//------------------------------// // Arrival // Story: Elements of the heart // by Saro0fdemonz //------------------------------// Twilight could only stare at the ponies in front of her. A strange white unicorn wearing a blue hat and coat, another was a black earth pony wearing a long green jacket and an orange hat to match it. It was the third pony that surprised her the most, a beige Alicorn wearing a red shirt underneath a black half zipped jacket. All three smiled at her the Alicorn speaking up. "Uh...Hey we're kinda new around here. Would ya mind tellin us where we are?" Twilight shook herself, walking around the three ponies. The Alicorn had a cutie mark that appeared to be two large keys crossed over a heart. The Earth pony had a large shield as a cutie mark while the unicorn had what must have been a staff. Twilight had only seen such a staff once before in Canterlot said to belong to Star Swirl the Bearded. She sat down in front of the Alicorn who smiled at her. "This is Ponyville...um..." "Ponyville huh? Sounds like a weird place t' me" the unicorn said, the earth pony chuckled "Oh lighten up Donald; I'm sure it's not too weird a place." The Alicorn sighed. "Sorry about my friends. My name is Sora, we've kinda been traveling from place to place and it's a bit complicated." "A bit? It's not every day an Alicorn just randomly falls out of the sky. Theres only a hoofful in all of Equestria." "Uh...Alicorn?" Sora asked confused. Twilight could only stare at him, an Alicorn who didn't know what he was. It wasn't the first time she had run into something like this, but Nyx had been a lost little filly then. This was at the very least a teen Alicorn. "You're an Alicorn, like Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. You didn't know?" She asked, watching as he shook his head. "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" the Alicorn seemed surprised by the question, but Twilight felt she couldn't pass up this opportunity to learn more about Alicorns, or at least this one in particular. "Uh well...I guess so..." His stomach growled loudly and he chuckled a little. "How about something to eat first?" Twilight suggested to the three strange ponies. All three smiling widely "That would be great!" Twilight tried to think of a good place to bring the trio for a quick bite to eat walking through Ponyville, the three following behind her. "This Ponyville place looks pretty cool. Hey Donald, don't those guys look just like Pegasus?" Donald looked up at the ponies flying above them, moving the clouds. "They control the weather here in Ponyville." Twilight explained. "Whoa really?" Twilight nodded. "Is the weather where you come from different?" He nodded "Yea, back where we're from it all happens by itself." Twilight froze and turned back toward him. "You mean the Everfree forest?" "The what?" Twilight tried to process what she was hearing, but before she had a chance a large pink blur zipped past her, almost slamming into the Alicorn. The Pink Party Ponies eyes were wide as she looked at the trio, she gasped loudly and zipped away, leaving all in a momentary state of shock. "What...just happened?" "It's not what just happened, its whats about to happen" Twilight said "Huh?" the three said together "5...4...3...2...and" before Twilight could say one, the pink blur returned with a large weird looking contraption, it looked like a normal wagon, but as Pinkie pressed a button it burst open, several instruments began to play as the pony took a deep breath, bouncing around the trio with a multitude of instruments strapped to her body, blowing into a trumpet every now and then, her hooves tied to some drums on her back, hitting them with each hoofstep Welcome welcome welcome! A fine welcome to you! Welcome Welcome Welcome I say how do you do!? Welcome Welcome Welcome I say 'hip hip hurray!' Welcome Welcome Welcome To Ponyville Today!" The party pony skid to a stop on her back knees, holding her forelegs in the air a little breathless, her instruments having somehow vanished from her body. "Uh..." "Wait for it!" She said with a large smile, the wagon dinging and shooting confetti everywhere, making the trio laugh. This only made Pinkies smile grow even bigger. "Hi i'm Pinkie Pie!" "I'm Sora" the Alicorn said, still in a small fit of laughter. "I'm Donald" said the Unicorn from beside him, having finally calmed down. "And I'm Goofy!" Said the Earth pony with a chuckle. "Well it's nice to meet all of you; did you feel welcome, huh? huh? huh? didya!? didya!? didya!?" Twilight used her magic to pull Pinkie away, only to have the Party pony sit beside Sora. She sighed, giving up on trying to control her. Again Sora's stomach growled. "Oh hey you must be hungry, that's fantastic cause I know the bestest best place to get anything to eat anywhere! To Sugarcube corner!" she said, pushing the group into the store. "Is