious. "Huh. Looks like you got to him before I did. Shame I missed out on the fun."

"...I am so confused!" Twilight shouted. "What is happening!?"

Riku looked back at the knocked out Sora, seeing him still breathing and grunt as he slowly began to wake up. Turning back to the other Sora, he now realized why the Dream Eaters were acting so strangely: the Sora before them by the bridge connecting the islands wasn't the real Sora, and the one behind them was the real one.

"...Who are you?" Riku growled, clenching his fists angrily.

"Sora" let out a mocked gasp, placing a hand over his chest in feigned shock. "What do you mean by that, Riku? Don't tell me you suddenly forgot about your best friend. I'm hurt."

"Cut the act, you fake!" Riku summoned his Keyblade, readying himself for the impostor's tricks. "What did you do to Sora!?"

"But I am Sora," the fake said. "You guys are clearly being tricked by that darkness pretending to be hurt. And with your backs turned, he's gonna jump you and kill you before you could even say, 'Oh no.'"

"Ugh...What happened?" Sora got up on his knees with a groan, rubbing his head as he looked up. Spotting his double, he growled and stood up, wincing as his body was still wracked with pain. "I can't believe I didn't hear him sneak up behind me."





As Sora floated down into the depths of his heart, he flipped over and landed on his feet. Looking down at what the platform he landed on depicted, it seemed a bit new since the last time he dove into his own heart.
In the center of image was himself as a pegasus, wings outstretched as his feathers left wide enough gaps for six circles with Twilight's, Pinkie's, Rainbow's, Rarity's, Applejack's, and Fluttershy's faces in each one. Above him were the sun and moon cutie marks of Princess Celestia and Luna, respectively leaving the sides they were on as day and night, while on the outer edge of the circular platform were faces of many familiar ponies he's met in Equestria: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, the Cakes, Cheerilee, Cadence, Shining Armor, Zecora, and many more.

"Huh. Quite a nice new addition," Sora said to himself before looking back up toward the vast emptiness. "Now, to wait for Riku, Kairi, and Twilight to get here. I just hope they didn't come in through another way."

While he pondered how to reach them from where he stood, Sora didn't notice the dark figure slowly approaching him as it rose up from a shadow hidden in the ground. He felt something behind him, but as he turned around, he was suckered punched in the face by a dark fist and was met with a barrage that greatly injured him, the painful blows knocking him unconscious. Standing above Sora, the dark figure's body shifted to mimic him, matching his skin tone, hair color, clothing colors, and the small glint of yellow fading as its eyes matched his blue ones. Chuckling sinisterly, the fake Sora snapped his fingers, creating a pool of darkness to appear underneath the Keyblade wielder, sending him to the ruined island. Once he was gone, he heard Riku's whistle as he summoned his Komory Bat, slowly making his way across to where the trio of dream droppers landed.

"You idiots just ask for death to come crawling at your feet," the fake said, his voice a bit deeper and more menacing than Sora's own, yet sounding similarly like his.





"What in tarnation is goin' on in there!?" Applejack asked as everyone's eyes were glued to the mirror where they saw the doppelganger Sora standing across from them and the other Sora slowly getting back on his feet. "There's two Soras!"

"Which one's the real one!?" Pinkie questioned.

"I think it's the one that's actually injured, Pinkie," Lea said. "That other one must be his darkness impersonating him. And if he can talk, than he's more than a simple, common Heartless."

"Now look what you guys are doing," the fake Sora said, eyeing the real Sora behind Riku, Kairi, and Twilight. "It's back up on its feet. Guess I've got to do the dirty work now, but that's my favorite part."

The double snapped his fingers, causing a lightning strike to hit the bridge, shattering it to pieces. Wood flew off everywhere as the storm grew worse, the others shielding their faces from the flying debris while the winds grew harsher, spiraling around the island in a massive tornado, keeping them trapped inside.

"Oh great, now we're stuck with him," Riku muttered, the flash of light from the corner of his eye coming from Kairi and Twilight's blades appearing as they prepared to fight.

"I can handle that weak thing," the fake said as he slowly stepped forward. He stopped as the Dream Eaters all let out their cries in anger, warning the impostor to not move. "Sora" chuckled, ignoring their warnings as he leered at them. "You pathetic animals still think I'm the bad guy?" Without giving a response, they all charged forward, readying their fighting abilities as they got closer. The fake smirked and moved his arm back, shocking Riku as he mimicked his fighting stance. "...Then you're absolutely right."

All six Spirits attacked, but as they made contact, they seemed to phase through the impostor as his body was left behind as an afterimage. As it disappeared, the fake reappeared behind them, his arm slashing across with a Keyblade now in his hand, the Dream Eaters suddenly stopping as they were struck. As the Dream Eaters fell and burst into light, immediately destroyed to the shock of Riku and Sora as their dream animal companions were slaughtered, Terra and Aqua gasped in horror as they recognized the Keyblade in the fake Sora's hand: a gray, black, and red blade, the hilt and teeth shaped like cogs in a mechanism, and two blue cat-like irises, one on the head of the blade and one at the hilt.

"No...That's impossible," Terra uttered.

"Vanitas," Aqua mumbled. "How is he still alive?"

The fake chuckled as he lifted his head up, his blue eyes now yellow as he moved back into his fighting stance, a dark aura surrounding his body from underneath him. Veiled in the darkness for a short amount of time, fading away as Vanitas revealed himself. Everyone, both inside Sora's heart and watching from the mirror gasped as they saw him in his true form: he looked so much like Sora, only a bit more muscular than him with black hair, yellow eyes, and paler skin, and now wearing a full body black and red suit that looked similar to Riku's clothing when he had used the power of darkness in the past. Terra and Aqua stared at the darkness that was once Ventus's nightmare, unsure how Vanitas was still alive, though they had a feeling if his light made its way to Sora, then so would his darkness, or even a part of it.

"Wait, wasn't this Vanitas supposed to be Ventus's darkness?" Rainbow asked. "Why the hay does he look like Sora?"

"The difference could have been due to Xehanort's plans to use Ventus in the past," Yen Sid said as he stroked his beard, keeping his eyes on the mirror as he gazed at the manic darkness of Ventus's. "It may be similar to how Roxas differs from Sora as his Nobody. Losing a part of your heart, light or darkness, is quite dangerous, but it is possible that Sora's heart had once reached out to Ventus before when Vanitas was forcefully extracted from his heart. It would come full circle: Vanitas looks more like Sora as Ventus's darkness, while Roxas looks like Ventus as Sora's empty shell."

"...That explains the wrath Sora's Anti Form unleashed when it appears," Aqua said. "Vanitas was the epitome of everything that was darkness in Ventus's heart. And now he's also Sora's darkness..." Clenching her fists, she summoned her Keyblade and approached Sora's sleeping form. She wasn't going to let a monster like Vanitas ruin Ventus's or Sora's life ever again. "I'm going in there to help them."

"Same here," Terra said, summoning his own Keyblade. "I've got a score to settle with that punk from our fight in the Keyblade Graveyard."

"If he's a part of Sora's darkness, we can't risk killing him," Aqua reminded him.

"I know that. I just want payback after he kept flinging all those Keyblades at me from that wasteland." Aqua and Terra stepped up to Sora, the Keyblade Master holding out her Keyblade as she recalled how to access a sleeping world's or person's dreams.

