//------------------------------// // All Bottled Up // Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria // by Codex92 //------------------------------// It was early in the morning in the Castle of Friendship, Starlight in the kitchen with Trixie as the former was busy baking, the latter practicing her magic spells to try in her new show. Ventus waltzed into the kitchen tiredly, having just woken up and needing something to drink. After what happened last night with Sora's newfound abilities with one of his Keyblades, it had baffled the others when they watched the battle play out through the memory ornaments in the throne room. Sora was the only one hyped about what his other Keyblades could transform into and what unique abilities they had, the others highly surprised, confused, and asking the same question Riku had last night: Why wasn't Sora a Keyblade Master with all these latent powers? "Morning, Ven," Starlight greeted. The pegasus grunted in response, opening the fridge door and sticking his head inside. "Rough night?" "No...just shocked at how strong Sora is now," Ventus mumbled, grabbing the carton of milk inside, then closed the fridge as he went to get a glass. "Oh. The whole Keyblade turning into a hammer, then a pair of gauntlets by some strange shift in fighting style," Starlight summarized. "I'm guessing you, Terra, or even Aqua have ever done something like that." "Nope. Just D-Links, Shotlocks, and different styles depending on what we do in the middle of combat," Ventus said. "Sora thinks calling them Formchanges is a good name for it...even if it is kinda true." Starlight rolled her eyes, using her magic to lift a bag of frosting she just made for the pastries she had baked in front of her. As Ventus poured himself a glass, he looked at Trixie, who was staring intently at the pepper shaker on the counter. "...Did Trixie fall asleep with her eyes open?" Ignoring the young pegasus, Trixie continued concentrating on the shaker. "Come on. Turn into a teacup!" She zapped the shaker with some magic, but it remained as a shaker. "No! Teacup!" Trixie exclaimed again, zapping it again, but it failed all the same. "No! Teacup!" She tried again, and ended up with the same result: nothing. "URGH! NO!" Ventus and Starlight stared blankly at her, the former not savvy with unicorn magic but knew enough of his own to see where Trixie failed, while the latter could clearly see she was just shooting a harmless beam of magic with no magical transformation implemented to it. She went back to frosting her pastries, feeling Trixie's gaze on her, looking for a solution. "Starlight, I can't put a trick that's not working in my act! How come it's not working?" "You're practically shouting, 'Teacup!' and shocking the pepper shaker, not changing it," Ventus said, taking a sip from his glass. "I asked for Starlight's help, not yours, Ventus," Trixie snarked. "You don't even know anything about magic." Ventus held out his hoof, summoning his Keyblade, emphasizing his point after she recently learned how magical the teen really was. "...I'm talking about unicorn magic." "Well, he is right," Starlight said. "You can't expect to make something change by shouting what you want to change it into instantly. You have to picture it in your mind." "Oh. That could be it," Trixie said, pondering the bit of advise. "What does your teacup look like?" Starlight asked, dolloping her cakes with the frosting as she helped instruct Trixie how to help her magic act. "What shape is it? What color?" Following her friend's instructions, Trixie finally began to really concentrate, envisioning the teacup in her mind, then blasted the shaker with her magic. In a flash, the spell worked, turning it into a pink teacup with a purple swirl pattern around the rim. Ventus was a little surprised that Trixie pulled it off, the blue unicorn mare squealing excitedly. "Starlight, I did it!" she cheered, suddenly glomping Starlight in a hug. Startled and getting squeezed, she lost her own concentration on her frosting, spurting it all over the plate of small cakes she was decorating. "I did it, I did it, I did it! Whoo-hoo-hoo!" "Trixie!" Starlight scolded, pushing her friend off of her, looking down at the overly frosted pastries. Too excited at perfectly executing the spell, Trixie went on a teacup transforming spree, spouting the word "teacup" as she changed some of the silverware and cookware into tiny pink teacups. "Whoa, hey! Ease up on the teacups, Trixie!" Ventus exclaimed, now wide awake as he ducked to avoid a beam, changing a dish sponge into a teacup. "Hey, Starlight, you know what you need?" Trixie asked the heliotrope mare. "A teacup!" Trixie then transformed Starlight's frosting bag, but instead of a teacup, it