//------------------------------// // Chapter 40: All Out Drive // Story: Kingdom Hearts: Harmonic Connections // by Mr Curious Writer //------------------------------// In front of the Library, the sound of blades clashing was an almost constant presence. Sora had been fighting for an hour now non-stop, and time was really taking it’s toll on him as he was constantly panting. The same could be said of the dragon he was up against. Despite the look of determination plastered on his face, it was clear that he was finally feeling the weight of his sword. However, neither one of them was going to quit now. Whatever was driving this dragon to battle was strong enough for him to ignore his fatigue and get back into his stance, if not a bit shakily at first. “Come on Keyboy… That all you got?…” He said through his heavy panting. Sora was using his own weapon to keep him standing, taking advantage of the brief lull in the fighting to get as much air into his lungs as possible. He was on his 4th bead. Recalling what happens whenever he takes the third one, he must be really desperate to retain his form. And with good reason, whenever he would return to his pony form he was constantly at a disadvantage. Not so much as he was during his first encounter with the drake, but still enough for him to realize that he wouldn’t be able to win without transforming. That 3rd one was still painful though, and the 4th was far worse. “You’re running on fumes too… So don’t act all… High and mighty with me.” He said through his gasps for air. “Don’t… don’t think I’ve just been fighting mindlessly. You and I both know that stuff you keep munching is giving one wicked headache.” The dragon stood up straight and held his sword out toward Sora. “Think you can take me down before that 4th bead’s magic runs out? Because the 5th one just might kill you.” Sora, not backing down pushed himself back into a proper fighting position. This guy was a quick learner it seemed since he could tell the drawback of the beads. “Well, then I’ll just have to stop you before that happens.” He tightened his grip on the Keyblade. “Tough talk…. Now let's see if you can back it up!” The Dragon charged in, making Sora do the same. Both blades clashed once more, and it resulted in a power struggle with the two of them trying to push the other back. Unfortunately, after a few moments of this Sora’s knee involuntarily buckled a little, allowing the dragon to take the advantage and push him back and off balance before going for a downward diagonal swing. Sora narrowly dodged it by using the momentum from being pushed back to backflip away from the strike. However, the dragon just kept charging forward. Before Sora’s feet could touch the ground the dragon was in range and launching an upward strike. Once again Sora barely manages to save himself by holding his keyblade out to block the attack, but the weight of the blade and strength of the dragon still knocked him into the air. “Gah!” Sora makes an aerial recovery immediately and throws his weapon at the dragon, who deflects it and then opens his mouth to shoot a stream of blue fire at the hero. “Whoa-Uh REFLECT!” Sora managed to call his weapon back in time to cast a Reflega spell. This finally made the dragon back off in order to avoid the spell’s explosive counter. Now Sora had some breathing space and fired a Thundaga onslaught on the dragon before landing back on the ground. The barrage was more of a distraction, however, once Sora was back on the ground he chucked the keyblade as hard as he could towards his opponent. Meanwhile, the dragon was so occupied with dodging as many bolts from the spell as possible that when he finally noticed the incoming strike raid, it was too late and he got knocked away. “Yes!” Sora took this chance to close the distance. He needed to end this fight soon because he knew if it dragged on any longer he would have no choice but to take the 5th bead, and there was just no telling what the consequences of that would be. However, by the time he was in striking distance, the dragon had already recovered and blocked ora’s attack with his sword, entering into yet another power struggle. “In a rush are we, Mr. hero?!” The dragon grunted. It was clear he wasn’t going to let Sora end this so easily. Meanwhile, deep in the library, it seemed a conflict was finally reaching its conclusion. ~~~~~~~~~~ Golden Oaks Library A Half Hour Earlier When last we saw the girls, all but Twilight were trapped in a hamster cage as Feline Discord chased the purple pony-turned-rat around the chaotic and jumbled up interior of what was once her home. The girls