//------------------------------//
// Equestria Girls: Friendship Games (Part 5) 
// Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria 
// by Codex92 
//------------------------------//

Kairi paced back and forth nervously in the throne room, her hoof pressed against her communicator as she tried to contact Sora. Aqua and Terra were there as well, both of them looking over Sora's throne, finding it mysterious how it was here when there wasn't any sign of the pegasus or his Keyblade around. Kairi had told them about the discovery Ventus made yesterday, having to wait until evening last night when the couple weren't in the middle of a private "session", even warning Aqua about his whereabouts as he went on to help Sunset's magic problem at Canterlot High.

"Sora, come on. Answer me," Kairi pleaded. With no response, she let out a sigh, worrying greatly for his safety. "Where did he go? He would have told us if he was going somewhere."

"Still no word from him?" Terra asked as he searched through the worlds through the Galactic Map to find out if Sora was somewhere in another world.

"No. I've been trying all morning." Kairi leaned against her throne, beginning to tear up as she began assuming several worst case scenarios. "What if Xehanort caught him? He could be dead, or under his control, or worse!"

"Kairi, it's going to be alright," Terra assured. "Xehanort hasn't shown himself in the last few years, so maybe he's still hiding and coming up with another one of his schemes." His words didn't assuage Kairi's fears, the unicorn burying her face in her hooves as she struggled not to break down. The stallion looked back at Aqua, who had looked over Sora's throne several times to make sure every detail of it was unlike their own. "You figure out why this is happening, Aqua?"

"No," she replied. "His Keyblade isn't here, he's not tiny or invisible, so Discord's shenanigans are definitely crossed off that list..." Aqua continued wracking her brain around this anomaly, but no matter how hard she thought, she just couldn't find an answer. "Our thrones only appear when we're present with our Keyblades. Sora's is here, but his isn't lying anywhere in this room, and there's been no sign of him since yesterday morning when Applejack last saw him..."

"Aqua, where the hell are you!?" Aqua winced as Riku angrily contacted him, confused by the irritated tone.

"I'm in the throne room," she replied. "Are you and Twilight still-?"

"Good. I'm already at the castle." Before Aqua could try to respond, the doors to the throne room kicked open as Riku stormed in. Throwing his Keyblade toward his throne as they both appeared, he marched right up to the unicorn, apparently upset as he glared at the Keyblade Master. "Is this your idea of a joke!?"

"What are you even talking about?" Aqua questioned.

"Riku, what's going on?" Terra asked, trying to calm the pegasus down.

"She knows damn well what she did!" Riku exclaimed. "Apparently, things weren't bad enough when someone ended up knocking me unconscious when I tried to take care of the Heartless problem in Canterlot and locked me in a broom closet at that school, but that turned out to be a farce when Aqua contacted me and Twilight about it!"

Kairi, Aqua, and Terra stared at Riku, the latter two having no clue what the irate stallion was talking about. "...Uhh, can you start from the beginning?"

Groaning in frustration, Riku told them what had happened. "Twilight, Spike, and I were in that classroom up in Canterlot as she got herself ready for that big speech on friendship to future students. After the nth rehearsal, Aqua contacted the two of us, warning us of a Heartless infestation outside of Canterlot. I went out to take care of it, but before I could even leave the building, someone knocked me unconscious with some kind of spell. Apparently, I had been asleep for the entire day when one of the janitors found me this morning, and they had to get Celestia to undo the powerful sleeping spell that was placed on me.

"As soon as I woke up, I began to panic, fearing the Heartless had already attacked Canterlot, but I found no sign of them anywhere when I flew out of the building. I returned and talked to Celestia, asking her where Twilight went, but she didn't know where she was, so then I asked the staff at the school. It turned out that Twilight and Spike headed back to Ponyville yesterday, and now I'm ticked off at Aqua for not only lying to me, I'm freaking out right now because I ran into Spike when I saw him at Rarity's boutique, saying he last saw Twilight head back to the castle with Sora yesterday but didn't see her today, so I tried to contact her with our crystal communicators and kept getting no response! So I tried to call Sora, but he isn't answering either, and I've been throwing this whole castle into a mess since I got back here trying to find her, and I'm afraid something awful's happened to her!" Riku hyperventilated, having finished his explanation as it was being processed by his friends. "Where is she!?"

"...Ok, first of all, Riku, I never contacted you or Twilight about any Heartless in Canterlot," Aqua said, making the white stallion's eye twitch. "Throughout the whole day yesterday, I was spending some quality time with Terra."

"Yeah. A lot of 'quality' time," Kairi emphasized, making the blue unicorn blush slightly.

Riku growled, but he turned to Terra for confirmation. "I was with her all day yesterday. None of us were in the throne room except for Ven, but he's in the human world of Equestria right now helping Sunset with their magic problem. If he saw anything out of the ordinary in any of the worlds, or in Equestria, he would have warned us. Even if he was interrupting the two of us during a very rigorous 'training' exercise."

Terra smirked as he made Aqua blush harder, earning a hard punch in the shoulder as she leered at him, the stallion barely flinching from the contact. "Hey, save your romantic teasing to yourselves!" Riku chided. "And don't lie to me, Aqua! I heard you loud and clear!"

"The only one who called me was Ven!" Aqua argued. "Why would I lie about Heartless appearing!?"

"Wait, did you say Twilight came back yesterday?" Kairi asked.

"Yes," Riku said, though his anger began ebbing into more worry as he looked at Kairi. "...Didn't...Spike tell you guys?"

"We didn't even ask," Kairi said. Now something strange was really going on. First Sora winds up missing, and no one bothered wondering where Twilight was, thinking either she must have still been in Canterlot volunteering to actually teach a class at Celestia's School for Magically Gifted Unicorns or was elsewhere with any of the girls. And if Riku didn't see Sora either, Kairi began to fear the worst now more than ever. "Oh no...This is bad."

"Now Twilight's missing as well," Aqua uttered. "This whole mystery is just getting more confusing and complicated."

Riku wilted, lowering his head apologetically to Aqua for his assumption. "...Sorry, Aqua..."

"Don't worry. I understand you're upset and worried," Aqua assured. "We're going to have to alert the others and get a search party for Sora and Twilight. Let's find Ven first and gather the girls when we return." Kairi, Riku, and Terra agreed with the plan, leaving the mystery of Sora's throne still around for now and made their way to the library. "Kairi had told us Ven was in Canterlot High, so we left it open for him in case he needed to come back."

As soon as they entered the library, the four Keyblade wielders gasped as they saw the machine keeping the mirror portal opened was off. "Uhh, Aqua, you said you kept it on, right?" Riku asked.

"I did," she said. "I even checked it this morning to make sure it was operating just fine." Aqua rushed over to the portal and checked over everything, all the parts keeping it running still in good condition. She tried to reset the machine, but powering it back on didn't bring the portal up. "...I don't understand. Everything's still intact...but it's not..." She began to panic, backing away slowly as she stared at the inactive portal. "Ven's been trapped in the other world for hours, and I can't bring him back..."


"Ok, this is getting even more ominous," Terra said. "Can anything else go wrong?"

As if the earth pony dared to tempt fate, they heard something outside the castle like fabric being ripped, though it sounded distorted. "What was that?" Kairi asked.

"Terra jinxing us," Riku said. Quickly, the four Keyblade wielders ran outside to discover what was happening. Barging through the doors, they saw a strange rift torn in front of the castle, showing Canterlot High with dozens of students from both CHS and Crystal Prep panicking as they looked up in the sky, the clouds darkening the area in a foreboding setting. "What the hell!?"

Before they could question why there was a temporal rift suddenly out in the open, they saw Ventus drop down in front of the portal, staring back at them as he looked worried and on edge. "Ven!" Aqua shouted, running up to him as the others followed. They saw everyone else looking up at the sky, the four Keyblade wielders unable to see what was up there from the size of the rift, hearing girl cackle madly as magic seemed to spark up in the sky as well. "Ven, what is going on?"

"Uhh, kind of hard to explain right now," Ventus said, turning around to face Twilight, gripping his Keyblade tightly in his hand. "I could use a bit of help, though..."

In the human world, Twilight began firing several beams all around her, creating more rifts and revealing more locations around Ponyville, everyone screaming and fleeing for their lives to avoid getting struck. Riku, Kairi, Aqua, and Terra could see some of those rifts opening up in the distance, one all the way out at Sweet Apple Acres, and another in the center of Ponyville. They could hear the ponies in the distance begin to panic, even catching a glimpse of them in the rifts from what they're able to see. Looking up, Aqua gasped when she saw that the sky above Ponyville was beginning to crack, beginning to open a dangerous hole that was about to appear in the middle of the school's front yard.