"Let's see if I can remember how this works," she said as her blade fired a beam of light in front of them, successfully creating a portal of light linked to Sora's heart.

"Be careful while inside," Yen Sid warned. "Whatever Vanitas has done, there isn't any way to escape that part of Sora's heart unless you can whither away his energy. You might end up trapped in Sora's heart for good if you fail."

"Yes, Master," the duo said, stepping forward and diving into the sleeping teen's heart.

"There's no way that Sora look-alike will stand a chance against all six of them...right?" Rainbow asked.

"Mickey had informed me of his encounters with Vanitas," Yen Sid said as he looked back at the mirror. "Vantias may boast about his power, but he can definitely show it...That is the power of pure darkness from the heart of an innocent."





Sora growled, forced to watch six of his and Riku's Dream Eater companions get destroyed in one fell swoop by his double; his darkness as well as Ventus's. "You're going to pay for that!"

"Oh, quite you crying," Vanitas said with a smirk. "You can always make more. That's all they are; useless little puppets to obey their master's every whim."

"Just who are you!?" Twilight asked. "And why do you look like Sora!? Are you his Heartless!?"

"You'd wish I was, but I did look like him," Vanitas responded. "I was Ventus's darkness, his other, better half, but it looks like I found a new place inside Sora's. I am Vanitas, or 'Anti Sora' if you want to keep calling me that ridiculous name."

"Guess that makes sense," Riku said. "If Ventus came back, then so did you. But you're in my friend's heart and not Ven's anymore."

"I'm sure part of me is still in that wimpy half of mine. Doesn't matter to me now that I've got an even better victim to mess around with." As Vanitas looked at Sora, his smirk turned into a scowl. "Although, it would be if you didn't find a way to break free while I tried to have my fun."

"I'm not going to let you hurt my friends!" Sora yelled, summoning his own Keyblade. "You almost made me kill my mom! I'm sick and tired of you doing this just to try and tear me away from my friends!"

"Sora, did you know this was him controlling you in your Anti Form?" Kairi asked.

"He was always a silhouette of me every time I was forced in my heart, but this is surprising for me, too," Sora said.

"You all should have just let me kill you yesterday instead of fight back against something you can't stop," Vanitas said. He suddenly teleported behind them, giving Sora a swift slash across his back, sending him flying across the sand. Riku quickly turned and tried to slash him back while Kairi and Twilight leapt back. Vanitas easily blocked Riku's attack and began pushing him back, Riku struggling to push back as his feet skid across the sand. "Jumping straight into Sora's heart to try to confront me just made it even easier for me to kill you."

"You kill Sora, you die as well!" Riku said, shoving aside Vanitas's Keyblade and lunged forward.

It looked like he hit his mark, but his blade went straight through an after image, Vanitas suddenly appearing behind Riku and slamming down on top of him from above, pinning him to the ground. "I know that, genius. You think I'd want to end my own life by killing the idiot I'm forcefully connected to? Ventus killed us, but the both of us wound up in Sora's heart in one way or another. I'll find a way to take control of him-" Vanitas stomped his foot down hard on Riku's back, making him grunt in pain. "-and then go after that pathetic runt, Ven-!"

Twilight flew straight into Vanitas, kicking him hard in the face with her hind legs at blinding speed, sending the dark Keyblade wielder flying across the island. Flipping back and skidding to a halt, he growled and leered at the alicorn, the six Elements on her chain glowing brightly on the hilt of her Keyblade. Even her vest was glowing, connected to her abilities as she used all six of her Harmony Links.

"We're not going to let that happen!" Twilight said.

Vanitas brought a hand to his cheek where Twilight struck him, letting out a dark chuckle as he grinned sadistically at the mare. "Oooooh...Shouldn't have done that," he muttered loudly. "You know, star butt, you and your little horse friends were lucky knocking me out the last time. Luck will always run out, just like it always does with Sora when he tries not to have me come out. Even with your new powers, you won't even last a full minute against the likes of me!"

He sprinted after Twilight faster than the alicorn could blink, her links' instincts kicking in as she quickly blocked the flurry of strikes Vanitas unleashed. Their blades clashed and sent sparks flying everywhere as Twilight remained on the defensive. Sora stood up after getting sucker punched again, unable to believe just how fast Vanitas truly was. It was already difficult for him to wrestle back control of himself in his Anti Form, but actually taking the dark double of him was far more dangerous than he expected. He had no idea how Ventus, Terra, and Aqua were able to deal with him, but he wasn't going to let him harm his friends anymore.

"Sora!" Kairi ran up to him, concerned of his injuries and the back attack Vanitas gave him. She cast Cure on him, healing some of his injuries. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not sure," he said. Looking back at the fight, Twilight seemed to be keeping up with Vanitas thanks to the speed boost her Loyalty Link gave her, but it was close to impossible to land a single hit on him when he's able to teleport around and leave afterimages of himself to trick them. "Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Now I got us stuck here in this destroyed version of Destiny Islands he created. He must have heard everything we said, just like Ventus had done for so long."

"Don't blame yourself. We didn't even know he still existed." While Twilight encased herself in a pink barrier to protect herself from Vanitas's attacks, Riku got back up on his feet and dashed forward. Vanitas blocked his Keyblade as the two clashed, Twilight breaking free of her spell and joining the fray, but despite the pincer attack, Vanitas was still able to dodge and parry their blades with his own, constantly warping around them after each "successful" strike hits an illusion. "We're already here, and you can fight your way out of any difficult situation. Right?"

"Not this time!" Vanitas appeared behind them, giving Kairi a powerful roundhouse kick to the back of her head, sending her rolling across the sand. Sora growled and tried to retaliate, his Keyblade blocked by Vanitas's as he struck. The evil twin of his cackled at the infuriated look on Sora's face. "Did I hit your girlfriend? That was meant for you, but I guess I'll smack around a Princess of Heart. Maybe I should kill her first before dealing with your best friend and his animal lover, huh?"

"You stay away from them!" Sora yelled, pushing Vanitas back and slashing wildly.

Vanitas backflipped away, leaping high in the air and slashed the air, sending dark energy beams raining down at the angle of his swing. Sora rolled underneath them and leapt after him, both spiky-haired wielders clashing blades in the air. Twilight helped Kairi back on her feet while Riku ran in, whistling loudly as he called in more Dream Eaters to assist him, this time summoning a Halbird and a Keeba Tiger.

"He keeps teleporting away," Twilight said. "I don't think we're even leaving as much as a scratch on him, just like if he was controlling Sora's Anti Form."

"He's bound to get exhausted," Kairi said, rubbing her head as she winced in pain. "He can't last forever, and we have him outnumbered."

Vanitas and Sora landed on the ground, the latter on the defensive as the former warped around and tried slashing at him from his blind spots. He was interrupted as the Halbird zoomed forward, managing to strike Vanitas in the back with its talons and distract him. While leering at the taunting Halbird as it posed, its body sparkling as it showed off, Keeba Tiger lunged at Vanitas with a roar. He got a taste of his own medicine as he tried to strike the tiger, only for it to hit an illusion as it reappeared behind him, pouncing on him while sinking its teeth into his shoulder.