managed to free themselves, but by then Discord had cornered Twilight after discovering her hiding spot while she was distracted by her own doubts. Things were looking bleak for Twilight as her mind struggled to find a way out of this situation. But as Discord’s paw came down to pin her, Twilight had no time to come up with any well thought out plan of action, therefore she was forced to rely on her instincts… So she bit his paw. “OW! Was that really necessary?” He reeled the paw back in pain, but when he focused back on Twilight she was already scurrying off. “Oh, you plucky little-” He gave chase. “Seriously Twilight, it’s time to face facts and give up, you’re only delaying the inevitable at this point.” He then stopped and looked at a clock that drifted over his head. “My my, how time flies… Well, as much as I enjoyed our little game of cat and mouse, I’m afraid I’ll have to end it here.” with a snap of his fingers Twilight vanished mid-stride and reappeared running straight toward Discord. When she noticed this she skidded to a halt just before his paw before trying to turn around and run but was stopped when Discord stepped on her tail. “Alright, that’s enough of that. Fun time is over Sparkle.” He said. He proceeded to pick her up by the tail and lift her so they could see eye to eye. “Your friends are trapped, and you’re a mouse with no access to your magic. While I love the enthusiasm you’re showing by keeping this up, at this point, it’s just growing tiresome. Besides, you're just about out of time-OW! AGAIN!” Twilight bit him once again, causing him to let go. The moment she landed she was already running off. He decided to take a detour this time to catch up with her. Twilight rounded the nearby couch, only to skid to a halt when Discord landed right in front of her. “EEP!” She squeaked. “Alright, enough of this! Even I have my limits.” He then reverted to his original form and nabbed her before she could scurry away again. This time he was wearing a thick looking glove over his paw. “I have to say, I’m rather disappointed in you.” “W-what?” Twilight said while squirming in his grip. “I had such high hopes that you could solve your way out of this like you always do.” He then held her by the tip of her tail. “But this time you seem utterly hopeless. Is being turned into a rodent and losing your magic as you know it really that devastating for you?” This caused her to stop for a moment and look at him. “I mean sure, you had your low points when I saw you last, but now you just seem... Hmmm, what's the word I’m-Ah! Helpless. That’s it!” Hearing that struck a chord in her. The fight for survival suddenly vanished in her. He’s right. There’s really nothing you can do at this point. That voice again, and down below she could see it. That other her looking up at her with a calm know it all look once again. “Shut up…” She murmured to herself. “Hm?” Discord could barely hear it. You know I’m only saying what we both know. You’re out of your element, both figuratively and literally. “You're wrong!” She shouted this time. This caused Discord to reel his head back a bit. “Easy there, no need to get all hostile now, just admit that you lost and-” “I WON’T! You’re both wrong!” Twilight started to get her second wind. “Both?” Discord was beginning to wonder if his antics had been too much for her mind to handle. “I… I may not know what to do now… But I will figure something out. I promise you that!” “I suppose given time you may very well be right, but that’s neither here nor there in this case. What can you possibly do when time is something you don’t have?” He pulled her closer to his face. His talon starting to glow as he was about ready to end this. ...Twilight could honestly only think of one thing at this point. “Then this time…. This time… I’ll trust my friends to help me out.” “There you go again about that friendship nonsense.” Discord groaned. “I can see how that power can stop me, I’d be an idiot not to after being stoned by it twice already, but how exactly are they going to help you while they’re stuck in that cage?” “WE’LL BUST OUT OF IT AND KICK YOUR FLANK!” Came Rainbow’s voice, filling Twilight with joy. “What?!” When Discord turned to look, he received a mini rocket to the face. Like the pony-turned-rat who fired it, despite its smaller size it still carried the same impact of Pinkie’s regular rockets, causing him to let go of Twilight and careen off into a bookshelf. “Eat it, you meanie!” PInkie shouted from within her cockpit. Meanwhile Twilight flailed as she plummeted face first towards the ground, but luckily Applejack got to her in time