Hearing the transformed teen laugh again, Riku's ears perked as he recognized her voice. "Wait...is that Twilight!? Was she with you the whole time!?"

"I came through here by myself!" Ventus said. "This isn't your Twilight! It's this world's Twilight!"

Riku balked, moving closer and craned his head down to get a better angle, finally able to spot the human Twilight looking at the portals she made in awe. His jaw dropped at her form in objective horror, unable to imagine his Twilight to turn into anything like this.

"So...there actually was another Twilight???" he questioned. "What the hell happened to her?"

Kairi moved closer and spotted the teen, gasping in horror as she recognized that form. "Oh my gosh...Ven, that's-"

"Yeah, I know," Ventus responded. "That's how she appeared when her jealousy toward you over Sora nearly turned her into a Corrupted Heartless. But this isn't the darkness of envy surrounding her; it must have been the darkness of her bottled up emotions she accidentally unleashed, and got mixed with the magic she stole from the girls and the portal."

"No wonder the mirror portal wasn't functioning," Aqua uttered. "But how was it a normal human girl like this Twilight able to steal Equestrian magic?"

"I think we should really ask questions later and try to stop her," Terra suggested, running ahead and leaping through the rift, transforming into a human as he summoned his Keyblade alongside Ventus.

The other three followed suit, human again as they called their Keyblades and prepared to fight the teen. Ventus noticed Principal Cinch trying to flee, growling at her as she was the one responsible for making Twilight do this.

"Hey! Where are you going!?" Sunny Flare exclaimed as she spotted her principal running past her.

"Anywhere to avoid that...monster!" Cinch said. "And I suggest you do the same!"

"What!?" Ventus shouted. Rushing after her, he flung his Keyblade at the corrupted principal, missing her and stabbing it in the ground in her path, making her yelp in surprise and skid to a halt. Watching the weapon disappear, she turned around, only to have Ventus appear behind her, aiming his Keyblade at her with a distasteful glare and a scowl that rivaled hers. "You have a lot of nerve, since you were the one who created that 'monster'!"

"Y-You dare point a deadly weapon at me!?" Cinch scolded angrily. "You should be expelled if you carry a dangerous weapon like that on you!"

"News flash, you old hag: I never went to this school in the first place!" Ventus shouted, making Cinch back away, but he got in front of her and began pushing her back toward the manic teen powered by magic and darkness. "What kind authority figure are you as a principal, anyway!? She's your smartest student, yet you used her just to try to win a stupid competition that's titled 'The Friendship Games'! You praise her, yet you always feel like she disappoints you no matter what she does! And don't start with me on the blackmail you gave her, forcing her to compete so you think you'd have a better advantage at winning something so ridiculous that's it's not fun for everyone!"

"What!? H-How did you know about-!?" Cinch sputtered, only to remember spotting him leaning against the lockers after her little conversation with Twilight before the second event. "...How much of that did you hear?"

"Every. Single. Word," Ventus emphasized. He growled, thrusting his blade into the ground right by the principal's feet, startling her as she backed away from him. "If there's one thing I can't stand about you, it's that you're a manipulator! I had friends who were tricked by a witch who behaves, and almost looks exactly like you, and I've been tricked by someone who was supposed to be a mentor to me...Twilight and I have a lot in common, and you're starting to remind me of the old man who's brought me and my best friends so much misery..." Grabbing his Keyblade, he pulled it out of the ground, then shot a Blizzard spell at Cinch's feet. She flinched when the spell struck her, freezing her feet directly on the ground. "So, instead of getting away feeling proud of yourself, you're going to stay here and earn your just desserts."

Ventus walked past Cinch, the principal flabbergasted as she struggled to pull her feet out. "Y-You can't leave me here like this!" She grunted as she failed to even crack the magical ice, spotting Sugarcoat, Lemon Zest, Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare staring at her, mortified by what Ventus had said aloud. "Don't just stand there staring at me! Break me out of this so we can get away from her!"

"...You blackmailed Twilight?" Sunny Flare asked.

"No wonder she seemed a lot more anxious before we came here," Sugarcoat said. "It makes sense with the stress of being the smartest student, forced to win the Friendship Games for us and having a threat like that looming over her head that inevitably turned her into the demonic magic monster she turned into after we all pressured her into opening that thing filled with uncontrollable magic. And it was your idea in the first place." Cinch winced, always despising Sugarcoat when she's always so blunt with her honest opinions. "You did kinda deserve this, after all."

The other girls nodded in agreement. Even though they knew it was their principal they just decided to leave stranded with her feet encased in ice and would get in a lot of trouble, the had to admit that karma really got to her after pressuring Twilight like this, and everyone else with the weight of their reputation above all other schools. Cinch began to panic as the Crystal Prep girls left her, trying to force her legs out of the ice once more, promising them all three months worth of detention for leaving their school principal in dire peril.

Ventus rejoined the others as he watched Twilight, wishing there was some other way to stop her without violence, but with the darkness around her, it was the only option they had. "Twilight, you have to stop this!" he called out, catching her attention. While he was busy verbally assaulting Cinch, the rifts she made caused the cracked ground to open a little, nearly making a few students fall in as they ran far away from it. She spotted Aqua, Riku, Terra, and Kairi alongside him, slowly hovering down to the ground as she glared at them, a sense of fear welling up in her by unknown reasons as she stared at their Keyblades. "You're destroying this world by opening these rifts!"

"So what!?" Twilight asked. "There's a whole other world out there filled with magic, and I want to understand all of it! And don't call me Twilight. I'm no longer that weak, pitiful nerd letting everyone trample all over her like a doormat and use her like a rag. My name is now...Midnight Sparkle!"

"You're not yourself," Ventus tried to reason. "This isn't normal magic that's inside of you. You also have darkness that's controlling you. If you let it, then you'll lose yourself forever."

"I can control it just fine, so I don't need to take your stupid advice anymore, Ventus," Midnight said, glowering at the young Keyblade wielder. She growled, leering at his Keyblade, once fascinated by it, but now frightened of it as more than just any normal weapon. "Why am I afraid of that?...Tell me why...Or are you going to keep quiet?"

Ventus tried to speak, but Aqua answered for him. "The darkness in you is responding to our Keyblades. Creatures called Heartless fear it because it is the only weapon that can swiftly destroy the darkness they are made of. Unfortunately, everything you do know was never meant to be known to you in the first place. Whatever you've seen, whatever's happened, you were never supposed to discover."

Midnight Sparkle growled, even as Ventus's friends were denying her the knowledge she sought. "...Fine, then...If none of you will give me answers...then I'll find them on my own." Holding out her hand, she created a blade made of darkness, a dark ethereal aura flowing around the blade similar to her hair. Once it was formed, she grabbed the hilt and shifted the blade and hilt, turning it into a compact bow. A black ethereal arrow glowing brightly appeared in her hand as she pulled it back along with the aura-like string, aiming it up in the air. "First, I'll destroy you and your friends, along with those...Keyblades. Then I'll have all the time in the world to study to my heart's content!"

She fired her shot, confusing the Keyblade wielders, only until they saw a brief flash of dark light as the arrow pierced the through the clouds. Suddenly, raining down on the school were thousands of dark arrows, the students and teachers screaming as they ran for shelter while trying to avoid the slowly crumbling ground and rift throughout different parts of Equestria while the Keyblade wielders scattered, slashing through any arrows heading their way. Sunset dove out of the way of a dozen of them aimed at her, landing with a hard thud, figuring Twilight must still be mad at her. Some of the arrows struck the punctured rift, making some of the students almost fall through the further growing hole, only to be saved by the human Mane Six as they too were in peril of falling, Rarity the unfortunate one of the five as she clung onto the edge while holding two Crystal Prep girls. She spotted the spectrometer Twilight had dropped when she unleashed the magic inside it. It wasn't active at the moment, but she reached out to it, struck with awed terror at how much this little device had been the cause of their problems.

"Sunset, look out!" Flash called out, running toward her as he spotted Midnight Sparkle aiming an arrow at her.

She fired, but Flash managed to pull her up and out of harm's way in the nick of time. Before Midnight could shoot at her again, Aqua and Kairi fired a barrage of magic spells at her, switching her bow into a sword and avoided the attack with a flap of her wings. Riku rushed her while she was distracted, his mind wanting him to hesitate as he was about to attack Twilight, but he swung as she was a major threat to both worlds. She lifted her ethereal sword up and blocked his Keyblade, then thrust her and forward, blasting Riku with a beam of magic and sent him flying backward. Her horn flashed repeatedly, firing beams at her opponents, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus leaping to avoid her shots as they tried to get closer.