she always like this?" Sora asked with a smile "Yep, that's Pinkie for you." "Twilight how come you didn't tell me you had new friends coming into Ponyville? I woulda had a super duper surprise party for them." Pinkie gasped, her eyes wide "We should have a party!" she zipped off behind the counter and into the kitchen, leaving Twilight there shaking her head. Sora took a seat, Donald and Goofy doing the same. Twilight sat in the booth across from them, a million questions running through her mind. She wasn't sure where to start. "So, how did you find your way into Ponyville? Were you born in the Everfree forest? How did you three become friends?" she asked, talking almost as fast as Pinkie Pie. "Hey I can't answer that fast!" Sora laughed. "Ok let's see...well we were just wandering around from place to place helping anyone we could along the way. We're actually looking for some friends of ours. I'm not really sure what this forest place is and I wasn't born there. And the three of us have been friends for ages. We all met while traveling around." Sora explained, smiling as Pinkie sat down a large tray of cupcakes. Sora stopped himself, staring at the one facing him. In multi-color frosting it read 'I need to talk to you' Before he could say anything Pinkie scooped up the cupcake and gulped it down with a giggle "That one was mine!" she bounced off, turning to look at Sora before vanishing behind the counter. "Uh...hey I wanna go see somethin real quick. I'll be back in a sec." Before Twilight could question him he ran off after Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie?" he stepped into the kitchen and gasped as she pulled him to the side. "Ok, now listen very very very very carefully. I know why your here." "Huh? y...you do?" the pink pony nodded and looked around the room, peeking over the counter to make sure no one was within hearing range. "Mmmmmhm" Sora noticed the party pony couldn't stop twitching, her ears kept shaking and flopping and there was a twitch in her left eye. "Are...you ok Pinkie?" She only smiled and gave a small nod. "Yep, never better." "Then...whats with the twitching?" "Oh that's just my Pinkie sense, it's telling me that your here for something very very very very important! And that you can't tell anypony about it, but I REALLY REALLY wanna know, you didn't promise not to tell anypony did you?" "Uh...Not to any pony no." "Oh good! Then you can tell me alllll about it then right?" The pony looked hopeful and he sighed. "I'm not suppose to Pinkie. it's a secret." "Whats a secret?" Twilight asked, making both ponies jump. "Oh um nothing!" Pinkie fibbed, her ears still twitching. "I'll just assume there's a Pinkie Promise involved. Sora your friends were starting to get worried about you, they said something about The king and ran out of the store. They said you would know what was going on." Sora rushed past them and out of the store. Pinkie merely bounced out after him. Twilight sighed to herself and chased after them. "Well hello there, didn't think I would see you again Old friend." The cloaked figure in the door nodded. "Sorry to bother ya, but I had to be sure you were here. Sora and the others are on their way and they'll need all the help they can get. I have to head back but let him know he can trust the Elements." The Doctor nodded, a loud crash echoing throughout the house behind him. He sighed a little. "It seems you already got your hands full, or hooves I suppose." the figure laughed. "She is quite the handful but she keeps me smiling. I'll be sure to let him know you stopped by your Majesty." The figure nodded and ran into the forest. Moments later three figures appeared in the distance, closing in on the building. "Hello Sora, nice to see you again!" Sora skid to a stop beside his friends, Pinkie and Twilight moments behind them. "Doc?" the Stallion nodded and Sora smiled "No way! I thought we'd never see you again! Do you still have the Tardis?" "Of course I do Sora, how else would I have wound up in a place like this? The real question is what are you doing here. Those heartless haven't found their way here already have they?" Sora sighed a little and nodded. "I was worried this might happen. The king was worried as well, stopped by for a quick visit, said you and your pals would be on your way." a loud crash could be heard in the building behind him, though by now he was use to it. "Uh...is everything ok in there...wait, you talked to King Mickey!? He's ok? Was Riku with him? what about Kairi!?" "Slow down Sora, slow down. Yes he seemed fine, no, Riku wasn't with him and neither was Kairi. I thought you left her with Queen Minnie." "Whats all this about Kings and Queens?" Twilight asked. "I suppose you haven't told them just yet. Well might as well let them in on the secret dear boy. The King said you would need to trust the Elements, that can only mean the