to jump up and catch her. “AJ… Girls… You’re all ok!” Twilight clung onto her both out of relief from seeing her friends safe and to make sure she didn’t slip off of Applejack’s back and fall to the ground. “The feelin’s mutual, sugarcube,” Aj replied as she landed on her paws, just before the others joined up with them. “No way we were gonna let you handle this on your own, egghead.” Declared Rainbow when she arrived. Fluttershy meanwhile was on the other side of Applejack checking Twilight over for any injuries as her butterflies fluttered over Twilight, dusting her with their healing scales just to be safe. They seemed to follow her thoughts and concerns more than her commands. Rarity and Pinkie joined up with them soon after and Pinkie turned it into a big group hug. “Yay! The band's back together again!” She giggled. “I knew you guys would come.” Twilight smiled as she hugged everyone in return. “A touching reunion indeed.” Discord said knocking them out of their joyful moment to see him getting back up. “Seriously, where do hide those things?” He rubbed his face, remembering the rocket that slammed into it. “I guess you can call it another shared gift from our friend Sora.” Rarity replied as she summoned her elemental weapon and fired a large piercing spear of light. Discord was surprised it didn’t hurt “Was that suppose to hurt or some-what?” He then noticed that he was somehow stuck in place as the spear impaled his chest and the broken bookshelf before lodging into the wall behind it. “What?... What is this?” He tried grabbing onto the spear to yank it out, but his hands only went right through as if it wasn’t even there. “What magic is this?!” “Well we wouldn’t want you running off now, would we?” Rarity replied before she looked at the others. “The sooner we deal with him the better, I worry for Sweetie Belle and her friends’ safety, as well as Sora’s.” “No complaints there, let’s turn him into a statue again. I’m sure the birds back at the castle garden miss their hang out spot slash bathroom.” Rainbow said as she got into a stance. “Oh, now that was just uncalled for.” Discord retaliated as he continued to fight with the intangible light spear that went through his torso. However, when he saw their elements resonating with one another he had a serious case of Deja vu. “Oh no…” He tried teleporting but ended up reappearing in the same spot with the light spear still through his gut. “Seriously! What is this magic?!” The next thing he noticed was Twilight’s eyes glowing as they stood together, his least favorite part was up next. “No fair, no fair! I can’t go back yet!” “What’s wrong Discord? You seemed ok with it before.” Rainbow smirked. “Not like this! He still has my powers held hostage!” And then the rainbow beam shot off from the group and his face showed true despair when it struck him and his body started turning from the bottom. “No no no no NO! NOT LIKE THIS!” He fruitlessly tried to stop the transformation as if he could brush it off with his paws. However soon they were turned to stone as well. “I Still haven’t-” Was the last thing he said as the look on his face was etched in stone. After the deed was done the first thing to happen was the 6 of them reverting to their true forms in a flash of light. When they noticed, they gave a mighty cheer. Pinkie was firing off party poppers, blowing on a noise maker and dancing about on her hind legs. “YES! We’re back!” Twilight cheered. “My wings! Finally, I’m back in action!” Rainbow made an attempt to hug her wings before putting them to use by going into a hover. “I can use my magic again!” Twilight said as she tested out her horn by lifting up some books with magic. “Personally, I dreaded the thought of continuing my business in that form.” Rarity shuddered at the thought. “Ah’m with ya there. How was ah’ s’pose ta’ get anythin’ done when ah’m no bigger than the apples Ah’m buckin’?” Said Applejack. “Um, girls, I’m glad we’re back to normal but, shouldn’t we be going now?” Fluttershy interjected. They were all confused on why she was in a rush to- SORA! That’s right! Sora was fighting someone the last time they saw him, all on his own!  