The girls struggled to save the fallen students, but with the ground slowly crumbling, they were losing their footing, or hold on the edge for Rarity. "Don't let go!" Rainbow said.

"Obviously!" Rarity shouted angrily, as if stating the obvious was the least of her concerns.

Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, Indigo Zap, and Lemon Zest spotted their opponents in the games losing their grips, all five of them letting their petty rivalry aside as they ran in to help them. Rarity slipped, but Indigo and Lemon Zest caught her before the trio could plummet into Equestria.

"We've got you!" Indigo said as they pulled them up.

Back in the fight, Kairi slashed at Midnight, the magically powered teen's defenses relying on magical shields she created. Her archery may be impressive since she still retained how to use one in Crystal Prep as a recommended physical educational course, but her swordplay was sloppy and inexperienced. She relied on magic to push the Keyblade wielders back, flying into the air to avoid them if she was about to get hit and took shots with arrows or magic spells in the air.

"Twilight, don't make us hurt you!" Riku yelled, leaping up after her and thrust his Keyblade forward.

Her bow turned back into a sword as she avoided him, her weapon's aura growing darker as she swung hard. Riku twisted around and blocked the attack, only for the shockwave of darkness she shot from her ethereal blade struck past his defense, sending him falling back to the ground.

"Then this'll make things easier for me to kill you, and those ridiculous swords!" Midnight exclaimed. She aimed her hand and shot a beam at Riku, only for Ventus to intercept it and deflect it, leaping after her as his gaze focused on her with his Shotlock after charging it up enough. He launched forward and unleashed Multivortex, but each swing and shockwave of wind he released was blocked by her protective barrier, barely injuring her even as he finished his attack with a powerful whirlwind. Midnight's ethereal horn glowed, catching Ventus as she held her hand out and clenched her fist, her magic squeezing his neck as he struggled to break free from her magical hold. "You were so nice to me at first...but you're just like everyone else. You didn't really care about how I felt. You just wanted to take back the magic I stole from your friends." She giggled, making him suffocate more as her grin widened while watching him squirm. "Well, if you want it...then you can have it!"

She unclasped her hand, releasing an electric current that struck Ventus, making him scream in pain as his body jolted from the thousands of volts coursing through his body. Aqua and Terra gasped as they saw what she was doing to him, the former having a flashback to what Xehanort did to him in their final clash in the Keyblade Graveyard, only instead of shocking him, Xehanort froze Ventus's body in ice. Growling with seething rage, Aqua leapt toward Midnight Sparkle, thrusting her Keyblade forward to cut off the manic teen's spell. Granted, her focus was distracted, holding a barely conscious Ventus in her telekinetic grasp, flapping her wings to avoid Aqua, throwing Ventus down toward the ground as she clashed with the enraged Keyblade Master.

"Ven!" Terra called out, dashing off toward him and slid across the ground, catching him right before he met the earth with a painful crash. Ventus's body twitched as electricity surged through his limbs, but he groaned as he squinted his eyes open. "You alright, Ven?"

"...Yeah," Ventus grunted. "Feeling a bit of deja vu, though." Assured that he was going to be ok, Terra sat Ventus down and rejoined the fight. Once his regained feeling in his body, Ventus slowly stood up, Flash and Sunset running up to him to help him as he began to stagger. "Ugh. She's too strong. All that magic, along with her darkness that got absorbed in that thing, it's not going to be possible to stop her now."

Ventus's guess seemed to be spot on as they watched the others continue fighting Midnight Sparkle. Her protective barriers she put up as they got close to her continued to hold, even as all four of them rushed her, Aqua losing her composure after watching Ventus get hurt. Midnight folded her wings around herself as Aqua, Kairi, Riku, and Terra simultaneously struck her, her magical barrier shielding her from the blows, then let out a yell as she unfurled her wings, releasing a powerful surge of dark electricity around her, catching all four Keyblade wielders as they yelled in pain. With all of them stunned, she cackled as she unleashed every magical spell she was able to come up with on them: freezing them in a blizzard of ice and hail, slashing them inside of a devastating whirlwind, blowing them up with a blast of fire, slammed them into each other with her telekinesis, and after tossing them in the air, she threw her arms down, causing the gravity around them to increase tenfold, slamming them into the ground.

Laughing again, Midnight flew up into the air, shifting her blade back into a bow as she aimed it up in the air, Flash, Ventus, and Sunset hearing them groan in pain as they tried to get up on their knees. "Uhh, I think Ven might be right. Where's Sora when you need him?" Flash asked.

"There has to be some way," Sunset uttered. The spectrometer suddenly turned on, surprising Sunset as she held it up. The lights were pointing her to a source of magic, turning to find it pointing to Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. The girls who almost fell into the portal were thankfully rescued by her supposed opponents, her friends thanking them, only to gasp as they felt their magic resonate with the device in Sunset's hand, their bodies glowing as they looked at her. In that brief moment, Sunset's jaw dropped as she seemed to have found a way; not to hurt Twilight, but to save her. Looking back down at the spectrometer, she turned back to Midnight Sparkle as she was about to launch another volley of arrows down on the downed Keyblade wielders. "Twilight, this doesn't have to be this way!" She managed to get her attention, the dark teen looking down while keeping her ethereal bow aimed toward the sky. "I know you feel powerful right now, like you could have everything you want, but that power is something that'll destroy you! I've been where you are now! I made the same mistake you're making!

"I put on a crown filled with powerful magic, fusing with a darkness inside of me that made me feel unstoppable! And just like you, I was overwhelmed by how powerful it made me, slowly eating away at my heart until I turned into a monster! I thought that I could control it once I discovered it, that it could get me everything I desired, never realizing just how dangerous it really was to rely on it!" Midnight seemed a bit surprised by Sunset's speech at first, but she smirked as she aimed her bow down at her.

"But you're wrong," Midnight Sparkle said. "Unlike you, I CAN have everything I want! And I can control this magic, and this darkness, and it isn't taking control over me!"

"You're wrong, Twilight! I know you're not in control of it!" Sunset said. "Even with all that magic and power, you'll still be alone!" She then held up the spectrometer, opening it up as she spoke. "True power comes from Honesty,-" As Sunset began to name the Elements of Harmony in the order she called them, Applejack's magic flowed from her as her hair began flowing toward the sky along with her uniquely-colored mana, the other girls doing the same as Sunset continued. "-Loyalty, Laughter, Generosity, and Kindness!"

All five girls' magic flowed willingly toward Sunset, gathering up in the spectrometer as it absorbed them energy. Flash and Ventus backed away from her, having no idea what she was going to do with the same kind of magic Twilight stole, but Ventus's Keyblade began to move his arm out, aiming it at the spectrometer.

"What is my Keyblade...?" Ventus let out a small gasp, understanding what his blade wanted to do and what Sunset's plan was: fight fire with fire.

Focusing his light, he fired a small beam directly into the magical absorbing device, swirling into the growing orb of magic, only this time it was controlled and releasing a pure warm light around it. "I understand you, Twilight, and I want to show you the most important magic of them all!"

Closing the spectrometer, a small spark of light shot out from inside the glowing orb and flew straight toward Ventus as Sunset threw the device down at her feet. Both teens were caught in a growing sphere of light, similar to what had happened to Twilight, but the magic didn't hurt them in the slightest. They both hovered in the air, letting the magic transform them while giving them the power they need to save Twilight from her darkness.

Sunset's clothes turned into a long and flowing light pink dress with a white skirt, fingerless white gloves, golden greaves that bore the half yellow and red sun that was her cutie mark on the front with an angel wing on each foot to make them look like spread wings, armlets around her biceps with her cutie mark, and a necklace made of pink lace connected to a brooch shaped like her cutie mark as well. Her forehead glowed a bright golden aura, making a long, pointed horn appear that reached maybe three times the average length of a regular unicorn's, and her back sprouted golden ethereal wings, making them seem translucent, but also physical. Her hair flowed like a gentle flame on a candle.