Elements of Harmony, you've got two of em with you." The Doctor turned and headed inside the house, a small light purple unicorn mare bouncing around him as she cleaned up after her mother who was shaking her head. The Doctor sat beside her, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. She smiled and hugged him gently. Sora cleared his throat a little, a smile on his face. "Yes yes I know. But it gets kind of hard; some rules are meant to be broken." "Rules? I'm so confused." "I'm not." Pinkie said as she bounced behind the Unicorn filly "Ah yes, your Pinkie sense must have told you almost everything by now." "Whats Pinkie sense? She said somethin about it earlier." Sora asked. "This, my dear boy, is Pinkamena Diane Pie, the Element of Laughter. Along with that she has what the ponies have come to call 'Pinkie Sense' She gets strange twitches and they all mean something." "Now that you mention it, she was twitching a lot when she said she knew I had a big secret. I was pretty surprised" "Well that's her specialty. You see Sora; here each and every pony has a special Talent. When they discover that talent they are given their Cutie Marks which magically appear upon them. Pinkie Pie as you might be able to guess is the number one party pony in all of Equestria. Your friend Twilight Sparkle here is a rare gem, not only is her special talent Magic itself, but she is the Element of Magic. There is no magic greater than hers besides that of the Royal sisters." Twilight blushed a little. "You make me out to be something that I'm not. I am the Element of Magic but my magic isn't THAT powerful Doctor." "You are far too modest my dear. Anyway, the other Elements, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity and Honesty. They are all bound by bonds of friendship, much like the ones you share with Donald and Goofy. It is this friendship that gives the Elements their power, with these elements and your Keyblade, I'm sure you can stop the heartless before they have a chance to cause any harm." "I'm still confused..." Twilight admitted. Outside there was a thunderous boom, removing even Pinkies Smile. Rarity shrieked as the creatures lunged for her, claws outstretched. They expected to dig into the White Unicorns flank but instead found their claws scraping against hard dragon scales. The dragon glared at them, smoke rising from his nostrils as he spun, slamming his spiked tail into them. Small hearts drifted up into the air as the creatures fell to the dragons rage. Rarity felt tears sting her eyes, watching as the dragon fought to protect her. He screamed in pain as a claw ran over his eye, a jet of flame flying from his mouth to swallow the black creature that had caused him harm. "Oh Spike..." Rarity wrapped her hooves around the wounded dragon as he finally let himself rest. "Rarity...you're not hurt are you?" He asked, his right eye closed. A few claws had managed to get through a few of his scales, one creature even managing to tear a spike from his tail. Rarity's horn began to glow dimly, the glow surrounding her protector. She wasn't skilled with healing magic but she could at the very least close the wounds. She would need to get him to Fluttershy and Twilight. "No, I am unharmed thanks to you my Gallant Knight..." He smiled as she kissed his forehead, slowly pushing to his feet. He stumbled a little, sighing as he looked around the store. "I couldn't keep them from destroying the shop though..." Rarity scoffed and put a hoof on his cheek, making him turn to face her. "Darling, we can always fix the shop. Right now we need to fix you. I'm sure Twilight has the proper magic to do it." Spike merely smiled, placing his claw over her hoof. She blushed slightly, a chill running up her spine as she looked into his eyes. It was so easy for her to get lost in those eyes. She shook herself and cleared her throat. "Come along Spike, the sooner we get to Twilight the better. Perhaps she will know what these horrid creatures are." He nodded and followed after her, watching for more of the creatures. He heard Rarity scream as she exited the store and rushed to her side. When he saw what had frightened her he quickly pushed her behind him "Rarity...go back in the shop..." "Macky!" Fluttershy shrieked as the creatures leapt at him. He bucked his hind legs, flinging them off and smashing them under his hooves, but still they managed to tear at his coat, digging their claws into him. Fluttershy felt something snap in her and flung as many off of him as she could. Glaring as hard as she could at any that were foolish enough to turn toward her. The ones that caught her gaze were frozen in place as if turned to stone. Big Macintosh panted and stomped on the nearest one. Fluttershy rested a wing over him. "Oh Macky..." she led him to the couch and he smiled up at her. "Wait here" she quickly flew up to her room, grabbing a