//------------------------------// // The Key to Understanding // Story: May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key // by SoulboundAlchemist //------------------------------// May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key By SoulboundAlchemist Chapter 3: The Key to Understanding “Ugh” Well, this is getting old. I’m starting to think that whatever is dictating my life has a sick fascination with knocking me unconscious in various ways. In any case, I open my eyes to find myself on another stained glass pillar, this one with a picture of Kairi standing in the middle of the picture. Rather, it had a picture of me standing in the middle of the picture. Still not used to referring to myself as Kairi… “Well, too bad, you seriously need to get used to it.” I whirl around at the sound of a voice, only to find… “Is this some kind of sick joke?” I demand, my eyes widening in shock. “Why do you look like me?” The figure in front of me is the me that bought Destiny’s Embrace from that damn shady merchant. Meaning, it’s the male version of me. “No joke,” he replies. “I am the part of you that refuses to accept the reality of your situation.” “So, if that’s the case, why are you telling me to accept it? I’d imagine you’d be fighting this tooth and nail,” I ask. Male me sighs. “Its because of how much you hurt yourself before coming here, as well as here and now,” he explains. He could probably sense my confusion, as he continues: “Before the convention, while you did admit to a few people that you’d like to know what its like on the other side of the gender fence, that was just to cover how you actually felt, wasn’t it?” As he speaks, his clothes shift from what I had been wearing at the convention, to the one crossplay costume I had ever owned. It was a costume for the character Asuna from the anime Sword Art Online. It was definitely one of my best kept secrets, and emphasized the fact that, at least a little, I did want to be a girl. “You’re my shadow, aren’t you?” I ask, realization hitting me. The male me nods, a smile touching his lips. “Looks like all that time playing Persona 4 was useful after all,” he confirms. “Since you know what I am now, what are you gonna do?” I look down in thought. In Persona 4, accepting a shadow led to the awakening of a Persona, but I think its safe to assume those rules don’t apply here. Finally, after a bit of thought, I looked him in the eye. “If I accept you, what happens?” “Well, that’s entirely up to you,” he replies with a shrug. “Would you stay with me?” I ask. “Give me someone to talk to who actually knows me, and knows what I’m going through?” My shadow blinks, surprised by my request, before smiling. “If that’s what you want, though I would suggest creating some sort of body for me in the real world.” “You mean like a Persona?” I ask. “No,” he replies, shaking his head. “From what we both remember about Personas, they can’t remain manifested in the world indefinitely. Besides, a Persona doesn’t really go with your aesthetic. I was meaning something like a Chirithy.” I blink in confusion. I, of course, knew what a Chirithy was, but I had assumed that only the Foretellers, or the Master of Masters could create Chirithys. “You can’t consciously create a Chirithy,” my shadow preemptively explains. “I would use the magic in your body to craft the body, based off of an image in your head. Think of it like accidental magic from Harry Potter on your end. Don’t worry, if you accept me, I’ll be there when you wake up.” I nod, approaching my Shadow. “In that case, see you in the real world… Chirithy,” I say as I draw him into a hug. He smiles as a blue glow surrounds him before he vanishes. I awaken to light dancing over my eyelids, and cold stone on my back. A far cry from the warm bed I was used to. With a groan, I slowly sat up before being promptly bowled over by a smaller form wrapping me in a tight hug. It was then that two voices reached my ears. One was very obviously male, chuckling at my plight, whilst the other was female, sobbing and whispering “Thank you” over and over again. Opening my eyes, I first notice my brand new Chirithy standing with a paw over his mouth as he continued to chuckle. Looking down I find a blue alicorn filly clutching me as if her life depended on it. I wrap my arms around her, realizing that its Luna, as I begin to survey the rest of the room. The first thing I noticed was a trapdoor that wasn’t there before, with a bed on the floor below. I then notice that the Mane 6 are also starting to awaken and pick themselves off the floor. I could also see daylight coming in through the ruined windows. “Well, this is unexpected,” a soft voice spoke as the light brightened. Walking to us from the entrance was a tall, white alicorn with a flowing, golden dress, and hair like a shimmering aurora. This was obviously Princess Celestia. “I did not expect to see Luna up and about so quickly.” “Who now?” a tomboyish voice I quickly identify as Rainbow Dash asked. The blue filly visibly flinched as she hid behind me. Chirithy quickly moved to wrap her in a hug, as Celestia smiled. “I’ll explain in a minute,” she replied. “For now, let