Before he could slash the Keeba Tiger and kill it, Riku appeared in front of his Dream Eater companion, defending him while encased in a barrier. "Not this time!" Riku said before unleashing a shockwave of darkness around him, shoving Vanitas back as the dream tiger let go.

Just as he was about to sprint after his next to Dream Eater victims, he was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning from a Thundaga spell by Kairi. She then began casting Firaga, but he deflected the spell, the fireball exploding as it hit the devastating winds surrounding the island, and aimed his sights on her.

"If I had known you would have been important many years ago when I was in Radiant Garden, I would have killed you when you were just a weak, pathetic little-!" Vanitas was suddenly flung up in the air as his foot stepped on an invisible Mine Twilight had cast out of his field of vision. As he landed, he growled, though his sight was swirling as he was afflicted with confusion. "W-What the hell!? Who did-!?"

As he stepped in another direction, he stepped on another Mine spell, unable to escape from the sudden blast radius yet again. He kept walking through the magical minefield blindly, though it seemed the only negative effect that worked on him was confusion as he kept stumbling about, swinging his Keyblade madly as he grew more frustrated with each one he walked over.

"I still can't believe how simple this spell can really be," Twilight said, twirling her Keyblade around in her aura. "It makes things seem too easy if opponents just walk over them blindly."

"And I'm getting sick of it!" Vanitas shouted, appearing behind her and out of the random status-inducing minefield.

Twilight gasped and turned around, unable to block in time as Vanitas managed to hit her hard, sending her flying across the ground. He snapped out of his confusion, warping after the alicorn and unleashed a barrage of strikes all around her, knocking her around in a purple blur. Riku and Sora intercepted Vanitas, both managing to send him flying back as Twilight tumbled to a stop in the sand. As the three men crashed to the ground, Vanitas left an afterimage and struck both Riku and Sora from behind, flipping back to their feet and stared each other down.

"Quit teleporting around like a coward!" Riku shouted. The Keeba Tiger and Halbird appeared between him, linking their abilities into his Dual Style Link, their attributes combined to replace his Way to the Dawn with a giant Keyblade of light. "Afraid to fight us like a real man!?"

"You really think I play by the rules in a fight to the death?" Vanitas asked with a laugh. His grin grew sadistic as he lifted his free hand, which began to turn black as claws grew out from his gloved fingers. "Besides, I'm not a man; I'm pure darkness!"

He suddenly warped in front of them, backhanding Sora in the face with his clawed hand, but Riku blocked his Keyblade with his Bladecharge Dual Linked blade. With Riku's advantage having a longer weapon, he pushed Vanitas's away and swung it around him in a wide radius. Vanitas backed away from the blade of light, waiting for an opening to strike. Riku leapt up in the air, slamming the blade down on him, only to hit yet another afterimage. He turned around, expecting Vanitas to attack him from behind, only to end up getting behind him anyway the moment he looked away from the illusion, a sphere of darkness built up in his dark-clawed hand.

Launching it into Riku's back, the sphere exploded, sending him flying out of the dark smoke with Vanitas leaping after him, rapidly slashing the Keyblade wielder with both Keyblade and claws. Slamming him down to the ground, Vanitas clutched Riku's neck, digging his nails into his skin as he aimed his Keyblade over his face with manic glee.

"Get off of my coltfriend!" Twilight shouted, ramming into Vanitas with ten times the strength of a normal earth pony stallion, pressing her hooves down hard into his chest and make an imprint of his body in the sand.

"Fine. I'll deal with you instead!" Vanitas shot his hand up, grabbing Twilight's neck and choked her, pulling himself out of the human-shaped hole in the ground while lifting the alicorn up in the air.

She tried to use her magic to swing her Keyblade, only to scream out in pain as her body was wracked with powerful electric shocks. Dark electricity surged out from her paralyzed body, even her magic was disabled as it sparked around her horn, her Keyblade dropping to the ground as her Harmony Link faded.

"T-Twilight!" Riku grunted, struggling to get up to save Twilight.

Sora had gotten back on his feet, charging headfirst into Vanitas and swung his Keyblade. The dark being blocked the attack, only to be shot in the back by a Blizzaga spell from Kairi. He staggered forward into Sora, receiving an uppercut to the jaw as he dropped Twilight. Sora lunged forward with his Keyblade, slamming Vanitas back and away from the unconscious alicorn, sending them straight toward Kairi as she charged her Keyblade with the light from her heart, building up a sphere of bright white light. Seeing the sphere as he was flung back, Vanitas punched Sora hard in the gut, knocking the wind out of him as he grabbed his jacket, quickly spinning around and flinging him at the Princess of Heart.

Kairi gasped as Sora made contact with the sphere of light, causing an explosion that sent the both of them flying away from each other. Kairi skid across the ground on her back while Sora flew straight toward Vanitas, getting kneed hard in the stomach, followed by a swift blow to the back of the head with the guard of his Keyblade, sending the battered teen crashing into the sand with a pained groan.

"Sora!" Kairi called out, getting back on her feet and ran toward Vanitas. "Get away from him!"

"Shut up," Vanitas said, teleporting in front of her as he gave her the same treatment as her boyfriend, kneeing her straight in the stomach. He then pressed his clawed hand up to her face, unleashing a dark blast of energy out of his palm that sent Kairi tumbling harshly across the ground, knocking her unconscious. He then heard Riku let out a yell, turning to see him rushing toward him with his Keyblade of light still in his hand. "None of you ever learn to just stay down, do you?"

Lifting his Keyblade up in the air, Vanitas lunged it forward as he dashed toward Riku, their blades clashing as they met at a stalemate. Unfortunately, Riku was thrown off as his links between his Dream Eaters wore out, Halbird and Keeba Tiger reappearing back beside him. Dashing again, Vanitas flew straight through Riku, knocking him off his feet as he hit the ground. He then took out the two Dream Eaters, slicing through them as he boosted forward, killing them as they faded into a flash of light. Once they were gone, he set his sights on Riku again, dashing one last time and kicking him hard in the face, knocking his Keyblade out of his hand as he rolled across the sand until coming to a stop, hitting his back hard on one of the broken tree trunks.





As soon as Riku hit the tree, the mirror faded to black as he fell unconscious. "Hey! Who forgot to pay the bill!?" Pinkie complained, somehow finding the time to make popcorn and set up a recliner she sat in while watching the life-threatening battle. "We need to find out what happens!"

"How did you even get that chair in here?" Lea asked, his question ignored as the others began worrying.

"Oh, this is bad!" Rarity exclaimed. "That brute is too strong!"

"Where the hay did Terra and Aqua go!?" Rainbow complained. "They taking a scenic route or something!? Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Twilight are in a whole lot of trouble!"

"It seems as though Vanitas is far stronger than I thought," Yen Sid said. "I knew Sora confronting his darkness would have been dangerous, but I never expected this outcome to occur."

"I need to help them out!" Lea said, lifting up his hand to summon a portal, but the magician stopped him.

"No, Lea! You are not to call anymore Corridors of Darkness anymore!" he exclaimed. "If you are to become a Keyblade Master under my tutelage, you are not resorting to using the power of darkness anymore."

"I won't get corrupted as long as I'm wearing this coat!" Lea argued. "I'll be there in a snap, old man!"