turned into one that was animated, acting like a dog with some features resembling a poodle. The barking teacup fell out of Starlight's magical grasp, falling on her cakes and making more of a mess as it stamped its paws on the plate. It then ran to Ventus, spilling over his glass of milk and splashing him with bits of pastry and dairy drink, then ran off elsewhere in the castle. Starlight groaned as the two ponies leered at Trixie for carrying away with her magic. "Oops. I guess I pictured a teacup poodle? Heheh?" "When did your brain decide to suddenly switch to a poodle while squealing 'teacup'?" Ventus grumbled, grabbing a nearby dishtowel and dried off his shirt. "Trixie, you ruined my teacakes!" Starlight said, waving her hoof over the ruined plate she was working on. "I just got excited!" Trixie said, clearly obvious when she first expressed her elation from her perfected attempt. "That's the first time I ever did a transfiguration spell! Real magic!" Starlight and Ventus said nothing, the former staring at her ruined cakes while the latter continued drying off his chest. "Come on, be impressed." Trixie stood behind Starlight, waving her forelegs around like she was cheering, even though Starlight was a bit frustrated. "'Yay, Trixie! You're so great at magic and having good hair!'" she mock cheered, then went to Ventus and did the same with him. "'She's so amazing! I would date her for her great and powerfulness!'" "Gee, I'd be so jealous if another stallion pined for you," Ventus muttered sarcastically, lightly slapping Trixie away with his wings. "That's a good job, Trix," Starlight said, hopefully staving off Trixie's ego before it inflated bigger than the space in the kitchen. "But I was baking these teacakes to give to Twilight and the girls for their friendship retreat. Pinkie Pie gave me a recipe and everything." "Oh, you need some snacks to give to Twilight? I got you covered." Trixie walked off, leaving Starlight and Ventus some reprieve from the performer's antics. She soon came back with a bag of pretzels, dropping them down in front of Starlight on her ruined plate. "Problem solved!" Despite being proud at her idea of "covering" Starlight to give the girls snacks on their trip while skipping out of the kitchen, Starlight thought otherwise as she growled. "She couldn't have bothered to help clean up," Ventus muttered, ducking under the island counter to wipe up the mess the teacup poodle made around his area. He didn't notice Starlight exuding a cloud of red, magical energy from her horn, which sparked and cracked almost dangerously. "Not exactly solved," Starlight grumbled, calming down slightly as the red cloud was sucked back into her horn. After they both cleaned up Trixie's mess, Ventus headed off to the throne room. Inside, Aqua was looking intently at the Cutie Map, her horn glowing as she tried to implement an additional spell to go along with spotting darkness invading other worlds. Sadly, her efforts went nowhere, barely getting even a hint of something else popping up that wasn't light or dark blip. "Drat. I thought for sure it would work," Aqua muttered to herself. "We need to know if Nobodies or, at the worst, Unversed are roaming about with the Heartless." "Well, at least someone's morning isn't as bad as mine," Ventus said. "I'm gonna take a break trying to make improvements on the map," Aqua said, rubbing her head while leering at the complex magical map. "In the meantime, I'm gonna take a trip to Master Yen Sid's and let him know about Sora's 'Formchangeing' ability...I'm sure he's helping him get stronger if he gave Sora his Drive forms." "Does Master Yen Sid WANT Sora to be a Keyblade Master?" Ventus asked curiously. "All of us do," Aqua said. "But if he doesn't give him his next Mark of Mastery exam soon, I might give him one so he can be ready to face Xehanort." She sighed, looking up at the Galactic Map, zooming it out to see the rest of the worlds. "...The problem is what test to give him..." After examining each world, with no ideas to come upon, Aqua shut down both maps with a wave of her hoof. "I'll be back. If you need anyone, they have their communicators." "Aqua, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Ventus groaned, treated like a kid by the overly worried unicorn. "But with Trixie here..." They soon heard barking down the hall, startling Aqua. "...Was that Winona?" she asked. "I think it's that teacup poodle Trixie conjured up," Ventus muttered. "By the way, if we're planning any tea parties, we've got plenty of teacups." Aqua had several questions to ask, but she held herself back, already dealing with the headache of knowing Vanitas was back again, in his own physical form rather than the dark side of Sora. "...I'm just...gonna