us move outside.” We all got to our feet, and followed Celestia through the door, taking care to avoid the now open trapdoor. Once everyone was accounted for, Celestia held her hand out, a Keyblade flashing into her hand. Our collective jaws dropped, except for Luna’s and Chirithy’s. It was a beautiful weapon, with a long, spiraling, white unicorn horn rising from a handle surrounded by white and dark blue alicorns, situated in such a way that they chased each other. The head of the Keyblade was an eclipsed sun. She then pointed her weapon at the ruins, realization dawning on my features as I watched a beam shoot from it to the ruins. The ruins flashed a brilliant white, forcing us all to cover our eyes as the ground rumbled, and the ruins changed. The crumbling stone vanished, being replaced by blue and white stone, growing into a large and intricate clocktower. As the light faded, I found myself gaping as I saw before me something I never thought I’d ever see, for standing before me was the clocktower of Daybreak Town. “No way…” I breathed. “You’re telling me that the ruins of Daybreak Town have been in the Everfree this whole time?” “Not quite, miss…” Celestia trailed off. “Kairi, ma’am. Please call me Kairi.” Celestia nodded. “Very well, Kairi. As I was saying, Daybreak Town was lost millenia ago. What you see before you was built as a memorial 1000 years ago, not long before my sister was originally lost. Welcome friends, to Midday Tower.” “B-but, how?!?” Twilight finally demanded, coming out of her shock. “Nopony, not even Starswirl the Bearded, could weave a spell of this magnitude! It simply isn’t possible!” “Patience, Twilight,” Celestia gently chided, her lips curved into a smile at her student’s antics. “I promise to answer all of your questions. For now, let us go inside before any lingering Heartless attack.” Now that sobered us up quickly, especially Luna, as she paled, grabbed Chirithy, and sped through the doors. A look of sorrow crossed Celestia’s features as she guided us into the Tower. The Tower was enormous! It seemed to serve as training hall, residence, and meeting ground all at the same time, and the structure reflected it. The first three floors were all dedicated to the art of stabbing, slicing, dicing, burning, freezing, etc., the forces of darkness. The next ten floors held living quarters, a dining commons area, a general commons area, and what looked almost like a fitness center, judging by the equipment on that particular floor. Finally, the top floor held a meeting room pretty much exactly like the meeting room of the Foretellers. By that, I mean that its an exceptionally spacious room, with parts of the inner workings of the clock along the walls. In one corner is a desk littered with various books and papers, and in the center of the room is a large, circular table, with enough seats to comfortably seat all of us, plus more. “Now then,” Celestia says, taking a seat and motioning for the rest of us to follow suit. “I imagine you all have questions, but first, I believe it would be best for young Kairi to give us a proper introduction.” I nodded, knowing this would come up. “Well, as I told you before, my name is Kairi. I’m a fairly new wielder of the Keyblade, and I like to consider myself a Guardian of Light.” “That’s all well and good,” Rainbow Dash cuts in, eyes narrowed. “But how exactly is that important right now?” “If you’d let me finish, I would have explained!” I snap at Rainbow with a glare. “Now hold on you two,” Applejack cut in. “There’s no need to be at each other’s throats. Kairi’s right Dash, so simmer down.” “Fine…” Dash grumbles, folding her arms over her chest. “Thank you, Applejack,” I say with a smile for the farm mare. “Now, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,” here I glare at the blue pegasus. “I was about to explain that I wasn’t always Kairi.” Now that got a reaction. Everyone at the table had various faces of shock and disbelief. “U-um, what do you mean by that?” Fluttershy questions, before hiding behind her hair. “I-if you don’t mind explaining, I mean, you don’t have to…” I sigh. “Well, that’s the thing. My old name was Dmetri, and I was originally a twenty-three year old man attending university.” “Then how in Equestria did you get here?” Twilight asks, barely holding back a wave of questions. “Wwweeellllll, yeah, that’s the thing, I don’t know.” “Wait, wait, wait,” Dash cuts in again. “You’re saying that you used to be a man, which I assume is your equivalent of a stallion.” I nod. “BWAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Oh, this is too funny!” “RAINBOW DASH! How dare you!” Rarity snaps. “The poor dear has gone through quite enough without you mocking her for something beyond her control, so kindly SHUT UP!” Silence. Yeah, I don’t think any of us were expecting an outburst quite like that from the fashionista. It sure as hell surprised me, and I know that Rarity only gets worked up like this when it involves clothes or her appearance. Well, at least in the show that was the case. “While I am in agreement, Rarity,” we all turn back to Princess Celestia. “I believe it is for the best that Kai-er-Dmetri