"Even if that were the case, there would be no way you could make it in time if Vanitas has deluded Aqua and Terra the exact location in Sora's heart," Yen Sid reasoned.

"Then teach me how to jump into dreams so we don't wait until it's too late!" As the two humans argued, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Pinkie looked down at Sora, fearing for his and their other friends' safety.

"What do we do now?" Fluttershy asked. "If only we came along with Twilight to help."

"But what could we do?" Rarity asked.

"Duh! We could try out our new rainbow powers!" Rainbow suggested. "Let's power up and blast Sora with it and help him!"

"But we also need Twilight!" Pinkie interjected. "We're supposed to be the Elements of Harmony, and we can't do much without her! She's, like, the leader of our group and can control that magic! Her specialty! Her cutie mark! Her destiny! All that cliché nonsense everypony apparently picks apart because everypony's a critic and coming up with something new is harder than they think it is!" She then looked out through the fourth wall, leering at something the others couldn't see. "You know exactly who I'm talking about out there!"

Ignoring Pinkie's odd tangent at the end, she did have a point. Without Twilight, none of them were able to use the Elements in the past, and they needed all six of them to work their harmonious magic. Against Discord for the first time, they didn't work since all the bearers sans Twilight were corrupted and Sora replacing Rainbow as the Element of Loyalty didn't activate with the others. They still had no clue how their rainbow powers functioned after fighting Tirek and didn't know if they could activate them on their own or not. Twilight was the one who brought them all together, all their destinies intertwined to become friends and saviors of Equestria. And without Sora's help, their world would have fallen to darkness from Nightmare Moon, the Heartless that appeared, or any villains who threatened the kingdom.

Applejack moved closer to Sora and sat beside him, none of them knowing what was going on now, but he needed everyone's help now. "Come on, sugarcube," she uttered, resting her hoof against his chest. "Ah don't know if y'all can hear me in there, but y'all can take care of that varmint copy of ya. We're all here with ya." She closed her eyes, hoping Sora could hear her. "Ever since ya crashed into mah family's orchard, we never knew just how excitin' ya made our lives from that day onward. What'll Apple Bloom think if she finds out ya lost after ya saved her from them Heartless that stormy afternoon?"

While everyone watched Applejack and heard her talk to Sora, Yen Sid and Lea also listening as they stopped arguing, Rainbow joined her country friend, placing her hoof over Applejack's. "Yeah, that day wasn't exactly my favorite after I got you arrested," Rainbow said sheepishly. "I don't think I actually thanked you properly when I was attacked while I spied on you, either, so thanks for the save. But I know you're not a quitter. You can do this, and if you say you can't, I'm going to keep ramming into you while I fly for the next month, at least."

Rarity joined her hoof into the pile as she remembered many of the chivalrous moments Sora had done for her, especially his outburst at Blueblood for acting like a spoiled colt at the Gala when she thought he was a gentlecolt from his appearance alone. "You are a courageous knight who strives to protect the innocent, darling. Kairi is lucky to have you, and so are we. Though you may act like a foal, you're far more mature than you seem, and far stronger than anypony else."

"We believe in you, Sora," Fluttershy said, gently placing her hoof down over Rarity's. "Even with how scary the Heartless are, you never run away and keep fighting...Well, except for your...Anti Form. But you can do it, even if it is scary to face your fears."

"And think about all the friends you'll leave behind if you end up failing!" Pinkie added, placing her hoof down on the top of the pile. "I don't like it when anypony forgets somepony they once knew! Friends never leave each other until the end of the end! And Dashie and I can't be 'The Three Goofballs' if it's just the two of us! Everypony will miss you, so don't give up, or so help me, I will not bake you any cupcakes!"

The five mares grew silent as they hoped Sora could hear them and feel their presence. Their eyes closed, letting him know that they were there with him, none of them noticing the small glint of light from their cutie marks glowing as it traveled up to their hooves and into the sleeping teen's heart. Lea and Yen Sid watched in awe, the former scratching his head in confusion.

"You really think they'll be able to reach him?" Lea asked.

"They just might," the magician said with a grin. "Never deny how great the power of friendship can truly be. Even from the world of Equestria."





Sora coughed, slowly rising up on his knees as he clutched his aching stomach. Looking up, he saw Vanitas slowly approach him, Riku, Twilight, and Kairi knocked out for the count. Glaring at the manic double of his, he called his Keyblade into his hand and shakily stood up on his feet. He flung his weapon at Vanitas, which was easily knocked aside as he teleported in front of him, sweeping his leg to trip Sora off his feet. Landing hard with a grunt, Sora yelled out in pain as Vanitas stomped his foot down on his chest, stabbing his Keyblade mere inches away from his head as he tried to call back his Keyblade.

"Take a good, long look, Sora," Vanitas said, waving his arm out to the carnage of the island and his unconscious friends and girlfriend. "This will be the last time you'll see these three alive. Unconscious, but still alive." Leaning down, Vanitas grabbed Sora by the collar of his jacket and lifted him up, turning him around as he kept his arm locked around his neck tightly. "Who should I kill first?"

"D-Don't...hurt them," Sora pleaded, his desperate attempt to struggle only causing him to get bashed in the chest by the hilt of Vanitas's Keyblade.

"Can't decide? Then I'll choose for you." Vanitas slowly turned them both around, aiming his Keyblade as a pointer, starting with Riku slumped over against the broken stump. "Your best friend?" He then turned to Twilight, who started to wake up, though her limbs wouldn't obey her. "The bookworm princess?"

"Stop this!" Sora shouted, only to receive another blow to the chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Or..." Vanitas then turned to Kairi, his grin growing wider as he eyed the unconscious girl. "Ah, yes. She'll be the first one I'll sink my blade into her chest. Finally get rid of one annoying princess with a heart of pure light." He began guiding Sora over to Kairi, Sora feeling utterly helpless as he was going to be forced to watch his girlfriend have her heart taken out of her. "I think that sounds like a good idea. Don't you agree, Sora?"

"How about neither!?" From above, Vanitas and Sora looked up as they saw a twinkle of light shine in the eye of the storm they were trapped in.

Before they knew it, the air around them grew to freezing levels, Vanitas suddenly hit by a massive chill as his body was encased in ice. Sora was miraculously unfrozen, though his neck was still held captive around Vanitas's frozen limb. Diving down toward them, Aqua let out a shout as she slashed her Keyblade through the ice, striking Ventus's, and now Sora's, darkness, sending him flying across the sand while still in his frozen state. She quickly caught Sora as he fell from the knockback of shattered ice, helping keep him steady on his feet.

"A-Aqua?" Sora uttered, getting a better look at her.

Instead of her old uniform as a Keyblade wielder, she was wearing something a bit more modern as she dove into dreams for the first time: an aqua blue crop top underneath an aquamarine short-sleeved jacket, teal finger-less gloves, black jeans with light blue lined patterns running down the legs, and a pair of simple dark blue boots. "Sorry it took too long to finally get here. You have no idea how difficult it was to find a way to get here."

Vanitas growled, finding it ironic that he ended up turning into an icicle like Ventus in the epic battle at the Keyblade Graveyard, but he was aggravated that Aqua interrupted him. Breaking free of his icy paralysis, he got up on his feet and prepared to rush at the two of them, but as he looked down, there was a shadow that grew bigger, and it was directly above him.