go." Making her way out of the room and toward the palace doors, she heard the barking teacup again, hearing its feet pitter-patter toward her. She looked down at it, its frosting swirl-tipped tail wagging excitedly. Aqua opened the door, letting it out, seemingly harmless as she watched it roam around Ponyville. "...Well, I've seen weirder things..." she said before donning her armor and flying off on her glider. Later that day, Starlight, Trixie, and Ventus saw the Mane Six off at the train station for their friendship retreat. "I am so excited for this friendship retreat!" Twilight said. "I only wish Sora came along with us, since he's been with us since we first found the Elements of Harmony." "He was up all night, too excited to sleep as he continued pondering what else his Keyblades could turn into," Ventus said. "I'm not sure if Kairi got any sleep at all either." "Well, he'd probably be bored if it was with all of us girls going to a retreat," Rainbow said. "We are awesome and all, even though we weren't the ones who saved Equestria this time." "You sure you guys don't want to come with us?" Twilight asked Starlight and Ventus. "I know Spike doesn't, wanting to 'read his three new comics'." "I promised Trixie we'd practice more magic," Starlight said. "Better if the castle was mostly empty, if you know what I mean." "I think she practiced enough in the kitchen," Ventus uttered. "Oh, relax. If anything breaks, Starlight can just go back in time and fix it!" Trixie's joke didn't suit well with the others, especially Twilight when she looked worried when mentioning time travel. Starlight laughed nervously, knowing better than to delve into that again, giving her friend an annoyed glare. "Heh. Kidding..." "We'll make sure they don't destroy the castle," Ventus said. The Mane Six boarded the train while the trio saw them off, Trixie and Starlight whispering to themselves about what a friendship retreat really is and poking fun at them bonding, laughing, and singing a song. As the girls settled into their seats, Trixie pulled out the bag of pretzels she gave to Starlight to make up for her ruined teacakes, pulling them out of her saddlebags as she tried to catch the alicorn's attention. "Twilight, wait! Starlight has something for you!" Trixie called out. Twilight opened the window, wondering what her former pupil wanted to give her. Trixie hovered the pretzels in front of Starlight, making the mare groan as she grabbed the salty snacks and hovered them over to Twilight. "Here, I...brought you snacks," Starlight said nervously. "Oh. How...thoughtful," Twilight said, slightly confused, but taking the friendly gesture. "Thanks. We'll...not get hungry on the ride over." "It was supposed to be teacakes, but..." Starlight glanced at Trixie, letting out a heavy sigh as she avoided looking back at what happened earlier this morning. "It's a long story. Have a great time!" "You, too!" Twilight called back, the train's whistle blowing as it finally headed off on its scheduled route. After watching the locomotive disappear on the horizon, Ventus, Starlight, and Trixie made their way back to the castle. When they returned, the two unicorns decided to use the throne room as their practice room, Ventus keeping an eye on them so they don't do anything too crazy that'll break the Cutie Map again. Starlight flipped through a list of spells in a book she brought with her, ready to begin teaching Trixie some magic spells. "Ok, Trixie, what kinds of spells did you want to work on next?" Starlight asked. "As long as it doesn't involve teacups," Ventus commented. Trixie hummed in thought, wondering what other spells she could include in her shows to add a bit more flair. "Well, every self-respecting magician has a disappearing act, so maybe we can start with that?" "Well, nothing just disappears, so that's technically a teleportation spell," Starlight explained. "And those spells can be pretty hard. Maybe we should start with something smaller." "No-no-no-no. The Great and Powerful Trixie goes big or not at all!" Trixie exclaimed. "Just tell me how to do it." "Well, I've always found magic is tied to my emotions," Starlight said. "Whatever I'm feeling fuels whatever I'm doing, and the stronger I'm feeling, the stronger the magic." "Right. Like when you were so upset that cutie marks took your friend, your magic was strong enough to enslave an entire village," Trixie said, recalling past memories Starlight did not want to look back on. Ventus wondered if Trixie even had a mute button with how insensitive she can be with others, and for her selfish boasting. While the magician's head was turned, basking in what she thought was a perfect example about Starlight's magic, the heliotrope mare growled and leered at