And as it was someone they’d ran into before, they knew he was no easy opponent, to begin with. “Right let’s get outta here! ...Where’s the door?” Twilight asked as she looked around, strangely enough, the library was still a jumbled mess. “How come this place isn’t back to normal? We stopped Discord after all.” “Your guess is as good as mine, Twi,” Rainbow said as she watched a book fly by like it was a bird. “Maybe… it's a time delay thing?” Twilight was shooting a guess but even she didn’t have confidence that that was the answer. The group remained in silence as one look of the place told them that they weren’t going to find the exit anytime soon. “We should try splitting up to look for it.” Suggested Rarity. “But what about him?” Fluttershy pointed at Discord with concern. “He’s trapped in stone Flutters, I’m sure he’s not going anywhere anytime soon,” Rainbow reassured her. “She’s right, finding an exit is our biggest priority. We’ll all go our own ways and search, then come back here when someone finds it.” Twilight said. With everyone agreeing they all left to search, but just as Twilight was about to leave, she saw her again. That other self. With that same smile on her face as if she knew more than she did… Twilight frowned and walked past her, but once she had she stopped and spoke to it without turning around. “I know you’re a part of my mind, but I that doesn’t mean I should listen to what you say.” The “other” Twilight simply laughed before vanishing, but not without giving one final remark. “Keep telling yourself that. You know I wouldn’t talk about it if you weren’t thinking it...” The search took a while, twenty or so minutes actually, but eventually Rainbow was the first to spot it. Apparently, the door was on the move constantly. Not as in it was shifting along the walls, as in it had its own pair of legs and was jogging around the place. While the girls gathered together, Rainbow was left to follow it so they wouldn’t lose track of it. After some time watching Rainbow from a distance, they were able to notice that the door was running a pattern. Going by that, Twilight was able to come up with a plan before picking out a good spot for them to catch it. They all hid behind the sofa and peeked out carefully, waiting for their chance... When it did appear, Twilight put her amazing idea into motion. “RUSH IT!” And they booked it toward the door. Rainbow, hearing the signal made a dive for it as well. When the door noticed the crazy pony mob running straight for it, it tried turning around and sprinting away, but rainbow got to it first and tackled it to the ground with all her friends dog piling it to help keep it pinned. “We got it!” “Quick! Open it!” Applejack yelled. “Where's the door knob? Your bodies are blocking my view!” Rainbow yelled from under the others. “Hey, why do you think they call it a dog pile, guys?” Pinkie asked. “Not the time or place Pinkie!” Twilight replied. “I think it was over here,” Fluttershy said as she tried to feel around for it. However, before she could find it the doorknob turned on its own and the door opened from beneath them. ~~~~~~~~~~ Just Outside the Library Sora and the dragon had been going at it non-stop, their feet were dragging at this point and their swings and swipes at each were starting to whiff the air rather than strike their target. Things were not looking good on Sora’s end, the dragon had managed to drag the fight out longer than he would’ve liked. After so many uses of the bead, Sora could tell that he had 8 minutes left, and that’s being optimistic about it. Soon enough he’ll change back to his pony form, which will only make things worse on top of his growing exhaustion. If only he had some time to rest or some kind of trump card to use... but he figured that was all planned out by the dragon. He separated him from the girls using that Discord guy’s power, Sora noticed his house was gone some time ago, and there was no sign of Spike or Merlin so he could assume the dragon had a hand in that as well. He more than likely did whatever he did while Merlin was training Spike, then had Discord wreak havoc on Ponyville so the people and guards would have their hands too full to come back him up. His opponent was prepared and knew far more about Sora than Sora knew about him. Heck, he didn’t even know his name. “Just who are you... anyway?” Sora went for a lunging strike which the dragon barely dodged, leaving him to stumble forward and receive a kick, though it didn’t have the same impact as it did when the fight started. Even so, it was enough to get Sora tumbling over to the side with a grunt. “Finally curious are we?” The dragon replied as he sluggishly charged at him, sword over his shoulder and ready to swing down, “Gonna... have to make me talk if you really want to know... more.” He went to swing it down, but his waning strength slowed the attack, giving Sora just enough time roll away from it and stagger to his feet. “And I have no intention of giving up.” “That makes two of us.” He ran toward him once more, the dragon doing the