few supplies and rushed back to his side. She slowly began cleaning the many cuts that crisscrossed through his coat. None of the injuries were serious but she was worried all the same. "What do ya reckon these things are Flutter?" He asked, wincing a little as she continued. "I don't know..." "Could they be from Nightmare Moon?" she shook her head. "No, Nightmare Moon is long gone. If she was gonna attack us she'd do it herself..." Fluttershy nearly froze with fear at the thought, relaxing as Big Macintosh rubbed his cheek against hers. He chuckled a little at her blush. "Maybe ye'r friend Twilight knows whats goin on then. Ah can only wonder if th' others are havin the same troubles as us." They both turned to look at the dark creatures frozen in place. Big Macintosh standing and stomping all but one into the floor. He hefted it onto his back, wincing as it landed on his new bandages. "Macky what are you...?" "We need t' get to ye'r friends Flutter. I have a bad feelin bout all this." She panted heavily as she dodged left and right, spinning and stopping long enough to slam her hooves into the face of another creature. She continued running, gasping as a creature caught her front left hoof, making her trip and hit the ground hard. She rolled and bounced until a tree finally stopped her. She lay there for a moment, sure that this was the end for her. "No...Ah can't just give up now. Ah gotta get t' th' others..."she painfully pushed to her hooves, grabbing her hat from the ground and tossing it back onto her head as the creatures zipped through the trees after her. She turned and started running again. Her brother would be with Fluttershy, the closest place right now would be Rarity's place. She could get to Spike and he could get a hold of Twilight who could get to the Princess. With her plan set in her mind Applejack pushed harder and harder, sending her body into overdrive. "Come on! Don't quit on me now!" She yelled to herself, her body aching and groaning each time a hoof connected with dirt. She smiled, seeing Rarity's store, pushing herself even harder. Twilight rushed alongside her new friends, he had given her a rushed explanation but she had a good understanding of what was going on. The heartless had come along with a powerful darkness to swallow their world. "You're sure that noise was a heartless?" Twilight asked as they ran. "I'm sure of it" Sora said without hesitating. "So we just need to go beat up those big mean meanie heads right?" Pinkie asked, bouncing beside them. "Yup!" said Goofy, grabbing the shield from his back in his teeth. Pinkie nodded and Twilight watched as her mane flattened against her body. last time she had seen Pinkie like this had been when she thought no one liked her anymore. She had gone crazy and started talking to rocks and a bag of flour. Twilight wanted to ask if she was alright, to comfort her and fix whatever problem she might have had. But she wouldn't get the chance. She skid to a stop as they came into view of what Sora was talking about. Standing High above them was a large black creature. A strange symbol covering its flank and belly. Its eyes were large yellow orbs. It resembled an Alicorn, its long pitch black wings spread wide as it threw its head back, letting out a loud cry. The sky darkened around them, dozens of black Pegasus like creatures flying around the massive beast. "That's a heartless; it's calling the others to it. We have to destroy it!" Sora quickly explained, a large key appearing between his teeth. Twilight watched as he unfurled his wings, quickly taking to the air and battling the swarms of heartless. Donald and Goofy quickly joined him: Rushing to battle the heartless that had appeared on the ground. Donald's eyes began to glow, his hooves hovering just above the ground as bolts of lightning flew into several heartless. Large shards of ice rained down onto of the creatures as well as streams of fire. Goofy flung his shield, bouncing it between heartless and smashing them into each other, as it bounced back towards him he kicked it with his hind hooves, sending it spiraling through heartless and bouncing off a nearby building back into his teeth. Pinkie screamed and leapt in after them, standing on her hind hooves and twirling through the battle in several kung fu stances, smashing her hooves into any creatures she came near. Twilight had never seen Pinkie like this. It was almost scary. "Twilight!" she heard someone scream, grunting as Applejack slammed into her, a heartless flying just above them as they hit the ground. "Twilight, what in the hay is goin' on 'round here!?" Applejack asked, helping her up onto her hooves "I don't have time to explain right now, we need to help them!" Applejack nodded and slammed her hooves into a Pegasus as it flew by them. "Alright Twilight, ah trust that you'll tell me when th' time is right. But ya ain't a