"Heads up, you little punk!" Looking up, Vanitas's eyes grew wide as he saw a large meteor head straight for him.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," he uttered as the giant, flaming rock was struck, sending it hurtling toward him at breakneck speeds.

Vanitas lifted his Keyblade up to defend himself as the meteor crashed down on him, creating a massive explosion that engulfed him. Landing in front of Sora and Aqua was Terra, wearing a different outfit just like Aqua had. He wore a grayish-brown muscle t-shirt, brown finger-less gloves, loose light brown pants, and earth brown sneakers with white laces. It was so strange for Sora to see Aqua and Terra in clothing like this, more suited wearing their older outfits than something casual.

"Sora, you alright?" Terra asked.

"...Uhh, yeah. Just a bit beaten up," Sora replied.

"If we had known your darkness was Vanitas, we would have come along with you," Aqua said. "Now we got to see his face underneath that helmet of his. I only hope Terra didn't go overboard spiking a meteor on him."

From the smoke of the meteor crash, Vantias sprinted out with a frustrated yell, rearing his Keyblade back as he ran straight for Terra. "Looks like I didn't go overboard enough!"

Terra kept his ground and blocked the enraged teen, the force of their clash forcefully pushing him back and through Aqua and Sora, knocking Sora far across the island toward Twilight before taking out his wrath on the friends of his former other half. "I should have killed the two of you long ago! Now you've finally pushed my buttons!"

"Good! I've been dying for a rematch after all these years!" Terra shoved Vanitas back with his impressive strength, both wielders rushing forward into a clash as their Keyblade struck the other's over and over with incredible force.

While Terra distracted Vanitas, Aqua hurried back over to Sora. "Sora!"

As he laid on his back, he looked up at the dark, swirling clouds above him, too wracked in pain to move. Twilight strained herself as she tried to stand, finally able to feel her limbs, but she was still pretty weak. Unable to use her magic thanks to the violent shock Vanitas gave her, she picked up her Keyblade in her mouth and crawled over to him. Aqua kneeled down beside him, holding out her Keyblade to help heal his injuries, only for Sora to gently grab hold of her hand.

"Help Riku and Kairi," he said. "They're in worse shape than me."

Reluctantly, Aqua nodded, even though Sora also needed some healing, but they were in more danger from Vanitas while they were unconscious. She ran off to help Riku and Kairi, avoiding getting in the way of Vanitas and Terra as they fought, both of them having more experience dealing with Xehanort's dark apprentice. Twilight sat up on her haunches beside Sora, holding her Keyblade in her hoof as she looked over to the battle between Terra and Vanitas.

"Sora, we need to find some way to stop him," she said. "Why aren't you using your Drive Forms? Don't they work in your heart?"

"I never tried," he said. "Not even against Roxas, though I couldn't use most of them without Donald or Goofy's help. I don't even know if they'll backfire in here either, or increase Vanitas's strength."

"Oh..." Twilight's ears drooped as their only other option to overpower Vanitas was a bust. She gasped as her ears perked back up. "Wait. Your Harmony Form. That could stop him. The Elements of Harmony are practically the bane of evildoers and darkness, so maybe nothing will effect him and benefit you more."

"I don't know...I can't kill him, otherwise I'll shatter my own heart." Sora groaned, placing his arms over his face in frustration. "What am I going to do?"






"Come on, sugarcube." Hearing Applejack's voice, Sora moved his arms away from his eyes as he looked up at the sky in confusion. "Ah don't know if y'all can hear me in there, but y'all can take care of that varmint copy of ya. We're all here with ya."

"...AJ?" As he sat up with a grunt, Twilight stared at him questioningly.

"You're hearing Applejack?" the alicorn asked, looking around in confusion. "They...didn't dive into your heart, too...did they?"

"Ever since ya crashed into mah family's orchard, we never knew just how excitin' ya made our lives from that day onward." Sora could hear Applejack's voice echo all around him, as if she was only communicating with him. Looking up to the sky, he saw a few glints of light shine through the dark storm clouds overhead. "What'll Apple Bloom think if she finds out ya lost after ya saved her from them Heartless that stormy afternoon?"

"Yeah, that day wasn't exactly my favorite after I got you arrested." Now he heard Rainbow Dash, remembering that strange day her and Applejack talked about. "I don't think I actually thanked you properly when I was attacked while I spied on you, either, so thanks for the save."

Sora let out a chuckle, never once getting a thank you from Rainbow Dash the first two times she saved her life. "Better late then never, I guess, Dash."

"But I know you're not a quitter. You can do this, and if you say you can't, I'm going to keep ramming into you while I fly for the next month, at least." Sora shook his head, now having more incentive not to fail.

"You are a courageous knight who strives to protect the innocent, darling," Rarity spoke, Sora wincing as he got up on his feet and looked up at the sky, where the lights began glowing brighter and appeared to be floating down toward him. "Kairi is lucky to have you, and so are we. Though you may act like a foal, you're far more mature than you seem, and far stronger than anypony else."

"We believe in you, Sora. Even with how scary the Heartless are, you never run away and keep fighting...Well, except for your...Anti Form. But you can do it, even if it is scary to face your fears." Twilight noticed the lights as she looked up, wondering what was happening and what Sora was hearing from their friends.

"And think about all the friends you'll leave behind if you end up failing!" Pinkie's voice rang out in Sora's mind. "I don't like it when anypony forgets somepony they once knew! Friends never leave each other until the end of the end! And Dashie and I can't be 'The Three Goofballs' if it's just the two of us! Everypony will miss you, so don't give up, or so help me, I will not bake you any cupcakes!"

Sora couldn't help but snicker, utterly "mortified" at the thought of never getting anymore cupcakes from Pinkie Pie. As the lights floated closer to him, he instinctively reached his hand out to them, landing right in his hand as they hovered a few centimeters from his palm. Lowering his hand down, he and Twilight got a better look at the shining lights, which were just like the same pieces of light Sora extracted from the Mane Six after freeing them from Discord's corruption. Each individual light had a specific mare's cutie mark inside the orbs of light, but they seemed to match the color of their manes when they used their new rainbow powers.

"Sora," Twilight said, staring in awe as she got a better look at the orbs of light. "Are those...their cutie marks?"

"Yeah...They're just like the lights I took when I freed you girls from Discord's magic." Sora could feel their power in his hands, stronger than the ones that unlocked his Harmony Form. If that was the case, then these lights must be some kind of upgrade for it, his friends helping give him their same power just like before when they stopped Discord. All he needed was one more, looking down at Twilight as she held the last piece needed to wield the same power as his pony friends. He lowered himself down on one knee, wincing a little as he moved until he was eye level with Twilight. "I heard the girls saying they believed in me. How much they would miss me if I didn't beat Vanitas or if I never came back. I think...they're trying to help me, and it looks like they have...but I'm missing yours, Twilight.

"You think things could have gone differently if I never showed up in Equestria?" Twilight didn't need to think of her answer if the others needed him, too.