same. However, before they could clash they both stopped in their tracks when something zoomed right above them loudly. “What?” One look and Sora instantly felt relief. “The Gummi Ship!” “Impossible… That wizard’s doing?” The dragon scowled at the sight. Meanwhile, in the gummi ship. “There! You just passed it! I can see Sora, he’s fighting someone!” “Bringing her around!” Called out Donald as he made a hard U-turn that had both Spike and Goofy hanging onto their seats. Once Donald roughly landed the ship, he didn’t hesitate to jump out his seat and join Spike and Goofy as they exited the cockpit, weapons in hand. “SORA!” Donald casts a Curaga spell. It healed Sora’s wounds, but the exhaustion was still evident on his face. “Donald! Goofy! ...And Spike? How did you-” “It’s a long a story, we’ll catch up later.” Spike ran up to him and summoned his sword as Donald and Goofy stood behind Sora, weapons out and ready to fight. The dragon sighed. “Numbers again huh? Can’t say it’s a fair fight.” He eyed the four of them carefully. “You gonna run away?” Sora said to him. “Well, I’m not letting you. You have too much to answer for, and I want my friends back.” “Yeah!” Spike yelled. It was all he can think up at the moment. The dragon stood there panting, sword pointed at the four. It was clear they were gonna chase him down if he tried to run and he didn’t have anything to create a diversion… But then again... “Who said anything about running away?” He gripped his sword tighter. It was all or nothing. “I still need my own question answered as well.” His muscles started tensing up. “Give me your best shot, Hero!” His nostrils flared and smoke bellowed out from them before he started changing right before their eyes. His black scales changed to a more metallic looking sheen as if each one of them turned to steel. His size increased half over in pure bulk, one could see the muscles bulging obscenely even beneath his scales. Finally, a cerulean aura started radiating off of him, but this aura seemed more fire like than the kind you would see when a unicorn was using magic. It was fierce, just like his eyes when the transformation ended and he glared down at the group. “Uuuuuuh...” Spike stood there wide eyed, nearly dropping his own weapon from the shock of the sudden display. “Donald! Goofy!” Sora looked back at his friends, the two of them nodding to him in return. He then turned to Spike. “Sorry little guy. You mind if we take care of this? It feels like it’s been forever since the last time I fought with them. And I actually need to you to go to the library and look for the girls.” Spike had no complaints after seeing the other dragon Hulk out in front of them. “Uh, yeah… Yeah, sure...” And with that, he ran off. But just before got to the door, it swung open from the inside. “FREEDOM!” He was then immediately dogpiled by six exhausted mares that he was more than familiar with. “Umph! Girls!” He called out in shock. “Spike?!” He could hear Twilight, there was then some pushing and shoving until she finally found him at the bottom of the pile and pulled him out. “Spike! You're ok!” She pulled him into a hug. A very tight hug. “Twilight... Air... Need...” “Oh! Sorry, I guess I got a little Pinkie there.” Twilight relaxed her grip on him. “I resent that comment!” Pinkie popped up from the pile while raising her hoof. When she noticed everyone was looking at her she just giggled. “Not really, silly.” “Anyways, can you guys get off now!” Said Rainbow Dash from the bottom of the pile. Once they all started getting to their hooves, their priorities were put into order. “Wait, where’s Sora?” Applejack asked, but her question was immediately answered when she looked past Spike. “He’s still fightin’?! Wait, who in tarnation are those two fellers?” “Friends!” Spike said to reassure her. “Sora’s friends!” Fluttershy gasped. “Look at the cute little duck!” She had a look of pure bliss “Aaawww, he’s dressed up like he’s a pony. Sooo Cute!” She clapped her hooves together. “Riiight.” Rainbow looked over at her shy friend’s excitement before looking back at the fight before them. “I remember them from Sora’s story, that’s probably that one guy, Donnie or something.” “Sush!, Fight time!” Pinkie jumped in front of them with a bucket of popcorn from who knows here and a lawn chair to sit on. “Cue the battle Music Mr. Writer!” (don’t be so bossy) While Pinkie’s words left the others more confused than usual, the battle between our heroes and the Dragon was already under way. “Donald! Goofy!”  