Ventus's clothing turned completely white, changing into something similar to his Keyblade armor while also looking more regal, keeping it loose and mobile for his swift and agile style of combat. He didn't wear a helmet, though, his hair growing streaks of white in a similar style to Sunset's, while also growing out to form a tail flowing behind him. Ventus gasped, feeling what was supposedly Sunset's strengths and abilities flowing through him, almost like he had formed a Dimension Link with her while it was also already fully strengthened without needing to hunt Heartless to find an emblem similar to their wayfinders. On the back of his armor was Sunset's red and yellow sun cutie mark, physically showing his active D-Link with her as they both shared the same magical powers. Sprouting from his back were a pair of wings, twice as long as a normal pair of pegasus wings, and equine ears replacing his human ones to finish his transformation.

The spheres surrounding them faded away, revealing their new forms as they hovered in the air. "The magic of friendship!" Sunset and Ventus said simultaneously.

Everyone gasped and stared in awe at their forms, their power of light and Equestrian magic overshadowing Midnight Sparkle's darkness. Midnight growled, despising the light radiating from them, quickly looking down at the weakened Keyblade wielders as they tried to stand. Ventus saw what she was planning as her scowl turned into a manic smirk, quickly aiming her bow down and firing her arrow down at Aqua, Terra, Riku, and Kairi, unleashing another barrage of dark arrows down on them. With a flap of his wings, Ventus practically teleported down between them, his right arm held back as he summoned a Keyblade made of pure light, similar in design to his Wayward Wind, though it was almost three times as long.

Ventus brought his transformed Keyblade up above his head, spinning it around in one hand as it deflected the arrows, destroying them with the blade of light until the barrage of arrows ended. Once they stopped, he then thrust his Keyblade down into the ground, creating a field of light around him, making his friends glow and healing their injuries. Feeling no more pain, or any burns, bruising, or scars left from onslaught of spells they managed to survive from, they got a good look at the transformed Keyblade wielder.

"Ven," Aqua uttered, unable to find the words to express how powerful her young friend looked.

"You guys keep the others safe," Ventus said, looking up at Midnight Sparkle with pity as he pulled his Keyblade out of the ground. "Sunset and I will take care of this."

"But what about the rifts?" Terra asked as he looked back at the massive hole in the ground.

Sunset answered the question for him, her hands glowing with pure light as she shot golden beams, striking the rifts and sealing them back up. Midnight gasped as her chance of discovering Equestrian magic and studying it was being taken away from her. As soon as the smaller rifts were closed, Sunset then fired at the pedestal where the horse statue once stood, returning the portal's magic and regaining access to reach Equestria from their side before closing up the wide, gaping tear in the fabric of space overlooking Ponyville.

"No! My magic!" Midnight shouted, growling loudly as she flew toward Sunset, her bow shifting back into a sword as she prepared for a hard swing. "You're not taking it away from me!"

As she got closer, Sunset reached a hand to her hip, a flash of light appearing as an ethereal rapier of golden light was pulled from an invisible sheath at her side, blocking Midnight's dark blade as sparks of magic rained down from their clash. "We're ending this, Twilight," Sunset said calmly. "And we will save you from this darkness controlling you."

"I am in control!" Midnight shouted angrily. "I'm doing what I want to do, and no one's going to tell me what they'll force me to do ever again!"

Both teens flapped away, then shot forward and met in another clash, their weapons swinging wildly as they deflected or narrowly avoided their swings/thrusts. Ventus leapt up in the air and joined the fight, catching Midnight off guard as her magic tried to protect her. Her barrier began to crack as his Keyblade struck her, its light burning her as she let out a roar of pain, teleporting away from them and focused on long-range attacks instead. Her horn lighting up as she switched her weapon back into a bow, she fired an endless barrage of arrows while casting several elemental spells to stun them and get them hit by her dark projectiles. The duo scattered, flying around the arrows, explosions of fire, sharp icicles lunging toward them, bolts of lightning raining down from the dark clouds above, and gales of slashing shockwaves that threatened to clip their wings off their backs.

Sunset switched from slashing through the arrows to casting a reflective barrier around herself as she tried to get closer to Midnight. Ventus's incredible speed made it seem like he was warping around in the sky as he flew forward, spinning rapidly with his blade held out, acting like a drill as he bounced off the arrows aiming at him while avoiding the spells raining down on them. Yelling angrily, Midnight returned her bow back into a sword and swung, releasing shockwaves of darkness to push them back, but Ventus slashed through them with his Keyblade, striking her blade and shattering the ethereal weapon from her hand before slashing wildly, piercing her magical barrier until it shattered, making her gasp as a wave of pain along with the burning light gave her a sudden migraine.

With the barrage over, Sunset flew in, rapidly thrusting her golden rapier forward into Midnight, one hard, final thrust sending the dark teen flying back while screaming in pain. Midnight Sparkle growled, seething with rage as she held her repeatedly pierced chest. Looking down, they didn't physically injure her, but the pain lingered, which only fueled her anger. She let out an ear-splitting screech, making everyone cover their ears, even Ventus and Sunset as they squinted their eyes open to watch out for any surprise attacks. An aura of darkness began surrounding Midnight, making her appearance darker and her small pupils turn yellow, slowly losing herself to the darkness inside of her as she glowered at them.

"Why couldn't you all have just left me alone!?" Midnight asked, her arms held out as both her hands began filling with a dark blue sphere of magic, growing bigger and bigger until she brought them together. "Just leave me alone...and DIEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!"

She fired an intense beam of darkness infused magic, Sunset and Ventus quickly reacting as the former charged her own magic in her hands while the latter held his Keyblade forward and focused the light at the end of his blade. Thrusting their arms forward, they both combined their beams of magic and light together into a beam matching Midnight's, both beams colliding with each other as both sides fought for dominance. Both beams remained at a standstill, everyone below watching in fear and anticipation.

Cinch had watch everything from her forced standing position, her feet still frozen as she had miraculously survived getting hit by Midnight's first wave of dark arrows. As she watched Ventus, she had no idea what kind of boy he was, but after seeing four more people with blades similar to his with magic like his, she knew they were not normal by any means, or even from this world. This magic being used was far too dangerous, and CHS had this with them for who knows how long and finally decided to reveal it to them, while also transforming her prized student into a dark monster. She didn't believe she made Twilight into Midnight Sparkle; she believed the magic they had turned her into this, apparently tricked by the rival school as Ventus and Sunset used that same magic, which turned them into something better.

Riku, Kairi, Aqua, and Terra watched the skies as they kept the students, Sunset's friends and boyfriend, and Celestia, Luna, and Cadence from this world safe from any stray spells that came toward them. Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy believed in Sunset and Ventus, knowing they can beat Midnight Sparkle, the animal loving teen holding Spike as he sought someone as the puppy sadly stared at his owner turned into a horrible creature. He knew, somewhere deep down in her, the real Twilight was still there, the terrifying darkness around her keeping her trapped inside. Flash clenched his fists nervously, wishing he could do something to help Sunset, even if he had no magic. All he could do was trust her and her abilities with this newfound magic, struck with awe as the girl who had once turned into a heartless monster, literally and almost completely physically, now changing her life around and is, at this moment, an angelic heroine willing to risk her life to protect her friends.

Midnight Sparkle growled, her darkness growing as she pushed more magic into her beam, pushing Ventus and Sunset back as they were starting to lose this deadly clash of magical light and darkness. She began laughing as she was about to win, the two heroes grunting as they continued pushing back, trying to force more of their power while keeping themselves from being pushed away and lose their hold on their beam. Unable to take the emotional strain, Spike leapt out of Fluttershy's arms, trying to call him back, but he didn't listen as he got underneath Midnight.

"Twilight!" he called out, getting her attention as she looked down, keeping her power surging through her magic to obliterate Sunset and Ventus.

Staring down at the sad puppy dog eyes from the little purple and green canine, something within the transformed teen brought some semblance of Twilight out of her, blinking once as her eyes changed back to normal. "Spike...?"

Her concentration lost, the magic she poured in began to wane, surprising Ventus and Sunset as they looked at each other. Both of them nodded to each other, letting out a grunt as they poured their power into their beam, pushing Midnight's back and sent it toward her. Gasping, the darkness in her took back control and tried to push back, but it was far too late as the pure white and golden beam reached her hands, letting out a scream of agony as the world around her was surrounded in a blinding light, the duo flying forward into the sphere of light surrounding Midnight Sparkle so they could free her heart from the darkness infecting her.





Twilight opened her eyes, finding herself in a dark place after flinching from the blinding light of Ventus and Sunset's magic and light. The only source of light around her was a wide platform she stood on, different shades of purple with a big, six-pointed fuchsia star in the middle. Looking down at herself, she was still Midnight Sparkle, though she felt like herself as her eyes were normal and the blue aura-like glasses around her eyes were gone. There was nothing else around, just herself and the strange glowing column she stood on.