"I really don't know what we could have done without you, Sora," she said. "You helped me discover just how special magic was, and I wouldn't have become the Princess of Friendship if we never met. Our world would have been destroyed if it weren't for you, or everyone else." Twilight smiled, placing her hoof over his hand holding the five lights, her cutie mark glowing as well as the star on her vest. "We're all glad you came to Equestria, and I couldn't have been happier to call you my friend."

As soon as she finished her sentence, she gasped as she felt a light come out from her heart, matching the big fuchsia star on her cutie mark. It floated up to join the other five, the six lights of the Elements glowing brightly as they spun in Sora's hand. He stood up as Twilight brought a hoof to her chest, slightly surprised as she watched the six orbs spiral in an orbit over his palm. They soon stopped and flew straight into Sora's chest, making him gasp as he felt an incredible power course through him. His clothing began glowing as he automatically shifted into his Drive Form, the explosive light producing a massive shockwave that spread out to the whole island.

The sound of shattering glass ceased Terra and Vanitas's fighting as they looked at where it came from, even Aqua as she went to Kairi first to check on her. The shockwave released a healing energy that hit all but Vanitas, Riku and Kairi waking up with a gasp as they revived. Twilight backed away, her magic returning to her as she telekinetically grabbed her Keyblade, shutting her eyes from the blinding light around Sora.

The light dimmed as Sora was now in his Harmony Form, but aside from his added wings, equine ears and tail, and his clothes shimmering in an aurora of colors, there was something else that had changed as well. His hair now had white and black streaks running down to his tail, two white streaks on the left and two black on the right. Not only that, but his wings were also white and black on the respective sides his highlights were located.

"Sora?" Kairi uttered.

"His Harmony Form got an upgrade," Riku said to himself as he stood up, ignoring how he felt no more pain after the beating he took. "What the heck happened?"

While everyone was in awe of Sora's newly empowered Harmony Form, Vanitas growled, his body trembling from the light that came from the teen. "Y-You think a change in wardrobe and adding a few highlights intimidates me!?" He looked over at Aqua and Kairi, both of them completely defenseless before looking back at Sora. "You're still weak! I'm more powerful than any of those stupid, useless transformations you like using!"

Vanitas sped off away from Terra, heading straight for Aqua and Kairi. "Aqua! Look out!"

Hearing Terra's warning, Aqua brought her attention to the dark Keyblade wielder, holding up her Keyblade in defense as he got closer. Vanitas didn't set his sights on her, but more on Kairi as she was still recovering from waking back up, warping behind the two of them with his blade raised to strike down the Princess of Heart. He swung his arm down as Kairi turned around to look at him, but Sora teleported in front of her, guarding her with the Ultima Keyblade firmly held in his hand. Vanitas was caught off guard, shocked at how quick Sora moved over his own, but what got him the most was how the Keyblade looked now: the spiraling metal had changed from white to a rainbow aurora just like his clothes, the chain hanging off the end of the hilt a bit longer with the Elements of Harmony joined with the crown and heart it had before, and it radiated a powerful rainbow light around the blade that made Vanitas's skin crawl in terror, though he didn't show his fear as it was a sign of weakness for him.

"Am I weak, Vanitas?" Sora asked. "You may think that, but I'm stronger than you, no matter how much you try to deny it right now. You want to know why?"

"...Don't you dare say it," Vanitas growled, his voice suddenly caught in his throat as six more Keyblades appeared in a bright flash of light around Sora.

"My friends are my power," Sora said. The others stared in awe as the Keyblades of Harmony had also changed along with Sora's new Harmony Form, their colors matching the same added highlights and cutie marks of the bearers in their rainbow forms. "You may think that sharing a bond with someone might be weak, but you have no idea just how powerful true friendship can be. They gave me the strength to keep going, which is why I'm not going to let their help go to waste!"

"I am sick and tired of hearing that corny, worthless sentiment!" Vanitas shouted, backing away as he held his Keyblade at Sora, his hand trembling as he grew irritated by his own fear of the powerful teen. "The only way you'll gain any power from someone is by taking it from them! Fighting in numbers shows all of you are weak! And there is no magic in friendship as I've kept hearing all of you constantly say while in that stupid, cartoon world of talking horses!"

"If I'm wrong, then let me show you just how weak friendship is." Vanitas snapped and let out a roar of unbridled rage, no longer caring about the light emanating from Sora as he sprinted toward him.

The Keyblades of Harmony reacted as Vanitas got close, all six colorful weapons shooting out from their placements around Sora, smacking the enraged double of his in the side, sending him tumbling across the sand away from Kairi and Aqua. As Vanitas skid to a halt, Sora calmly walked toward him, the six blades returning back to their proper positions.

"Sora, remember not to kill him," Aqua reminded, still awestruck at the newly improved Drive Form.

"I know," he said. "I just want to mess with him a little before he finally gives up, one way or the other."

Vanitas scrambled to his feet, an aura of darkness billowing around him as he leered at Sora. Before he could even blink and retaliate, Sora warped directly in front of him, dealing a powerful flurry of slashes with all seven Keyblades, stunning Vanitas as he yelled out in pain. While he was temporarily paralyzed, Sora began charging back and forth, running through Vanitas as he held one of the Keyblades of Harmony each time, sparks of light shaped like apples, balloons, butterflies, diamonds, lightning bolts, and stars raining around him with each strike. In each blow, Sora could feel the girls' power in them, almost as if they were right there holding the same Keyblade with him, even with the Keyblade of Magic despite Twilight standing far away from the one-sided duel.

He grabbed his Ultima Keyblade and struck again, only to hit an afterimage of Vanitas. Sora stood patiently, his equine ears swiveling around to hear him out. He heard the ground beneath him move, turning around to see Vanitas had sunk into the sand in a dark aura and charged straight for him. Sora quickly flapped his wings, dodging Vanitas as he shot up from beneath the ground, unleashing a barrage of fire around him. Sora grabbed Vanitas's right arm, avoiding his other arm as his claws were thrust at his face. Flipping around, he brought his double's arm behind his back, flapping his wings hard as he dove back toward the ground, slamming Vanitas into the sand with incredible force as he lost his grip on his Keyblade, which was sent flying into the air. Right as the gear-like Keyblade fell, Sora backflipped off of Vanitas and dashed forward, swinging his Keyblade before skidding to a halt.

Vanitas grunted and looked up, his Keyblade landing a few inches in front of his face. He reached out to grab it, only to hear the metal snap, Sora cutting clean through as the upper half with part of the blade connected to the hilt fell over and hit the ground. Gritting his teeth in rage, Vanitas let out a roar, pushing himself off the ground and sprinted at Sora, rearing back his clawed hand to strike. The Keyblades of Harmony shot off and lunged at him at blinding speed, the mad being of darkness dodging the first two, but tripped over the third as the rest struck him as he tried to regain his balance.

Turning around, Sora rushed Vanitas, pulling back his arm as he readied another strike with his Keyblade. Vanitas recovered from getting struck by the Keyblades of Harmony and tried to leap away from the downward slash from the aurora shimmering Keyblade. Sora did miss, but he did it on purpose, thrusting his left arm forward and punching Vanitas hard in the face. He then gave his Heartless double a swift knee to his chest as payback, knocking the wind out of Vanitas as he fell to his knees, finding it harder to breathe compared to punching or kneeing the air out of Sora's lungs.