Sora called out as he stood up straight and placed a hand on his chest. “No time to explain but I’m really short on time. We need to go all out, now!” Hearing this and seeing his pose, his two friends were quick to pick up what he meant. “Right!” They replied in unison. Sora then nodded and closed his eyes for a brief moment. The girls were curious about what Sora meant before they saw a light come off of Sora and a crystal like spherical shell engulfed him only briefly. Once the shell broke apart both Donald and Goofy seemed to have disappeared. This reminded them of something recent. “Give me Strength!” Sora called out, and when the light show ended what stood before them, hovering in mid air was this: (Picture owned by Square Enix…. Obviously...) “No way!” Rainbow was slack jawed. “They can fuse too?!” “No, I don’t think that’s right Rainbow!” Twilight commented, her eyes also glued to the sight. This is different from their fusions... It’s… “It’s a Drive Form!” Both Applejack and Pinkie Pie replied. “Good... GOOOD, I SAY!” The dragon yelled. “If you’re not willing to give it your all, then you have no right holding that key!” He roared before he charged in, his previous exhaustion seemed like it was a thing of the past. But truthfully, his current form was just helping him ignore it... for now. The same could be said for Sora too. “FIGHT ME!” “With pleasure.” Sora replied before flying right at the enemy. The time was closing in on sunset when their blades clashed. The orange-ish hues of the twilight sky were starting to appear. The dragon went for a broad swing which was surprisingly fast given the size of his weapon, however, Sora practically danced in mid air as he flipped over the attack. While facing his enemy upside down he brought a hand forward in a swiping motion and his Oathkeeper followed suit as if held by an invisible hand, mimicking the same slashing motion and striking the dragon in the head. The Dragon grunted but it didn't end there, that moment of recoil from damage left him open for Sora to swing his other arm and bring the Oblivion on top of him. He was then subjected to Sora’s merciless onslaught of flying keyblades as he righted himself and thrusted his open palms one after the other repeatedly which in turn caused both keyblades to mimic the action and repeatedly stab at the dragon. Then finally Sora twirled three hundred and sixty degrees, pulled both arms back over his shoulder and gave what looked like a golfer’s swing to knock the dragon back a good few yards before chasing after him. The dragon crashed and tumbled a bit before getting back on his feet as he skidded over the dirt. “Sneaky little brat.” The dragon was ready for more and billowed a huge cerulean flame. Sora just thrust both hands in front of him, causing his weapons to start spinning rapidly, blocking the fire as he closed in. However, the dragon was waiting for that. With his enemy blinded by the fire, he couldn’t see the overhead blade strike from above. However what he didn’t count on was Sora’s intuition kicking in, causing him to stop and hold his hands out to both sides. “Reflect!” Another Reflega spell was cast, but this one was different. Twilight noticed that it seemed larger, stronger and overall much more formidable than the kind Sora usually uses. She then noticed Sora recasting the spell twice more as the fire was still surrounding him while the dragon recoiled from his blade being deflected. Because of the recoil causing him to flinch, he also had no escape from the multiple devastating light explosions that came soon after. Once again the Dragon was left open. This time Sora handed him a barrage of cross swipes as he circled around him thanks to his hovering. He then did a flip and double palm swings down, bringing both keyblades to follow the same path as his hands and gave a downward double strike, slamming the dragon into the ground. Despite the ferocity of the assault, the dragon took merely a second before standing up and punching at Sora, only for Oblivion to block. “That ain’t all I got kid!” His tail swept around to strike Sora but this was blocked by the Oathkeeper. The dragon only smirked before sucking in air. Sora immediately backed off to narrowly escape getting his face burned, then started flying to avoid the bellow of blue fire trailing after him. “Fine. How about some fire of my own. BURN!” With that, he fired off Firaga balls from both his keyblades like they were turrets as he continued circling the dragon. When the dragon’s flame stopped Sora thought it was another shot to charge at him. “You don’t know much about dragons, do ya boy?”  