"W-Where am I?" she asked herself.

"Inside your heart." Twilight gasped as she looked up, Sunset and Ventus slowly hovering down to the platform with a gentle landing. She flinched in fear, expecting them to hurt her, but their weapons weren't drawn, Sunset looking around as she felt just as confused about their exact location. "And no, not the organ meant for pumping blood. It's...well, kind of complicated to explain, but let's just say it's what makes you...you."

Twilight subconsciously brought a hand to her chest, unable to imagine this plane of existence was inside her heart. But it would make sense, seeing how there was nothing besides them in an endless realm of black space.

"...Am I...going to die?" Twilight asked fearfully, but Ventus shook his head.

"No. We're here to help you," he said. "When you released the magic in that pendant, there must have been some darkness that came out from you that it absorbed as well when you finally let out what you kept bottled up inside. It took control of you, and we're going to set you free."

"Don't listen to them!" Ventus and Sunset readied themselves as they heard a much more sinister Twilight's voice. Twilight turned around, looking down at her surprisingly long shadow, only to gasp and back away in fear as it slowly pulled itself up from the ground. Once it finally got out and stood on two legs, the dark image of Midnight Sparkle stood on the opposite end of the platform, her yellow eyes piercing the darkness as she wore the aura glasses. "You want to trust these two after they hid so much knowledge you wanted to learn? After what they said to you?"

"I-Is...Is that me???" Twilight asked timidly, wanting to flee and hide behind Ventus and Sunset, but she was too scared to get close to them as her darkness had a point.

"It's your darkness," Ventus explained. "The one who was really in control."

"You better off alone, where you don't have to feel pain by getting close to someone, or trusting them if they're being too nice to you," the Heartless said. "Everyone at Crystal Prep looks down at you like a freak when you're the smartest girl at school. No one ever appreciated you talents, your brains, or even your personality. Even Principal Cinch was using you just so she could win the Friendship Games, just like those two used you to try to take back the magic you took."

"That is not true," Sunset said. Twilight looked at them, bringing back her yelling at the poor girl over her invention she couldn't control as she let out a sigh. "It was wrong of me to yell at you like that, Twilight. I really am sorry."

"Apologies won't make the pain go away," Midnight Sparkle said as she began walking closer to Twilight. "You wanted to deck her in the face when you snapped, Sunset Shimmer. You have a darkness of your own from the anger you expressed."

Ignoring the Heartless, Sunset spoke to Twilight as she moved closer as well, Ventus staying close with his hand ready to summon his Keyblade in case Midnight tried anything funny. "I was under a lot of stress like you were. I couldn't figure out how to control our Equestrian magic in time for the Friendship Games, and if you and the rest of Crystal Prep found out about it, you'd think we'd use it to cheat and win...Unfortunately, your principal seemed to have noticed and believed we were cheating."

"She was too blinded by trying to win to realize that everyone was in danger, including herself," Ventus added. "Tell us, Twilight: Do you really look up to Principal Cinch, or do you fear her? Because you know I heard her talking about an application to something, holding it over your head and blackmailed you for something."

Sunset gasped in surprise, shocked to hear something so low come from a Crystal Prep principal. Twilight winced, wrapping her arms around herself as she began to tear up. Her dreams were probably dashed after today, possibly forfeiting the games due to her attacking everyone, which meant everyone was going to hate her and she'll forever be alone.

"...M-My application...to Everton's independent study program," Twilight mumbled, Midnight basking in her despair as she moved closer, but Ventus intervened, summoning his pure light of a Keyblade and holding it out in defense. The Heartless growled as she backed away balling her fists as her dark aura began to forge her blade. "I...I just wanted...to continue my studies...I wanted to know more...S-She..." Twilight sobbed, falling to her knees as she finally let out the dreaded secret that gave her so much anxiety in only a single day. "...She was going to throw away my application if I didn't compete in the Friendship Games and win for her...I was so scared in the second event. I lost it and missed my shot so many times in the archery portion, and I gave you a head start...I didn't want to fail, but I did!

"Then I grew desperate and actually listened to her, telling me to release the magic I stole, and I was pressured by the rest of my classmates! I knew it was dangerous, but I did it anyway like an idiot, and I almost killed everyone! From both worlds!" Twilight buried her face in her hands as she cried heavily, her wings folding over herself, hiding her shame from the only three people in her heart. "I turned into a monster..."

"That's why you don't need anyone," Midnight said, a sinister smirk on her face as her sorrow only fueled her power. "It's better to be alone. Since no one appreciated you, why appreciate what they do,
or who they are?"

Midnight yelled out in pain as Ventus slashed at her, making her back away and growl. "You're not a monster, Twilight. Your principal's the monster." Slashing at Midnight again, he sent the Heartless flying back near the edge of the column before he walked around Twilight and stood in front of her. He knelt down, gently moving one of her hands away for her to look at him with a sympathetic look. "Believe me. Sunset and I both know how you feel. She let darkness in her heart out of her anger toward a Celestia from the other world when she ran away. That darkness turned her into a monster, but two people saved her from that darkness before it could fully consume her heart.

"But with me, we both have a lot more in common than you think." Holding out his hand that held the long blade of light, Ventus reverted it back to the Wayward Wind. "I had my own darkness to deal with, but I also had a mentor I thought I could trust, only to find out he used me for his own benefits. He was just like Cinch, and I suspected she was up to no good the moment we first met her. In fact, he was the one who gave my darkness life, erasing my memories of what hell he put me through." Twilight stared at his Keyblade, drinking in what of his past he explained as she noticed the similarities between her and him. "But I had friends who were there for me when they saw how much of a zombie I acted like after that, and I was glad to have met them."

"Then why tell her everything she wanted to know was futile, or too complicated?" Midnight questioned. "She's clearly smart enough to understand how magic works now, and with enough information, she could learn more about it!"

"It's because anything I told you about me, or even about Equestria and its magic, it could end up falling in the wrong hands and be used for evil," Ventus explained. He stood up, his Keyblade at his side as Twilight continued listening to him as he began to tell her everything. "I'm what's known as a Keyblade wielder, a warrior of light who uses the Keyblade to protect the worlds outside of this one from the threat of darkness. We stop Heartless from hurting others, destroying the worlds, and make things right in each world without meddling in the affairs of those worlds. At times, that rule is always broken if many lives are at stake, and we do get involved half the time. The history behind Keyblade wielders is forever lost now as only a few of us remain, but it should remain lost and forgotten so those with evil intentions don't discover the secrets behind the Keyblade, the power of darkness, and much more...That's why it's so complicated to explain, because, like I said, you shouldn't ever know...but, now you do."

"That also goes the same with Equestrian magic," Sunset said, Twilight still wracking her head over who Ventus really was, but she paid attention like the straight A student she is. "It's so complicated to understand. Not even I know how it worked in this world, and I brought it here when I ran away." She then scratched her head and let out a nervous laugh. "I guess after the last two times, it was kind of hard to hide two powerful beams of magic from the Elements of Harmony when you can see it several miles away. But that's why I wanted it to stay a secret because of how unstable it was. If anyone were to try to use it, things could end up the same way today had...It was just unfortunate for us that you were the one who got so focused on discovering what it was and why it was here."

After finally learning the reason why Ventus and Sunset had gotten upset at her for her constant questioning and persistence in figuring out what was going on, Twilight understood what they told her quite clearly. She looked down at herself, hugging herself again as her wings drooped in sadness.

"Everyone will hate me now," she uttered. "...I have nothing..."

"You're wrong," Sunset said. "Let's show you another way, Twilight, just like those two who saved me did for me."

Looking back up at them, she saw Sunset and Ventus holding their hands out to her. "We can start things over, and you'll never have to feel alone or unappreciated."

Twilight began to tear up more, feeling great uncertainty as she shied away from their hands. "You don't need anyone! They're just going to lie to you! You could have beaten them, learned more about this magic too if that stupid mutt didn't try to pull you back from the brink with those damn eyes of his!"

Twilight winced at Midnight's words, looking back at her darkness in utter disdain. Spike was her loyal companion, the only one who had understood her and never treated her like the others. He was her canine companion, and now that he could talk like her, he turned into her best friend. She would never give him up for the world, even if it meant he would be the only friend she would ever make in her life if none of this ever happened. Looking back at Sunset and Ventus, she hesitated for a slight moment, but seeing that they were being truly sincere with her, she reached her hand out to theirs. Midnight Sparkle gasped, then lunged forward with her ethereal blade ready to swing at all three of them, but as soon as Twilight touched both of their hands, a bright light shone around them, making her shriek and shield her eyes as she skid to a stop. Twilight slowly turned back to normal, the light shining brighter as Midnight's screams of agonizing defeat faded away, the trio leaving her heart.