her friend. When Ventus saw the red smokey energy pouring out from Starlight's horn and hovered over her as a sparking cloud, his jaw dropped in shock as he witnessed her anger literally coming out of her. Thankfully, that energy was sucked back inside her, hiding it from Trixie despite being mad at her. "Yep. Thanks for bringing that up," Starlight grumbled. "See? I'm already learning!" Trixie said, both mares ignorant to the teen's shock. "If anypony is going to teach me how to do a disappearing spell-" "Teleportation spell," Starlight corrected. "Whatever. I'm complimenting you. And me." Ventus now got a bit worried. Whatever that negative energy was Starlight unleashed, it could either explode and hurt her and anyone near her, or it could lure Vanitas's Unversed to the castle if he catches wind of it. "We can do this, because we're amazing, and magic is friendship and stuff." "I guess we can give it a whirl," Starlight said. "Now, we just need to find you something to teleport." "How about Ventus?" Trixie suggested, snapping the pegasus out of his shock. "Nuh uh! No way, no how!" Ventus exclaimed. "I'm not gonna be YOUR guinea pig after seeing you change that frosting bag into a teacup poodle! I'm not risking losing a body part if you teleport me into a wall!" "Yeah, best to start with something not living to test new spells," Starlight said. "Well, it won't be as impressive, but ok. Teach away, mini-Twilight!" Starlight grumbled at the nickname, but Ventus thankfully didn't see an evil come from her again. He was going to have to ask her about that if she knew that was happening. She left the room and came back with an apple, a perfect test subject to perform spells on. "...Is there a life-size dummy I can try to make disappear?" "How about you start small instead of too big for your britches?" Ventus suggested. "An apple or a log is good practice material without risking hurting someone." "But if you do master this spell before the girls get back, you'd be setting some kind of record," Starlight encouraged, making Ventus winced as Trixie's ego was only going to be stoked more than ever. "Challenge accepted!" the magician said confidently. "Ok. What you want to do is concentrate on the object that you want to teleport," Starlight instructed. "And I'm gonna hide behind here before Trixie misses on purpose," Ventus quickly said, swiftly hiding behind his throne as a precaution. "Concentrate on teleporting. Got it," Trixie said, lighting up her horn and tilted her head back, closing her eyes and not paying attention to where she was going to cast the teleportation spell. "Doin' the spell!" "No, wait, Trix, not just-!" Starlight tried to interrupt, but the showmare didn't listen as she flung her head down and cast the spell. Ventus winced, expecting her to make his throne "disappear" when he heard the magical zap. Peeking around the corner, he gasped in horror while Starlight shared the same terrified expression; Trixie performed the spell perfectly, but not on the apple. Said fruit fell and hit the ground, the Cutie Map being the magician's unfortunate target as it was now nowhere in sight. Starlight fainted and fell over while Ventus slowly stepped around and stared at the empty space where the table first appeared, Trixie grinning nervously when she realized what she made "disappear". "Ta-da," she said weakly, waving a hoof as if she performed the greatest feat of all time by complete accident. "...'Ta-da'? Seriously!? That's all you can say!" Ventus exclaimed. "You teleported the map!" "Well, I seemed to have mastered the spell already," Trixie said smugly, infuriating the Keyblade wielder while watching her sit down in Twilight's throne. "I guess we didn't need that apple after all." Ventus fumed in anger, despising Trixie's arrogance at what she just did, but then began to panic when Aqua came back and finds the map missing. Starlight woke up from her shock and panicked along with the pegasus. "No-no-no-no-no-no! You made the Cutie Map disappear!" Starlight exclaimed. "Teleport," Trixie corrected, frustrating Starlight with her hypocrisy. "Really!?" the heliotrope unicorn questioned angrily. "Well, it was behind the apple," Trixie reasoned, though it was a poor excuse when it was her fault that she wasn't paying attention. "It was bound to happen. But on the plus side, my magic is getting better! I made the whole table go poof! Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself." "Trixie, do you have any idea how important this map is?" Ventus questioned, his hooves fidgeting as he held himself back from strangling the mare from her negligence. "It's not just Twilight's map, its ours as well! We need that to keep an eye on the layout of other worlds, pinpointing the exact locations where the Heartless are in each world! We need to get it back!" "We'll find it," Trixie responded nonchalantly. "No big deal." "Twilight is never going to trust me to be alone in the castle again!" Starlight exclaimed. "And Aqua is really going to kill me if she see's the map is gone!" "Not if she kills Trixie first since I was a witness to this," Ventus said. "Were you even thinking, Trixie!?" "Well, I was teleporting, just like I was told," Trixie said, breaking the last straw on Starlight's back. "NO! You're supposed to concentrate on the object, not just teleporting!" Starlight shouted, the red negative smoke cloud coming back as it spewed out from her horn. Ventus lost his anger toward Trixie when he saw that cloud again. "Uhh, Starlight?" he tried to warn, thankful that Trixie was too busy being proud of her accomplishments to see it, otherwise her own panicking could have made Starlight more irate. "Well, gee, you probably should have told me all the steps before you let me do the spell." Trixie's response made Starlight facehoof, practically begging the mare to get more ticked off and set off the unstable-looking cloud. "I tried," Starlight grumbled. "Starlight?" Ventus called out again. "What!?" As she looked at Ventus, the teen nervously pointed his hoof over her head. She looked up, gasping in surprise and fear, finally noticing the cloud coming out from her own horn. "...I-I...need a minute." She quickly ran out of the room before Trixie noticed. "...I'll be back, too," Ventus said, hurrying after Starlight to figure out what's happening to her. "How the heck did we get all these teacups?" Terra asked himself as he washed the dishes in the kitchen. He was a bit baffled seeing a whole bunch of teacups strewn about the room, swearing they were missing a pot or pan and a few other dishes. Starlight burst into the room, panting heavily as she looked for something. The earth pony turned his head hearing her panic, almost dropping one of the teacups to the floor when he saw a mass of red cloud bursting with electric sparks tethered to her horn. "What in the name of Kingdom Hearts is that, Starlight?" "I don't know!" Starlight said, looking around for something to probably contain this cloud. Ventus soon barged in, letting out a yelp when he saw Terra. "Ven, what's happening right now?" "Heheheh. Uhh, yeah. Funny story!" Ventus said nervously. "...TrixieteleportedtheCutieMapoutofthethroneroomanditsgone!" "The map is gone!?" Terra exclaimed. "Yes! Trixie was practicing a teleportation spell for her act, and instead of an apple, she hit the map!" Starlight said, finding a glass jar with a lid, seeing it would have to do to seal away this evil cloud of anger forming over her. "...And that cloud?" Terra asked nervously. "Apparently, her anger is drawn out as this...dangerous red cloud," Ventus said. "Starlight, do you do that often?" "No! This has never happened to me before!" Starlight exclaimed. "All this magic energy has to go somewhere, and if it's not fighting in a magical duel or bending my friends' wills to obey my every command, I don't know what it's going to do! So, the best thing I can do is bottle up my anger, otherwise my magic will do who-knows-what to Trixie if it gets unleashed!" Ventus and Terra looked at each other, a first for them to see someone literally bottling up their emotions. "...Is that even a good idea?" Terra asked again. "What if that magic turns out to be volatile if that bottle breaks?" "Or what if that negative energy acts like a beacon for Vanitas, or even Unversed he'll create to send after you?" Ventus added, which startled Terra at that possible theory. "Yeah...That doesn't sound good at all," Terra muttered. "I don't think it's a good idea to even hide back your anger toward Trixie if she's frustrating you as well." "What choice do I even have?" Starlight questioned. "We have to get the map back, and I don't want to lose Trixie. If she knew what I was thinking right now, she'd probably never talk to me again." "Or you keep holding it back and that anger finally explodes, which could permanently lose your friendship with Trixie if you don't tell her how you're feeling," Terra said. "Trust me; my bonds with Aqua and Ven would have been severed if we didn't get the chance to reconcile, even when we would expect to face certain doom." Starlight looked up at the cloud of anger, and despite Terra's advice, she poured her anger into the bottle, sealing it away for everyone's sake. Terra let out a sigh, but he understood why she sealed it in the first place if it was as dangerous as they all expected. "Alright, then...I'll get the others and see if we can find the map in the castle." "Please don't tell Aqua Trixie teleported the Cutie Map," Ventus begged. "She's