battle pony and ya arn't exactly th' most fit pony. Be carefu..." Applejack stopped midsentence. "whats wrong?" "Rainbow!" Applejack screamed. they watched as the cyan Pegasus was slammed into a cloud, one of the heartless digging a claw into her wing. "Twilight, ya gotta teleport me up there!" "what?!" "JUST DO IT!" she screamed. Twilight nodded and cast the spell. Rainbow rolled in the air as the creatures dived for her, bucking her hooves into the air to kick away one that got too close. As she turned to see it fall another slammed into her, pinning her to a cloud "AHHHH!!!" She screamed in agony as it tore a claw into her wing. "Rainbow!" She turned her head as time seemed to slow down, an orange earth pony gliding through the air with her hind hoof outstretched, her forehoof holding down her Stetson hat. Her hoof connected with the jaw of the creature on top of her, sending both of them tumbling down to the ground below. Her heart beat pounded in her ears as she leapt to her hooves, wincing as she threw herself off the cloud after them. Pain rippled through her body with each flap of her wings but she had to keep going, she couldn't let Applejack hit the ground; from that height...no she didn't even want to think of it. Slowly she began to catch up, her eyes wide at what she saw. Tears stung her friends eyes as she kept her hoof lodged in the creatures jaw. She intended to finish it off no matter the cost to herself. Rainbow felt tears sting her own eyes, knowing she wasn't fast enough to catch her before she hit the ground. She had only one choice. She bit back the pain and flapped her wings harder and harder, pushing with all the strength in her body. She could feel the tunnel forming around her, the air pounding against her as she dove after her friend, she felt it break under the pressure and send her barreling forward with immense speed, a massive rainbow forming behind her, the blast that followed deafening her for a moment as well as shaking everyone below. Applejack had only a second to react before she found herself in Rainbow's hooves, the black Pegasus creature slamming into the ground and vanishing in a puff of black smoke, a strange multicolored heart drifting up into the sky. Rainbow snapped her wings wide open, slowing herself down as her hind hooves touched the ground. She skid for a moment and slammed into a pile of hay, still holding her friend and panting. Applejack managed to tear herself from the pile that clung to her coat and mane, pulling herself over to her friend. "Rainbow?! Rainbow?!" She called out to her friend who was slowly losing consciousness. Rainbow smiled seeing that her friend was alright, her head falling back into the hay as her vision faded. Nyx and her friends jumped as Rainbows Sonic Rainboom echoed past them in the Everfree forest. They had just dropped off a few creatures who had found their way into town. "That's Rainbow! somethin must have happened!" Scootaloo called, rushing back toward Town. Nyx nodded and took off with her, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle chasing after them on the ground below. It didn't take them long to arrive at the battle taking place. Instinct kicked in for them, this sort of thing was their day to day life, though they had never seen creatures like these. Scootaloo flew down, scooping up Sweetie Belle onto her back, the Unicorns horn glowing as she began to sing, musical notes drifting across the air and spinning around the black Pegasus creatures in the air around them. Applebloom rushed down a few on the ground, smiling as her sparring lessons with Applejack truly began to pay off. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her sister and Rainbow crash into a pile of hay. She quickly rushed over, seeing her sister in tears. "Sis whats wrong? what the hay is goin on round here?!" Applejack only shook her head, holding Rainbow dash close to her. The Cyan Pegasus stirred a bit and gave a small smile. "Dash! ye'r alright! oh thank Celestia..." Applejack sighed in relief Applebloom smiled and slammed her hoof into a black Pegasus that tried to scoop her up. "Guess it's up t' me t' keep you two safe." Scootaloo rolled in the air, Sweetie belle keeping her hooves wrapped around her friend so she didn't fall, focusing on her magic. She sat up on her friends back, holding on with her rear hooves as she began to sing, her voice echoing throughout Ponyville. The black creatures slowed as the musical notes slammed into them. Eventually they all stopped, an exhausted Sweetie Belle collapsing against Scootaloo's back. The pegasus smiled as Nyx and some strange Alicorn she had never seen before zipped through the creatures, cutting them to pieces. All that stood now was a massive one that was unaffected by Sweetie Belle's magic as well as a few that rose from the ground as the creatures' horn began to glow. the glow brightened