Everyone watched the bright column of light, wondering what was happening inside after Ventus and Sunset struck Midnight Sparkle with their magical beam and flew straight into her. They didn't need to wait long as the column disappeared, revealing the trio were back to normal as they floated back down to the ground, their hair a frazzled mess after losing their new forms. As they landed, Twilight's tears continued to shed, still worried how everyone around them would feel about her after what she did.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen..."

"We know," Sunset said. "And going by my own experiences, they'll forgive you."

Behind Sunset and Ventus, Twilight could see their friends and her classmates, even with her poor eyesight. She looked away, finding no chance that they would, but she looked back at Ventus as he placed his hand on her shoulder. The grin he gave her reassured her as she smiled a little. She then heard Spike bark happily, carrying her glasses in his mouth as he leapt up into her arms, Twilight hugging him tightly while silently thanking him for helping her break out of her darkness's control.

"Ven!" Aqua called out.

He turned around, watching her run up to him, knowing that greatly worried look on her face as he was expecting to get crushed in her arms. "Oh boy. Here we-GRK!"

As he expected, Aqua pulled Ventus into a bone-crushing hug, going into a full-blown tangent of a mother worried sick about her lost child she found after what felt like an eternity. "I was so worried about you! I didn't know the portal was gone! What happened to you while you were stuck!? Are you eating well!? Did you suffer any physical paralysis after-!?"

"Uhh, Aqua? I think you're suffocating Ven," Terra said.

After Terra interrupted her constant string of questions, she looked down and saw Ventus flailing his arms while his face was pressed against her chest, cutting off his air supply as she held him tightly. "Oh!" She finally let go, the teen inhaling a big gulp of air and fell over, letting out a groan at his friend's overly-protective nature. "Sorry."

"Ugh." Ventus got back up on his feet, brushing off the dirt on his clothes. "Aqua, I was fine. I did freak out a little bit when the portal disappeared, but I found out what happened, and now all this mess is over and the portal's back..." He suddenly got worried as he looked over at Sunset. "Uhh, it is back, right?"

"I restored the portal while I fixed the rifts," Sunset said. "So, we're free to go to Equestria again."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Ok. I kinda thought we were all going to be stuck here..."

While everyone recovered from the shocking, almost deadly encounter with Midnight Sparkle, Cinch struggled to pull her feet out of the ice. Luckily for her, it melted enough and she managed to kick her legs out, surprised she didn't suffer frostbite as she was frozen to the ground for so long. Straightening her glasses and pressing down her clothes, she marched up to Celestia and Luna.

"Principal Celestia, on behalf of Crystal Prep, I demand that you forfeit the Friendship Games!" she exclaimed angrily, catching everyone's attention as Ventus glared at the principal. "Clearly, CHS has had an unfair advantage for quite some time! It's certainly obvious that your students have been using magic for their own benefit, and that same magic had corrupted one of my students into a demon!"

Ventus had to bite his tongue, but Terra and Riku made sure to hold him back when they saw how tense he was getting. "I would like to think that saving the world benefits us all," Celestia countered calmly.

"At least they didn't manipulate Twilight into releasing all the stolen magic and turning into a power-crazed magical creature that tried to rip the world apart to win a game while forcing her to compete in said game by blackmailing her," Sugarcoat said in one breath.

The entire school was silent as everyone stared at Cinch in shock, even all of her students couldn't believe the woman who claimed their school's reputation was important, yet she squanders it by threatening them into doing something SHE wants. Even Cadence was appalled, leering at her boss with her arms crossed.

"Wow! That's a lot to take in when you say it all at once," Pinkie commented.

"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Cinch denied.

"Nope. That's pretty much what happened," Spike said aloud, surprising the principal as she backed away from the talking dog.

"Actually, all of us are to blame," Sour Sweet said innocently, then glared at Cinch. "But it was mostly her fault."

Cinch balked, failing to pedal back from the the accusations cast on her, even though they had every right to with how much trouble Twilight was put through. "Obviously my students are also infected with your magic, but I plan on taking this up with the school board!"

"Oh, good," Celestia sarcastically said. "I'm sure they would be very interested in hearing all about the magical students with wings."

"And the portals to different dimensions releasing man-eating plants and black creatures with yellow eyes," Luna added.

"Not to mention the talking dog," Cadence included, though still holding her distasteful gaze toward the principal. "Good luck trying to explain all that to the school board...Although, I'm pretty sure they'll be curious to hear about why Principal Cinch, a woman with an incredible reputation, resorted to blackmailing one of her students, more specifically my future sister-in-law, into competing in the Friendship Games."

"S-Sister-in-law!?" Cinch exclaimed in shock.

"Oh yes. Did I forget to mention Shining proposed to me a couple weeks ago?" Cadence asked, holding out her hand to show her the diamond ring in the shape of a heart, smirking as no one had even noticed when she started wearing it. She could tell Twilight's jaw dropped when she heard the news, knowing she had been seeing her brother since she was little, but this was a big surprise and she felt like jumping for joy, though not in front of her classmates and embarrass herself anymore than she had today. "I was planning to reveal the news with Shining when we had time to visit his parents, though I let the surprise out early because you were technically hurting my family. And behind my back."

"...So, human Shining Armor and Cadence aren't married yet?" Riku asked aloud, scratching his head in confusion. "I thought things would be sort of similar between these worlds, including relationships and marriages."

"This world's Twilight never made any friends, though," Kairi said. "Well, now she will after all this."

Cadence continued giving Cinch a dirty look, as if daring her to go on and tell the school board about the impossible things that had just happened mere moments ago. She growled, almost ready to blow a fuse and lose her composure, but she calmed herself, let out a huff as she straightened her blouse, then turned and walked away in defeat.

"Well, I know the Friendship Games weren't what any of us expected," Celestia said. "But given what we've all been through, I think it's fair to declare all us all winners!"

Cheers rang out from both schools, this day changing the ideals of the Friendship Games from a competition of who's better to both schools enjoying themselves and making friends, and expect to continue that tradition and pass it down to the next generation who will take part.





The sky was clear as the dark clouds finally went away, the Friendship Games over with both teams winning with a draw. Students from both schools actually gave their now formal rivals a chance, growing new friendships where they shared interests and hobbies. Cinch was nowhere to be found, possibly getting a ride back to Crystal Prep after being humiliated by Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, or she was too afraid to encounter Ventus again and dread what else he would do to her to make her learn a lesson. While the teens talked, Aqua and Terra met with Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna as they discussed about what had occurred at CHS and introducing each other, leaving out the mysterious disappearance of Sora and Princess Twilight back in their world.

Twilight sat on the steps with Spike in her lap, taking the break from all the stress, anxiety, and depression she had been through. She watched her peers as she pet Spike, content to just being by herself, though she did feel a bit alone without Sunset, Ventus, or their friends around. Cadence found her and sat down beside her.

"Well, that's one way to finish up your time at Crystal Prep," she said jokingly. "So, you excited about me and Shining finally tying the knot?"

"I am, though if you or my brother decided to tell me about you two getting married mere days before the big day, I would have had some serious words with that lunkhead of a brother," Twilight said.

"I'm also going to have a little talk with him about Cinch's blackmail over you," Cadence added. "Speaking of, hopefully she's fast-tracking your application, otherwise she'll end up getting fired over such a serious crime. And all because she wanted to win and prove how much better Crystal Prep is than Canterlot High."

"...Actually, I've been thinking about that," Twilight said. "...I don't think now is a good time for me to apply to Everton." Cadence was slightly caught off guard as her sister-in-law had second thoughts on getting a better education in Everton's independent study program. "I know a lot of things...well, things I'm not supposed to poke my nose into if they're that dangerous, but friendship's not one of them...I'm not going to learn much about it when I'm on my own."

"So, does that mean you're staying at Crystal Prep?" Cadence asked.

Twilight looked down at Spike, hoping he would give her an answer, in which he responded by pointing his paw at the CHS students. "...Well, everyone at CHS knows an awful lot about the subject...I don't suppose..."

"You could transfer to Canterlot High instead, if that's what you're going to ask." Seeing the excitement in Twilight's eyes and quickly hugged her, she wasn't going to deny her request, knowing it would be beneficial for her sister-in-law to finally be happy and have some friends. "You're going to be missed at Crystal Prep, but I think it's a great idea. I'll speak to Principal Celestia about it right away."