With Vanitas incapacitated, Sora commanded the six other Keyblades to spread out around Vanitas, Riku, Twilight, Terra, Aqua, and Kairi curious and slightly worried by whatever Sora was planning. Sora then closed his eyes and brought left hand over his heart. His chest began to glow, the shifting, colorful aura around his Ultima Keyblade flowed away from it, circling around the transformed wielder as they split apart and formed into six familiar ponies. Once the ethereal mares were completely shaped to look like each of the Mane Six, they flew off to the Keyblades of Harmony they were connected to, taking them in their hooves as they stood on their hind legs and copied Sora, lowering their weapons as they brought a hoof to their chests.

Vanitas looked up after he finally got some air in his lungs, grunting in confusion as he looked at the colorful ethereal Mane Six surrounding him. "W-What is this?" he asked, turning his head to Sora. "What are you doing!?"

"Showing you the most powerful magic of all; the magic of friendship!" Sora replied as he opened his eyes.

Lifting up his Keyblade, the rainbow aura ponies mimicking his movements, they spun the Keyblades around in their hands/hooves, light building up in the seven blades. Once enough light had built up at the ends of each Keyblade, they stopped twirling them and raised them up into the sky, firing a large wave of colorful light as the beams connected directly above Vanitas.

"...No...No!" Vanitas got up on his feet and tried to flee, but Sora thrust his Keyblade down into the sand, the ethereal Mane Six following his movements. The rainbow light shot down faster than he could move, trapping him as the powerful rainbow light swirled around him. "No! Get away!"

Vanitas tried to jump out, but the light constantly followed him as it constricted his personal space more and more. He panicked until the powers of the Elements of Harmony and Sora's light finally caught Vanitas, letting out a bloodcurdling scream as the entire island was engulfed in a blinding light. Everyone shielded their eyes, not sure what Sora had done to Vanitas, but they hoped he didn't end up destroying him. The light finally dimmed away after some time, everyone squinting their eyes open to see what happened.

The storm surrounding the island had disappeared, the sky clear with the sun shining down, now able to see the main island far in the distance with the sound of lapping waves and cawing seagulls returning to the decimated piece of land in the middle of the ocean. In the middle of the island, Riku, Kairi, Terra, Aqua, and Twilight stared in awe as they saw the result of Sora's attack, he and the six ethereal mares slowly pulling out the seven Keyblades from the ground. Inside of a cage made out of rainbow light, Vanitas stood trapped inside, his arms held up defenselessly from what he expected was a gruesome death, only to lower his arms and gawk in confusion.

"Sora...trapped Vanitas in a cage of light?" Aqua uttered to herself in confusion.

"...I knew you didn't have the gall to kill me," Vanitas mocked with a smirk. But as he tried to break through the bars of pure light, the instant his hand touched it, a painful shock wracked his body as he yelled out. Pulling his hand back and seething in agony, his transformed hand had reverted back to normal, nullifying his ability to use any darkness. "W-What...?"

"I can't kill you, even if I wanted to," Sora said as he approached the cage. The Keyblades of Harmony returned to his side as the auras of the Mane Six floated back to his Ultima Keyblade, giving back its shimmering aurora of light around the blade. "I'm not going to leave my friends behind. Not a single one. So if the only possible way to stop you was to kill you, then keeping you locked away in here was the next best thing."

"You're pathetic," Vanitas growled. "Your kindheartedness is a fatal flaw with your happy-go-lucky personality. I will break free at some point when you change into that Anti Form."

"You won't be escaping from the light of the Elements of Harmony," Sora corrected. Proving his point, he reached his hand out and touched the bars, his arms passing through without so much as a tingle from the light. "This power helped free Luna from her darkness as Nightmare Moon, turned Discord to stone, strong enough to face a darkness corrupted Sombra for a thousand years, and was able to drain away the magic Tirek had stolen from every single pony in Equestria while also sealing him back into Tarterus. You may think I'm weak for relying on my friends to help me fight you, but you underestimate just how far anyone can go if they have someone to fight for. And I have plenty of friends, something you don't have, which is actually a bit depressing."

"Don't you dare take pity on me!" Vanitas shouted as he tried to grab Sora's arm.

Sora pulled his arm back and thrust it hard, punching Vanitas right in the gut. With the cage of light around him weakening him, Vanitas was utterly helpless, gasping for breath as his eyes nearly bulged out of his head in pain. He doubled over and fell to his knees, the cage big enough for him to lie down in, but small enough to keep him contained.

"That was for hurting Kairi," Sora said, grabbing his darkness's hair and pulling his head up so he could look at him. "No one messes with my friends. Or my family."

He slammed Vanitas's head into the ground, stepping away from the cage to let the dark copy of him writhe in agony. Sora reverted back to normal, letting out a sigh of relief as the fight was finally over, though at the cost of a few of his and Riku's shared Dream Eaters. Even though they could recreate the eight lost Spirits, it would be the same since they would be new. As he walked over to Aqua and Kairi, Kairi quickly stood up and met Sora halfway, running up to him and hugging him tightly.

"You did it!" she said. "I can't believe you actually did it!"

"Me either," Sora said, hugging Kairi back. "You ok?"

"I'm fine, thanks to you." Kairi cupped Sora's cheeks and pulled him into a kiss, pressing her forehead against his, looking in his eyes as she pulled away. "You always find a way out of an impossible situation, and you finally found a way against your own darkness."

"I couldn't have done it without the girls. Even though they weren't here with us, I felt their presence outside, and they helped increase my Harmony Form's power." Sora looked at the cage Vanitas was forever trapped in, a little worried that even without him controlling his body, he still had no clue if he ever would lose himself if his Anti Form activated by bad luck. "I just hope stopping him will be enough to keep me from going on a rampage as a Heartless."

Riku, Twilight, Terra, and Aqua regrouped with Sora and Kairi, all of them still astonished by his newest powers. "I'm sure the others are going to enjoy hearing what happened in here."

"Well, I still won't be, knowing Vanitas is still alive," Aqua said. Looking at the beaten ex-Keyblade wielder with her arms crossed, she still recalled the insults he spouted at her in the numerous times he's picked a fight with her in the past. "At least he's put in his place."

"Hey, Aqua, how did you and Terra manage to find us?" Twilight asked.

"It's...kinda hard to explain," Terra answered. "We jumped in to help you guys when we saw Vanitas had caught you guys in a trap through one of the mirrors Master Yen Sid set up to see everything from Riku's eyes."

"Huh. No wonder it felt like there was someone constantly behind my back," Riku said to himself.

"We searched for a way to find that door you went in, but we couldn't find it, or reveal it if it was hidden," Terra continued. "We thought we wouldn't make it in time, but just as we were about to give up, there was someone inside Sora's heart who helped us."

"Roxas?" Sora guessed. "If he was around, why didn't he come to my rescue?"

"It wasn't Roxas," Aqua said. "Actually, we don't even know who it was. They were concealed in one of those black coats Lea wears, and didn't say anything. The only thing that we could tell who they were was that it looked like a teenage girl from her height and physique."

Sora's eyes widened as well as Riku's, but he kept quiet while Sora wanted to know more about the black-coated girl. "Did you see her face? Or her hair? Anything?"

"No. Her hood was up, so we couldn't really see what she looked like," Aqua said. "Why?"