When the dust cleared Sora saw that the dragon was unscathed by the attack. “When you literally breathe the stuff, your body naturally tends to be a bit resistant to it.” He then threw his sword at Sora. “Whoa!” Sora bounced over it, then looked over to the Dragon only to find out he was gone. “What?” “Think fast!” He heard to his left and managed to catch a glimpse of a fist before he got punched to the ground, but thankfully he recovered and landed on his feet. “He’s gotten faster too?” He watched the dragon sprint to his fallen sword to grab it before running straight for him. “I can do more than take some hits when I’m like this!” The Dragon launched three rounds of fire balls at Sora, leaving him to deflect them with his blades. But that was all the dragon needed to help him get in close, starting another ferocious sword fight. This time he was able to parry both keyblades, however, Sora was able to parry his attacks too. Meanwhile, during all of this Spike and girls were watching on in utter amazement at the display. “My word, It’s hard to even keep track of their attacks.” Rarity observed. “GO SORA!! WOOO!” Pinkie Bounced in her seat, waving a big flag with Sora’s face and “#1” next to it. Applejack and Rainbow were speechless... until Rainbow finally said. “Soooo Awesome...” “I just hope this fight ends quickly before anyone gets hurt.” Fluttershy seemed to be trotting in place, anxious and worried about Sora’s well being. “They can do this!” Spike’s claws were clenched as he never even blinked since the fight started. “Sora can’t lose!” He watched his role model at work. Meanwhile through all of this Twilight stared on and wondered. Is this… a power of the heart as well? UGH! He’s trying to drag this out again until I revert back! That was bad for him. He could tell the Drive Form won’t last much longer. That will go first, then he probably has only a minute left after that before he’s back in Pony form and the Dragon would have the upper hand. Sora can’t allow that to happen. Clash after clash, dodge, and parry, one would strike and the other would counter only for their attack to be deflected as well. That was when he had an idea. Fine, then I’ll just have to pick up the pace! And so he did, his strikes becoming fast and Wild, but he still kept his head to avoid leaving any openings. The dragon gritted his teeth. He held up well, but in the end, it was still two blades against one. Strikes were starting to connect with his body rather than his sword. He’s getting desperate. That much the dragon could figure out. However, despite being desperate Sora wasn’t foolish. He still kept his opponent from making any major strikes. Eventually, the dragon slipped on a loose rock on the side of the road he stepped on, his leg buckling under the onslaught. The form he was in was starting to visibly crack as well. This is it! He can’t keep his form up much longer either! Sora thrust both hands forward, aiming both Keyblades at his opponent. If Fire doesn’t work, then- “FREEZE!” A sudden burst of ice and snow shot forth from both keyblades and blasted the dragon back, freezing parts of his body. “Gah!... Can’t move...” The dragon struggled but was left wide open. Not much time left. I just hope Donald and Goofy can pick up on what I’m planning He then flew in. “I’m cracking that shell you call armor!” And so began a very extensive barrage. It started with a flying Upper Slash to knock him into the air. This shattered the ice covering him, but that wouldn’t be a problem for Sora as he flew straight at him. Cross strike, slash, stab, spin strike, and a fade away to have him move behind the dragon and slap him up even higher. He physically grasped the keyblades in his hands and wound one back, before firing consecutive strike raids at the guy, each one smacking the dragon higher and higher into the air. When Sora felt like he was at the right height, he focused and raised both his hands above his head. “THUNDER!” Then the Dragon was struck by multiple thundaga bolts at once, paralyzing him for a brief moment as gravity finally started to pull him back. Sora waited until he was close enough to leap and fly over him. He fired another string of attacks, but this time it ended with him joining his weapons and gliding about, striking him like a silver blur. By this point, the dragon’s metallic sheen and the aura surrounding him was nearly gone. Finally, Sora was at the finisher of his combo as he back flipped off of the opponent, his keyblades doing the same until he was a few feet above the Dragon. I’m not liking where this is going The dragon thought to himself before Sora crashed down on him like a meteor with both keyblades, dunking the dragon towards the