"You're the best, Dean Cadence!" Twilight exclaimed. "Or...could I just call you Cadence normally?"

Cadence giggled, not even surprised to be just called by her name without any title, seeing how it would be like old times when she used to babysit Twilight when she was in high school. "Just Cadence is fine, Twilight."

While the soon-to-be sisters talked, Riku leaned against the platform where the horse statue used to be, its remains in far too many pieces to be reconstructed. He eyed the Twilight of this world, finding it odd to see her with glasses and her hair worn in a bun. He began to worry about his Twilight, though, unsure if she was safe, in peril, kidnapped, anything that made him think the worst-case scenarios running through his head.

"You alright, Riku?" Ventus asked, noticing the worried expression on his face.

"No," he said. "We stopped our search for Sora and Twilight to solve the dimensional rifts and rescue this Twilight. I just hope she's ok..."

"Sora and Twilight have always been through worse. Wherever they are, they can protect themselves." Ventus's reassurance didn't seem to assuage Riku's fears, his foot twitching as he wanted to jump back through the portal and continue his search for his missing friend and girlfriend. Ventus grinned, bringing his hands behind his head as a thought came to mind. "So, if our Twilight is found, you gonna consider spicing things up by making her wear glasses and dressing her up like a schoolgirl?"

Riku nearly slipped and sputtered, turning to Ventus with a huge blush as he leered at him. "W-What!? What the hell made you come up with a crazy idea like that!?"

"Well, maybe you're curious to know what she looks like with glasses," Ventus reasoned, his smirk growing impish as he steered Riku's thoughts away from the negative, getting that small hint of Sora's teasing nature after waking back up in his body. "Nerdy girls look hot with a pair of lenses, or so I heard."

Riku's face couldn't turn anymore red, unable to stop thinking about alicorn Twilight wearing a pair of glasses, growling in frustration at the many poses she would be in to tease him. "Ven..."

"Yes?" Ventus asked, only to receive a hard punch upside the head, sending teen sprawling face first on the ground.

"I'm heading back through," Riku quickly said. "While searching for them, I'm going to tell the girls not to worry about the rifts that appeared in Ponyville."

He made his way around the statue and passed through the portal, trying to ignore human Twilight before his thoughts on his Twilight got a bit too risque. Ventus groaned and sat up, rubbing the bump on his head, grinning to himself knowing he deserved it.

"You really are a lot like Sora in so many ways," Sunset said from behind him. Turning his head around, he found her, Flash Sentry, and the rest of the girls standing behind him, most of them snickering at the hilarious stunt he pulled on Riku. "I'm guessing you bump heads with him just as much as Sora, too?"

"Nah, not really." Ventus stood up, rubbing his sore noggin. "That little remark I said to human Twilight earlier today just came back to me. And I figured he could have something to think about to avoid worrying about pony Twilight."

"I think you need yourself a girlfriend of your own, Ven," Kairi said.

"Hey, one of us needs to be the sensible single guy of the group," Ventus argued.

"So, you think you and Sunset can pony up like that again?" Rainbow asked curiously. "Because that was so awesome!"

"I'm not sure if we can," Sunset said. "Twilight's pendant shattered when I threw it on the ground. I doubt she would need it again. Something like that could fall into the wrong hands. But, speaking of magic, I now finally understand how magic works in this world: by showing the truest part of ourselves, we pony up."

Ventus let out an exasperated groan. "Just. Say. Transform."

"Too bad! We're calling it 'ponying up'!" Pinkie said, putting on a pair of sunglasses she pulled out from behind her. "Deal with it."

Ventus sighed, giving up on the argument before he got a headache. "Ok, pointless name to call activating our magic aside, I realized just how much I seemed to rely on Twilight for any answers," Sunset said as she pulled out her enchanted book. "I was so busy waiting for someone else to solve the problem, and Ventus was the one who figured it out. But if something like this happens again, I won't give up so quickly."

"Twilight definitely has her hands full back in Equestria, what with her Keyblade training, ruling her castle, saving Equestria from random villains who want to take over the kingdom, helping us stop Heartless," Kairi said as she listed nearly everything Twilight does on a daily basis. "Oh, and random study sessions or flirting with Riku. Whichever comes first."

"Eyup. She's got plenty of 'problems' to deal with," Applejack said, the group laughing at the last two things their Twilight would choose over the other. "We ain't gonna be relyin' on her, or Sora, to help us when we're in trouble with out of control magic."

"Maybe I can help?" Overhearing them, Twilight approached the others with Spike in her arms and Celestia behind her.

"It seems like we have ourselves a new Wondercolt here at Canterlot High!" Celestia announced.

"I don't know how much help I can be, but I'd like to try," Twilight said. "If you would give me a chance."

Ventus and Sunset looked at each other, knowing they had told human Twilight a lot about what she tried to discover on her own. "...Well, I don't know," Sunset said. "As long as you don't make another invention that sucks away magic from us again, we'll see if we can let you in on everything else we do know."

"Trust me, I'm never making something like that again," Twilight assured.

"The welcome to the ever-growing group, Sci-Twi!" Pinkie said, pulling everyone together in a group hug.

"Uhh, 'Sci-Twi'?" Twilight questioned.

"You like science, and your name is Twilight! It totally fits your character, and we won't have to be confused when we talk to you or Princess Twilight!" The new Wondercolt only grew more confused as Pinkie mentioned the other girl who looked like her and had the same name. "Now, let's throw a party to celebrate!"

"You guys can celebrate, but we've got to get back," Kairi said. "It was nice seeing you guys again."

The others said their goodbyes as the CHS crew began making their way into the school to throw a party for Twilight as a new student and a sendoff for the Crystal Prep students before heading back. Kairi, Aqua, and Terra walked through the portal, but before Ventus could follow after them, Twilight had stayed behind and tapped his shoulder. He turned around, wondering what she wanted to say as she seemed to look scared.

"You not a fan of parties?" Ventus asked.

"No...it's not that," she uttered. She twiddled her fingers, a question lingering on her mind after encountering her darkness inside her own heart. "...It's about...Midnight Sparkle..." Twilight paused, gulping nervously as she dreaded this answer Ventus would give her. "...Is she...Is she actually gone?"

"...If I said yes, I'd be lying," Ventus said, knowing full well her Heartless wasn't gone. If he did destroy Midnight Sparkle while inside her heart, he could have put Twilight in a coma like he had been in, shattering her heart and releasing her light to be lost somewhere in this world. "Midnight Sparkle's your darkness...She's a part of you, no matter how much you want to deny it."

"D-Does that mean...she'll come back?" she asked worriedly.

"Maybe she will, maybe she won't." His answer didn't assuage Twilight's fears, gulping nervously as she looked down, rubbing her arms as her body trembled in fear. Ventus gently placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look back at him. "But I know she won't come back. It's scary facing your darkness, and I know you don't want to be Midnight Sparkle again. But if you don't want her to return, you need to be strong. Don't be afraid, face your darkness head on and prove you're the one in control. And if you don't think you're strong enough, you've got your friends behind you to back you up and give you the confidence you need."

Twilight didn't know it would even be possible for her to face Midnight again if she showed up again. Ventus made it sound like it was so easy, but he has had experience with something similar, although she figured his darkness must have been ten times worse than Midnight Sparkle. At least she wasn't alone anymore, and if he believed in her, the others will as well, and seeing how much they cared about her even before really becoming friends, she relaxed knowing they would come to her rescue.

She gave Ventus a small smile, trusting him and his encouraging words. "I hope you're right, Ventus."

"I know I am," he said with a grin. Letting go of her shoulders, Ventus reached into his pocket and pulled out his old Wayfinder, taking Twilight's hand and gave her his old charm. "I want you to have this, Twilight."

Twilight held up the green star-shaped pendant, looking it over curiously. "What is it?"

"It's called a Wayfinder," Ventus explained. "Aqua made these for me, her, and Terra a long while ago. They're a symbol of our friendship, reminding us that no matter how far apart we are, we'll never forget each other."

"Oh, but I can't take this if it's that important to you," Twilight quickly said, trying to give his Wayfinder back, but Ventus gently pushed her hands back.

"Don't worry. Aqua's made a new and improved one." He pulled out his new Wayfinder, highly improved over his old one with his Keyblade in the center of the bright green star charm. "She's made one for all of us, although I'm not sure if she made one for Terra yet. Maybe she wants to make his special since they're going out together." Ventus shrugged his shoulders, putting away his Wayfinder as he let that thought slide. "Oh well. As long as I don't walk into them in a room getting busy, if you catch my drift, I'll live with them getting mushy with each other."