sending black spheres flying toward them. She closed her eyes, expecting one to hit her, knowing she wouldn't be able to dodge and was surprised to hear something that sounded like a rock bouncing off a window. She opened her eyes to see Sweetie Belle had tossed a barrier around them, a small smile on her face. "I'm not out of this just yet Scoots!" Sweetie Belle cried out. Scootaloo smiled and dove toward the massive black creature. Sweetie Belle's barrier dropping as they neared it. Scootaloo raised her head and snapped her wings upward, pulling out of her dive and slamming her forehooves into the creatures' horn, happy to hear the crunching sound of the thing breaking. She quickly flapped her wings, lifting herself out of reach of the creature, the barrier appearing around them once more as the last remaining spheres attempted to smash into them, vanishing as the creature lost its source of magic. Twilight charged through the heartless in front of her, her horn piercing into its chest. It vanished in a puff of black smoke, making Twilight turn her head away. She gasped seeing creatures lunging for Rarity and Spike. She knew Spikes scales could handle the blow, but Rarity would be cut to ribbons if those things got their claws on her. Spike was fast but he wasn't fast enough to stop all of those heartless. Twilight reacted without thinking, quickly casting a spell. Rarity shrieked as the creatures leapt for them. Spike doing his best to keep her safe. But even he couldn't hold them all back. Just as she thought she was finished she found herself standing a few feet away, Spike shaking the creatures off without any problem, their claws useless against his scales for the most part. But they were still piling up where she had been moments before. Spike screamed, pulling them away from the pile as fast as he could. it only took Rarity a moment to realize what had happened. "TWILIGHT!" she rushed over to the pile, flinging away the creatures as fast as her magic would allow her, throwing as many as five or six at once. It didn't take long for them to reach the wounded pony at the bottom of the pile. She wore a soft smile, her coat stained red from the many cuts across her body, her eyes slowly closing. "Twilight no!" Spike screamed and turned his head in anger, roaring and slamming his tail into the closest creatures. Nyx landed beside them, panting a little. "No...mom...no...no no no no!" She sat beside Twilight, her horn glowing brightly as she tried to heal her. "I've never been good with this type of magic...mom...please wake up..." Rarity looked around, trying to think of something, anything she could do to help her friend. Spike continued to fight, surprised as Big Macintosh smacked away one of the creatures. Fluttershy quickly landing beside Twilight with her medical supplies. Nyx, knowing her mother was in good hooves now stood, turning to help Big Macintosh and Spike. The three kept the creatures off one another, magic, fire and raw strength smashing away any that came too close. Rarity stood beside Fluttershy. "Is there anything I can do dear?" Rarity asked, desperate to help her friend. Fluttershy nodded. "I know you're not good at it...sorry...but I need you to do your best to heal her cuts. If thats ok..." She said, tending to their wounded friend. Rarity nodded and placed her horn against Twilights', letting her magic flow throughout her body. Sora spun in the air, the sounds of screams and strange singing filling his ears. Even with all the heartless he had defeated here he was still useless to stop anyone from being hurt. Down below him more and more were joining the fight. To his surprise an Alicorn zipped by him, slashing through the heartless with a blade of pure magic. He smiled a bit and realized the heartless had been frozen by the music, joining the Alicorn as she zipped through them. It took only a matter of minutes for them to clear the skies. The strange Alicorn seemed to have vanished as the skies were cleared, he saw her out of the corner of his eye, rushing down to help the others. He turned his attention to the giant Heartless in the center, surprised to see an orange and white blur smash its horn off. He took the chance to dive toward it, holding his Keyblade tightly between his teeth. The heartless raised his head as he dive-bombed toward it, his Keyblade cutting into it, slicing from its head down to his back right leg. He hit the ground with a loud thud and stood there for a moment, panting heavily as the giant heartless roared in agony, vanishing into the air, a large multicolored heart following shortly after. "SORA! COME QUICK!" He heard Goofy call out. He turned, chasing after his friend. There still seemed to be a few heartless left even after defeating the one that had called them. It didn't make sense. Sora gasped seeing Twilight surrounded by a purple dragon, the Alicorn from