ground. As his body bounced a foot and half off the ground Sora’s form vanished, reverting back to his usual outfit with Donald and Goofy standing beside him when they landed. However, the moment their feet touched the ground, they had already started up one last attack. Not much time left, have to end it here! It was their last shot. The trio was in sync and seemingly defied gravity once again as they flew straight for him. “Trinity Limit!” Strike one, Break! They wailed on the dragon with fast, consecutive strikes, each one of them getting a hit in before the next one’s turn and running that cycle multiple times. The dragon was helpless to deflect any of them since they came from all directions at once. This ended with the three of them dashing straight through him weapons first. All that knocking him around just made the next part easier to do. Strike two, Major Drive! Still somehow floating in mid air they made a pyramid like position before their weapons spun in front of them, firing an insane amount of strange yellow energy orbs at him, pelting him all over and giving him no way to block them. Now he was disoriented and the pain was locking up his movements, helpless to prevent or avoid the next part. Strike three, Ultima! This one had the three space out and use their magical power to form a sphere of light, then other smaller spheres which circling it vertically. This sphere sucked the dragon toward it before the trio finally released the pent up magical energy in an explosive burst. It was quick, but it was devastating. With all three limits used, the final limit was ready. They finally landed on the ground, with Sora making a backflip like a show off as they stood to face each other. Final Limit! The three pointed their weapons into the air towards the center of their formation. Just like before with Donald’s limit, another, larger light sphere appeared with smaller ones spinning around it, only this time they did so horizontally. In addition to this, streaks of red, green and blue energy that resembled comet tails started swirling around it in varying directions. Once again the dragon was sucked in toward the light as things started getting brighter and brighter, to the point that Spike and the girls had to cover their eyes. When the light faded and everyone could see again the dragon was now lying on the ground. Alive, conscious, but out of commission battle wise. His scales were back to their normal black self, his aura was gone and he had shrunk back to his original size. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were in their battle stance, always wary in case he would get back up. However, after seeing the dragon’s state they started to relax. (End the music here if you want.) Spike and the girls were quiet for a brief moment as if trying to take it all in of what they just witnessed. Sora was the first to break the silence. “Well, I guess that’s tha-” BOOM! A loud booming thud shook the ground, they all looked around ready for another fight before they found the source. Sora’s house was back. Merlin stepped out in his pony form with the Crusaders in tow. “Ah, finally, transporting such large things is always so very taxing on the body.” He stretched making a cracking bone sounds to get the kinks out of him. “Whoa! What happened? Did we miss the butt whoopin’?!” Applebloom looked around. Scootaloo groaned at this. “Aw man. I wanted to see it!” Sweetie Belle joined Scootaloo “I wanted to see everyone's special moves…” She kicked a pebble. After blinking a few times the rest of them sighed, relieved that all was now right in the world. Then poof! Sora’s time was finally up and he returned to that oh so convenient equine form of his. This came as a shock to both Donald and Goofy. “Huh?!” Sora meanwhile finally started to feel all that exhaustion hitting him like a truck as he flopped to the ground. “Too much to explain right now guys... I could really use a nap right now.” And just like that, he passed out on the grass without another word, leaving Donald and Goofy in confusion. Meanwhile, Spike and the girls made their way over to the tree. That was when they were startled by another loud noise. It was the sound of a door slamming open over by the moogle shop, out of which came Mogson with a look of inspiration. “ALRIGHT! I’ve come up with the best plan ever!” He cheered. “I’m making a store chain on this worl-huh?” He cut off his excitement when he noticed everyone else all huddled around an unconscious Sora, a couple craters, scorched grassy patches, frosted ice over dirt, and a knocked out dragon off to the side. “...Is this a bad time?”