"...I...can't really explain it...but I feel like I knew her before," Sora explained. "When Riku and I were walking into Xehanort's trap without realizing it, I was caught in these hallucinations that lead me further into The World That Never Was. I saw King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy and chased after them, then I saw Naminé. I tried to thank her for helping me, but the moment I blinked, I was looking at this girl with black hair..." He then looked at Kairi, finding an odd resemblance between the two if Kairi had cut her hair back to the shorter style she had before. "...She...looked like you, Kairi."

"Me? With black hair?" Kairi ran her fingers through her auburn hair, unable to imagine it dyed black. "...Weird."

"What's weird is that I somehow recognize her, but I barely know anything about her at all." Sora looked down and placed a hand over his heart, wondering if whoever she was ended up being another person he let into his heart. "Who is she?"

"Whoever she was, at least she was able to help us," Terra said.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense," Aqua muttered. She thought how it could be possible for there to be someone else inside Sora's heart, but she brushed it aside, unable to find an answer and tallied it as a stroke of luck. "Oh well. Maybe that girl is like a guardian angel for you or something, Sora."

"I highly doubt that," Sora said. "If only I could see her again...Maybe one day, we will..."

"Let's head back to everyone waiting for us in the tower," Riku said as he aimed his Keyblade out, creating a portal from the light of his blade. "Gotta tell everyone the good news, at least. Hopefully, no more wild Anti Sora, and if that didn't fix it, then maybe it got a little bit weaker for us to stop Sora without getting our butts handed to us."

Now that Vanitas was no longer a threat, to Sora or anyone else in his Anti Form, Twilight, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, and Riku walked through the portal, returning back to the Mysterious Tower. Sora shut his eyes, waking himself up as his body disappeared to rejoin everyone in the waking world. Vanitas was left alone as he sat up, trapped in the rainbow cage in the peaceful landscape he despised.

"I will break out of this thing," Vanitas grumbled to himself. "I don't know how, but I will, Sora...You haven't beaten me..." Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone hiding from behind one of the stumps. Wearing a black coat similar to the clothing the Nobodies of Organization XIII wore, the figure stepped out and got a better look at Vanitas. Overhearing who had assisted Terra and Aqua to come to Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Twilight's rescue against his wrath, he glowered at the mysterious savior in hatred. "You...You're that person they mentioned who ruined everything...You're lucky I'm stuck in here, otherwise I'd kill you!"

The figure said nothing, turning away and walked off the island, stepping across the air over the ocean as their body began disappearing to another part of Sora's heart.





Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie waited for a while, their hooves still resting over Sora's chest as the wait was practically torture for them. "Did they do it?"

"If only Riku didn't get knocked out, we could have seen what else happened," Rarity said.

A bright light distracted them as Riku, Twilight, Kairi, Aqua, and Terra returned, the humans back in their old clothing while Twilight lost her vest. "Well, we did it, guys," Riku said. "Or, I should say Sora did it."

"Vanitas won't be a bother for Sora controlling his Anti Form," Aqua added. "At least, we hope that solved the worst of it."

"You'll never believe what happened," Twilight said as she approached her friends. "His Harmony Form now has our rainbow powers. All of you, including me, helped grant him more power, just like when he first obtained it."

"Seriously!?" Rainbow asked excitedly. "What did he look like!?"

"Did he have cool new hair? Or clothes? Or new Keyblades!? Please tell me he has new Keyblades!" Pinkie said, practically jittery at the outcome of what happened.

Sora began to groan as he woke up, the mares' attention brought on him as he opened his eyes. He sat up and stretched his limbs, his muscles stiff from laying on the floor for a while. After getting some feeling back in his body, he looked at his pony friends with a grin.

"Hey," he said. "Thanks for the backup girls. I heard everything you said to me."

"You really did?" Fluttershy asked.

"Can't believe it worked, but we're glad to be there for ya, Sora," Applejack said.

"I don't know what I'd do without you girls, either," Sora said. "Or everyone else."

"This calls for an overwhelmingly emotional group hug!" Pinkie cried out, her eyes already misty as she pounced Sora into a deathly grip of a hug.

"Ahh! Pinkie!" Sora wheezed as he nearly fell over.

"Dogpile!" Applejack shouted with a chuckle, ramming into Pinkie and causing Sora to finally fall back, pinned down by the two earth ponies.

"Incoming!" Rainbow flew into the pile, crushing Sora underneath the two earth ponies.

"Please...no more...piling," Sora begged, struggling to push Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack off of him.

"Ok, guys. Get off of him," Twilight said, pulling the three mares off of the crushed teen. "Even though he was sleeping, he might be mentally exhausted."

"I think all of us are after the beating we took," Riku said.

"At least that whole mess with Anti Sora is finally solved...Eh, Vanitas was really taken care of, right?" Rarity asked.

"Yeah," Lea said, catching the other's attention, nearly forgetting about him and Yen Sid. "Mind filling us in on what happened in there? I would have tried to help, but the old man wouldn't let me come to the rescue like before."

"Indeed," the wizard agreed with a nod.

Sora stood up and looked at his friends, then turned to face his master. "Vanitas is still alive, but using my improved Harmony Form, I trapped him in a part of my heart with the light from the Keyblades of Harmony. He's not going to break out of there, but if I do end up in my Anti Form again, I'm not entirely sure if I will go out of control or actually control it myself. I don't want to test it, though. It might still be risky."

"Hmm...That may be true, but if your Anti Form's power is weakened with Vanitas's control finally ceased, it might be possible for you to control it yourself," Yen Sid said. "Your heart is unique, Sora. You were able fight back against the darkness when you turned into a Heartless. Do not doubt your own power, for you are able to face anything that comes at you, fighting for the ones you strive to protect. But, even if you face challenges on your own, your friends will always be there to fight alongside you in your heart."

Sora nodded his head, feeling more confident in himself now that he had conquered his own darkness while never ever forgetting his friends helped give him the strength to face the impossible. "So, does this mean Sora stays being a Keyblade wielder?" Pinkie asked, the elder magician giving her a nod to everyone's relief. "Yay! This calls for a big party back in Equestria!"

She jumped in Sora's arms and hugged him tightly, the other mares crowding around him in a group hug. Everyone was glad to know Sora was going to stay being a defender of light and fight the darkness, all of them knowing just how important he was to not only saving the worlds, but being a part of their lives. The group began heading out now that the dread of the bad news and the threat of Vanitas in Sora's heart was dealt with, leaving the tower and flying off in their ships and gliders, Aqua taking control of Sora's Gummi Ship as he used his glider to fly back home to tell his mother the good news.

"So, did you ever plan to take Sora's Keyblade away?" Lea asked curiously.

"Even if I did, I couldn't go through with it," Yen Sid said as he watched them leave from the windows. "Sora is highly important for all of us as a Keyblade wielder. Granted, he is still a bit of a ways from becoming a master himself, but eventually, that time will come." He turned to Lea, staring at him with the usual stoic expression he wears. "For his Mark of Mastery exam, it will be an impossible feat, but I believe he can pass this time."

"...And, what would that be?" the apprentice asked.

"...Putting an end to Xehanort and his plans to obtain Kingdom Hearts and the X-blade," he answered.