before, a red earth pony, a white unicorn and a yellow Pegasus. The Unicorn and Pegasus were trying to heal Twilight but Sora could see the light in her heart slowly fading. He stood beside them, looking around a thought coming to mind. He slammed his Keyblade into the dirt near Twilights horn, making them jump. "Listen, can you see that light inside her?" he asked quickly, his horn starting to glow. the Unicorn nodded after a moment, her eyes wide. "Keep that light alive, if it fades away we'll lose her to the darkness." Sora closed his eyes, letting his magic flow into his Keyblade and bounce between himself and it before letting it flow into Twilights horn and across her body. Twilight found herself floating in a void of light, a strange figure before her. Her vision was still blurry and she couldn't make out who the figure was. But she felt happy and warm with them nearby. "Twilight Sparkle, there is much left for you to do in this world. There is so much still depending on your actions. Do not give in to the darkness. Keep the light alive and protect the..." Rarity was shocked at the sight of the Alicorn appearing beside her, even more so when he slammed a giant key near Twilight. "Listen, can you see that light inside of her?" Rarity looked and as the Alicorn had said, where Twilights heart should be there was a slowly fading light, she nodded in shock. "Keep that light alive, if it fades away we'll lose her to the darkness." She nodded, not caring for introductions at the moment as she focused all her magic on the light that was beginning to fade. She felt her knees weaken and sank to the ground as she poured every ounce of magic into keeping the light alive and growing. She smiled seeing her friends eyes open weakly. "Oh Twilight, why did you have to go and do something so foalish?" Twilight merely shook her head, closing her eyes and leaving them to their work. It took only moments but it felt like ages for Rarity before her friend opened her eyes once more, fully healed. The Alicorn sank to the ground beside her, his energy spent as was hers. Twilight smiled at them, still laying there. "Mom!" Nyx cried, rushing to Twilight, Spike and Big Macintosh continuing to defend them. "Nyx...the heartless." Twilight began to say. "Just rest mom, we've got this under control." Twilight nodded and lay her head back down. Nyx lifting her with her magic. Pinkie gently nudged Rarity up onto her hooves, doing the same for the strange Alicorn. "You two ok?" Pinkie asked, surprising them. Her voice wasn't at all like it always was. Instead of being bubbly and full of happiness it was empty of any and all emotion. They both nodded, stumbling a bit. Pinkie noticed Twilight held in Nyx's magic and something seemed to snap inside of her. One of the creatures sprung up behind her, only to have a hoof slammed into its face. "NOPONY HURTS MY FRIENDS!" She screamed, a strange giant pink key appearing between her teeth. Spike blinked as a pink blur ran past him, the black creatures he had been about to Barbecue suddenly vanishing as the blur ran through them. Big Macintosh received the same surprise. The blur stopped for only a moment before striking but it was enough for Spikes eyes. It was Pinkie pie, but her mane was flat against her body, her eyes cold as a windygos heart. She held a weird looking key in her mouth, standing on her hind hooves in what Spike could only call a karate stance, slamming her hooves into the black creatures, bouncing them off the ground before cutting them down with the key, wielding the strange thing like a sword. Spike shook from his daze and rushed to the aid of his friend, jets of flame swallowing any that her weapon or hooves of death missed. Spike grinned seeing Big Macintosh standing guard by the others out of the corner of his eye. The two of them easily finished off the last of the creatures. Pinkie stopped, panting a little as the key vanished. Spike walked over with a slight limp and hefted her up onto his back. "Never thought I'd see you run out of energy Pinks." she giggled a little at the comment, her mane poofing back to its normal fluffy self. The pony bounced up onto her hooves on his back. "Just needed a quick breather Spikey!" she bounced away and he chuckled, following her back to Twilight and the others. Nyx sat beside Twilight, her eyes red from crying, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle beside her. Applebloom's eyes darted around as she followed her sister Applejack who was carrying Rainbow Dash on her back. Rainbow smiled at the group weakly. Twilight sat up and rubbed her head with a hoof. "Anypony get the name of the dragon who hit me?" she joked, it worried Spike a little, Twilight wasn't one to make jokes like that. She shook her head. "Must have hit me harder than I thought. Is everypony ok?" Nyx threw her hooves around her, sobbing a little. Twilight