"Yeah, I get it," Twilight said, understanding exactly what Ventus meant whenever she barged in on Cadence and her brother when they were trying to enjoy a moment together when she was younger. Looking down at his gift to her, she somehow felt a strange connection between the two of them through it from a magical enchantment coming from it. She's learned her lesson not to dissect anything that works if it's far too much for her to comprehend, but she couldn't help but wonder what it was. "...So, I guess this means goodbye?"

"Not forever. I'll come by and visit when I'm not too busy. And I'll introduce you to Sora, assuming we can figure out where he went." Ventus scratched his head, hoping they'll figure it out soon before something even worse happens. "But don't forget this, Twilight: no matter what happens, even if we're split from different worlds, you'll always remember your friends right here," he said as he pointed at Twilight's chest. She looked down to where he pointed, which was the exact location where her heart was. She looked back up at Ventus, the Keyblade wielder gave her a grin. She understood what he meant, already feeling sad that he was going to leave, but she knew they would meet again. "See ya, Twilight."

Ventus waved her goodbye, then walked through the portal. She waved back and watched the wall ripple from the magical portal as he passed through. Once the wall stopped moving and looked like a normal wall again, Twilight adjusted her glasses as she wiped a tear away from her eye.

"Thank you...Ven," she uttered.





The next day at school, Twilight's first day at CHS went by much better than her days at Crystal Prep. Even though it meant losing her private classroom for her independent studying, she didn't mind it now that she was able to learn about friendship with her Canterlot High classmates. They all hung out by the portal, having a little picnic for lunch as they hung out and shared snacks Pinkie brought for them all. Twilight even smuggled Spike into school, unable to leave her dog behind now that he can talk, the magic that affected him the previous day a permanent one, but it was a good outcome. They talked about how their day was so far, learning more about the new girl at school and her life outside of Crystal Prep, though they figured she was more reclusive and always studied on her free time similar to the pony princess they knew.

"So, Sunset, about yesterday in that fight with Midnight Sparkle," Flash said, getting his girlfriend's attention. "If you're supposed to be a unicorn, and you grew those wings...does that make you similar to pony Twilight as an...what are they called when a pony has both wings and a horn?"

"An alicorn," Sunset answered. "But, I think it was just a temporary form mixed with all the girls' magic and the light that came from Ventus's Keyblade. I do admit I'll miss those wings, but I'm actually glad we resolved this magic hiding problem before things got worse." She looked back at the portal the two of them leaned against, which brought a question to mind. "Speaking of, I hope the others find Sora and Twilight...I wonder what happened to them?"

Suddenly, the portal flashed as someone was about to walk through, surprising everyone as pony Twilight ran out, panting heavily with her Keyblade held in her hands. "I was just told about the magical problem you guys were having!" she exclaimed, unaware of the human Twilight standing in front of her after getting up in surprise. "You will not believe what happened to me and Sora! We got caught in this time travel loop, where we kept seeing worse and worse futures for Equestria and every other world, including our friends, and it was just the strangest thing to ever happen to us!" After taking a breath to try to explain everything, she finally noticed her human self from this world, her jaw dropping as there actually was a double of her in this world. She dropped her Keyblade in shock, everything gone silent as both Twilights looked at each other as everyone anticipated what would happen next. "..........Ok...Make this the second craziest thing to happen."

Human Twilight now understood Pinkie's random nickname she kept calling her yesterday and all day today, though she doubted that would help separate the differences between her and the other Twilight. She wore glasses while the princess didn't, and her hair was tied in a bun while the princess's just flowed down her back. She also saw the Keyblade her pony double had, which meant she was a Keyblade wielder as well. After a moment of silent staring, Sunset began to laugh at the awkward situation.

"Well, I guess we don't have to worry about them now," she said, her question answered upon Princess Twilight's entrance. She stood up and draped an arm around her pony friend's shoulders. "I don't think we need your help taking care of our magic problem. Ventus helped us figure it out the other day."

"...Oh...I guess I didn't finish hearing what Riku was trying to tell me before I rushed over here," Twilight said, laughing in embarrassment before sighing. "I'm kind of glad there's nothing wrong now...I don't think I have it in me to fight right now."

"Is everything ok?" Sunset asked, making everyone worry as Princess Twilight suddenly looked weary. "What happened to you and Sora?"

"It's...a really long story," Twilight said, her Keyblade disappearing in a flash of light, no longer needing it. "I'll tell you everything through the book. I need to tell everypony else about what we both went through first, and I'm already exhausted from all the time hopping."

"Did she really just say 'anypony'?" Sci-Twi questioned.

"Yeah, she did," Rarity said. "Ponies seem to replace 'body' with 'pony', but Sora and his other friends aren't exactly ponies. They're human like us."

Sci-Twi nodded, having a feeling Ventus was like them as she noticed Princess Twilight balling her hands up occasionally like they were hooves. Both Twilights looked at each other again, bringing a closed hand to her chin as she looked at her human double's eyewear.

"Huh. So is that what I look like with glasses on?" she asked herself, Sci-Twi adjusting her glasses awkwardly. "I should get a pair without lenses and see what Riku thinks of me if I wear some..." Before Twilight could imagine the look on Riku's face if she surprised him while wearing a pair of fake glasses, she shook her head, focusing on the matter back in Equestria now that hers and Sora's time traveling adventure finally ended. "I should be getting back. I'll see you guys later...And, nice meeting you, me."

"Uhh...same here?" Sci-Twi said nervously.

The princess made her way back through the portal to reunite with everyone back in Equestria. Silence filled the air again as they were curious to know what had happened to Twilight and Sora, only to have to find out once she writes about it in the enchanted book back in her castle.

"Well, both Twilights met each other, and the universes didn't explode," Pinkie said. "So, does that mean we can visit Equestria one day, meet our pony counterparts, and throw a really big party!?"

"Let's not get that carried away, Pinkie," Applejack said. "But Ah do have one question though: seein' how there were two Twilights and twos of us in Equestria, where do ya think the Sunset Shimmer in our world is?"

"That's...a really good question," Sunset muttered, wondering where her double lived, or if she lived somewhere else.

"Maybe we'll get an answer in the latest Equestria Girls movie!" Pinkie pondered excitedly. "Make it a thing, Hasbro! Show us the answers we want to know! Like where Applejack's parents are today!"

Everyone stared at Pinkie, Applejack feeling a little unnerved by Pinkie's last statement. "Ok, who gave Pinkie Pie too much sugar today?" Rainbow asked. "I swear, you say the weirdest things that don't even make sense."

Twilight remembered Ventus's quote involving Pinkie Pie; don't question Pinkie Pie, keeping her questions to herself and slipping those questions involving the party girl into the "Pinkie being Pinkie" category. She pulled out his Wayfinder he gave her, curious to know what had inspired Aqua to create something like this for her, Ventus, and Terra.

"Where'd you get that, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ventus gave it to me before he left yesterday," Twilight said. "He called it a Wayfinder."

"Oooh. Ventus gave you a little gift?" Rarity asked. "I think he likes you, darling."

"W-What do you mean?" Twilight asked nervously, her cheeks turning pink as the fashionista smirked. She looked at the others as they had the same looks, getting a hint at what they were thinking as her face grew bright red. "N-No! It's a friendship gift! I don't think he likes me like that!"

"Are you sure, Twilight?" Rarity questioned. "He was always the one who helped try to cheer you up, and he was concerned about you with that awful Principal Cinch making your day miserable."

"T-That's all it was! He was just concerned about my feelings!" Twilight argued, hating being teased as her head threatened to explode if she blushed even harder. "This is something he gave to me as a friend! Nothing more!" The group laughed at Twilight's embarrassment, but she knew they were only messing with her. She let out a frustrated sigh, putting the Wayfinder away and rubbed her forehead. "You guys are really mean."

"We're just messing with you, Twilight," Sunset said. "Ven's not really interested in romance anyway."

"Why not?" Twilight asked curiously.

"He told me he was going to wait until they're finally able to stop the person responsible for everything he's done to them," Sunset said. "I don't know how long that'll take, but with how strong they are, I think they can put an end their troubles, too."

They all looked at the portal entrance, not knowing what was happening back in Princess Twilight's castle, but they all hoped Sora was still ok. All they could do was wait until the alicorn had the free time to explain to them what happened in the other world and what they've experienced. Sora was special in his own way, and Sunset had a gut feeling that his strength will put an end to the man named Xehanort who threatened to destroy all the worlds beyond this dimension.