here explains the sequence of events that led he-him here.” I nod. “Sure, but I’ve pretty much embraced who I’ve become, so please refer to me as Kairi, and other female pronouns, thank you. In any case, this is how it went…” “…and from there you know what happened. Fought a heartless version of Luna, saw a ruin become a clock tower, and got laughed at by a tomboy pegasus who seems to think that its funny that I’m the wrong gender,” I finish with a glare at the mare in question. “Well, that is certainly quite a story,” Celestia remarks. “But nowhere in your story did you mention where that creature my sister is holding like a plush toy came from. Exactly what is it?” I blink. “Huh, I totally forgot about that. Well, that is Chirithy.” “I’m what is known as a Spirit,” Chirithy chimes in. “Basically, I’m a dream given form in the real world.” “He’s also my Shadow,” I finish. Twilight blinks. “I’m sorry, Shadow? As in the dark, repressed part of your psyche?” “Kinda,” I shrug. “On one hand, he was the repressed feelings I had, but dark? He was never dark, if anything he was annoyed with always being ignored.” Twilight’s eyes twinkle as she opens her mouth. “Not the time, Twilight,” I say preemptively. “I believe Celestia has something she wants to say.” “Thank you, Kairi,” Celestia smiles. “I do indeed have a story I wish to tell you. It’s only fair, since we heard Kairi’s story, for you to hear my story. Especially since I’m sure you’re curious about the weapons you used against Nightmare Moon.” “Yeah, what were those things?” Pinkie asks. “They were a lot more fun than my party cannons, and that’s almost impossible!” “All in good time, Pinkie,” Celestia giggles. “In any case, I believe there is a story to be told…” Long ago, there was a world named Scala ad Caelum, where the Keyblade Masters of old silently guarded against the dark. In that world was an ancient library, where each story was its own world. Indeed, this is why Scala ad Caelum became known as the nexus from which all worlds spring. Within this Great Library, there was one man who believed that all stories should follow one design. This meddler, calling himself “The Master of Masters” journeyed into one story after another, masquerading as one of neutrality, while sowing the seeds of conflict and darkness wherever he went. He eventually journeyed into our story, tutoring myself and Luna in the ways of light, and eventually gifting us each with a Keyblade; a mystical weapon to fend off the darkness. However, he eventually vanished, dimmed, and faded without a trace, leaving Luna with a handwritten page detailing a catastrophe in the near future. Luna became obsessed with uncovering the mystery of this catastrophe, and stopping it, using darker and darker means to meet her ends, playing directly into the Master’s hands. Finally, one night a thousand years ago, Luna’s paranoia reached such heights that she turned her Keyblade on herself, believing that she would preserve herself and gain the power to fight back against the catastrophe. This was not the case, for it released her heart to the darkness, creating the heartless known as Nightmare Moon, and leaving her body to become a Nobody. Now, when a pony’s body starts to become a Nobody, it rapidly ages backwards, until it becomes nothing. As Luna’s body began to regress, I cast a potent stasis spell, halting the process before it could complete. I then placed her here, in this room, before disguising the entire tower as the ruins of a castle that never existed, to protect her body from her heartless’s rampage. I knew that if something wasn’t done, our world would fall to darkness, so, as the legend Twilight read said, I harnessed the Elements of Harmony and sealed Nightmare Moon into the moon, before placing them in the ruins to maintain my spell. Since then, many Keyblade wielders have come and gone, as have many dark threats. The Keyblade wielders, known as the Guardians of Light, always struck down the threats before they could gain a foothold, and have been honored guests whenever they arrived. My eyes are wide as Celestia finishes her story. Somehow, I not only dropped into My Little Pony, but also into a point in the Kingdom Hearts timeline that nobody could have possibly predicted! “From your earlier story,” Celestia says. “I imagine that all of this information is new to you.” I nod. “And that you have no idea why you’re here.” I nod again as she sighs. “I thought as much. You were chosen by the Void then.” She pulls open a drawer, pulling out a medallion with some sort of spider design on it before tossing it to me. As I catch it, words ring in my head: “My name is Dark. I’m a web-slinger with a blade and a lot of heart. If you need a companion to talk to, or an ally to help fight your enemies, just toss this medallion to the air and I’ll be there. I’m always willing to meet new people. But know this, I will not allow anyone to harm innocents.” “It’s a cool looking medallion, but what does it have to do with me?” I ask as I toss it back. Big mistake, since as soon as it reaches halfway across the table, it vanishes before ripping a portal open, dumping a number of figures onto the table.