gently held the Alicorn close to her. Spike turned to the exhausted Alicorn who had healed her. "Thank you...I dunno how we can ever repay you for this." The Alicorn merely smiled. "Well, I never really got anything to eat." he joked as his stomach growled. With help from Nyx and Sora, Twilight and the others managed to reach the Library where between Sora, Twilight and Pinkie they managed to explain the situation. Spike quickly sent a letter to Celestia and Luna, sitting down between Rarity and Twilight as Fluttershy continued bandaging everypony. Spike had a long scar over his eye, it had taken too long to get to anypony to have it properly healed but he could still see out of it. Big Macintosh had bandages woven around his midsection, a few bad cuts and scratches but he would live. Rainbow's wing however was badly torn, most of the feathers ripped away by what Sora and Twilight had called a Heartless. It didn't help that she had pulled a sonic Rainboom with an injured wing to save Applejack. Fluttershy carefully pulled away the ruined feathers, each one making the Rainbow maned Pegasus wince a little. Applejack held her gently as Fluttershy worked, it seemed to calm her a little. "I'm so sorry Rainbow Dash, it'll take awhile for the feathers to grow back enough for you to fly." Rainbow only chuckled "Hey, losing a wing is better than losing a friend." she said with a slight blush. "Ya'll didn't have t' go and ruin ye'r wing fer me Sugarcube." "You didn't have to try and kill yourself to save me." Rainbow threw back at her. "Ah didn't see any other way t' get that thing offa ya." Rainbow sighed and rubbed her cheek against Applejacks'. "My feathers will grow back AJ, but I'll never meet another pony like you." Applejack blushed a little, resting her head in her marefriends mane. Spike smiled a little at the gesture, feeling Rarity leaning against his side. He knew exactly how Rainbow Dash felt. If he lost Rarity...it would crush him. "Next time though, try not to scare me half to death with a crazy stunt like that." "Given another chance ah'd do it again Sugarcube. Ah couldn't just let that thing have ya." Fluttershy sat down, finally finished with her bandages. They all sat in silence for a moment, leaning against close friends. The cutie mark crusaders all sat together, having still kept their club name even after getting their cutie marks. They had grown accustomed to helping Nyx. Scootaloo gently nudged Sweetie Belle who was resting after having over exhausted her magic. First on a pack of Lupin minor who had found their way toward Sugarcube corner(though Gummy almost had the situation under control when they got there) and then on all those heartless without even a chance to rest. It had taken a lot out of her. "You alright Belle?" Scootaloo asked in a worried tone. Sweetie Belle smiled a little, giving her friend a peck on the cheek. She burst into laughter as her marefriends wings snapped open instantly. "I'll take that as a yes..." Scootaloo mumbled, slowly lowering her wings. Sweetie Belle laid her head down against Scootaloo's side, quickly falling back asleep. Once everypony had calmed down, Sora stood while his friends finished their meal beside him. "Pinkie, I noticed while we were out there...You have a Keyblade. How long have you had it?" Everypony in the room turned to the Pink Party Pony who put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Well since I was an eensy weensy teensy Pinkie. Just a few years before I came here to Ponyville." "So wait, you've known all about these heartless guys and this Keyblade mumbo jumbo since before any of us met? Why didn't you say anything Pinkie?!" Rainbow demanded of her, wincing as she stood. Applejack gently but forcefully pushing her back down to the ground. "Don't move t' much Sugarcube, ye'r gonna hurt ye'rself even more. Though ah'm a bit curious too Pinkie. Why didn't ya tell us anythin about all this? We're ye'r closest friends." "I believe I can answer that." All eyes turned to the door of the Library, in it stood a brown stallion with an hour glass on his flank, beside him a cross-eyed blonde maned mare and between them a light purple unicorn. "Doctor?" he nodded to Sora and walked inside. "Sorry for the intrusion. I had to check a few things in the TARDIS after you took off Sora. You see, up until now Pinkie Pie hasn't been able to harness the power of her Keyblade. It was locked away until such a time that she would need it. All it took was the right key to open the lock." The Doctor said with a small smile. "Ya mean when she saw Twilight hurt like that..." Applejack asked. The Doctor nodded. "Though I don't believe it was what was intended yes, the anger at seeing a dear friend hurt was powerful enough to break the lock on Pinkies Keyblade. As for why she has said nothing I believe I'll leave it to her to explain. If you would Miss Pie." "Gladly"