been working hard trying to upgrade both maps to seek out Nobodies and Unversed, and...well, she can do some more serious harm to Trixie if she lost her cool." "Again, another bad idea, but that is a good point," Terra said. "I can only do so much to keep her calm." "Thanks, Terra," Ventus said, quickly hugging his friend, surprising Terra after nearly getting knocked over by the smaller pegasus. "We'll try to get some information out of Trixie since she knows where she teleported the map...If we can get it out of her." Starlight grimaced, taking the bottle filled with her ethereal anger as she went off to find her saddlebags, keeping it hidden from Trixie and not risk losing her friendship. When she and Ventus returned to the throne room, Trixie was still sitting in Twilight's throne, having snacked on the apple that was supposed to be her test dummy, floating the core of the fruit with her magic while holding her hoof under it, pretending she was making it float with her mind. "There you two are," Trixie said. "For a minute, I thought you guys wouldn't come back and got upset at me for some reason. But then I remembered, Starlight; you'd never get mad at me." Trixie wasn't even close to being right, Starlight growling to herself as her anger poured out from her, only to quickly bottle it away. Ventus could have sworn Trixie was doing this on purpose, or she was so ignorant that she doesn't realize how she talked in an almost teasing manner. Starlight took a breath, regaining her composure. "Nope! Not mad at all!" Starlight said with a nervous laugh. "So, the map is probably in the last place you were thinking of. Where was that?" "Ooh, great question," Trixie said. "I wish you'd ask, like, right after I did the spell. I don't remember anymore." Ventus's jaw dropped in exasperation while Starlight released some more frustrated mana anger, which was sealed back up and building up more in her bottle. "You forgot!?" Ventus screeched. "No worries!" Starlight interjected, making the teen facehoof and growl, wishing he was a unicorn to show his own pent up aggression taking a physical form. "We'll just walk around town. Maybe that'll jog your memory." "Ok, that sounds like fun," Trixie said, but as she got up, she let out an exclamation, the other two thinking she recalled where the map might be. "Did you remember?" Starlight asked hopefully. "Nope!" Trixie said, dashing their hopes instantly. "But I did think we could stop for cinnamon nuts while we're out!" "Cinnamon...nuts?" Starlight and Ventus both questioned, more negative cloud energy getting sealed up by the mare. "That's...a great idea!" Starlight said, trying to remain enthusiastic and not blow up on Trixie. "Yes!" Trixie cheered, leaping out of her seat and walked on ahead of Starlight and Ventus. "I've been craving something sweet since I couldn't have any teacakes this morning." As soon as Trixie was out of hearing range, Ventus looked at Starlight, the mare letting out a heavy sigh, seeing this was going to be more difficult than she thought. "You might not want to blow up on her, but I just might if this keeps going on," Ventus said to her. "I know she's getting on our nerves, but I don't want to lose the first friend I ever made by myself after that whole fiasco with time travel," Starlight said. "I'm trying to tolerate it, and as long as I can keep storing up this anger, you can last as long as I can without worrying about literally blowing something up." "Kinda wish I had a horn to make something explode right now," Ventus grumbled. Starlight and Ventus caught up with Trixie as they made their way into town. They got Trixie's precious cinnamon nuts, the cart surprisingly ran by Bulk Biceps of all ponies, even though he had a job at the spa. The cinnamon nuts did smell delicious, but food wasn't important; finding the Cutie Map was, and Trixie was going to make the hunt difficult if they didn't get her focused enough to remember anything. Trixie lead her friends to the nearby jewelry store, content with her bag of nuts as she munched away while Ventus and Starlight looked around, but found no sign of the crystal table. "Well, hello there," the owner greeted the trio, an older pale earth pony mare with her pale gray and white streaked mane and tail tied back. "How can I help-? Ooh. Are those cinnamon nuts?" "Mmm, yes," Trixie answered, her mouth full as she pointed outside to Bulk's cart. "I got them over there. They're delicious. Want some?" She was about to offer the shop owner some nuts, but Ventus grabbed the bag as Trixie levitated it over to the other mare, pulling it back irritably before facing the owner with a forced grin. "Hi, ignore her and her snack she suddenly wanted to eat today," Ventus said. "We're looking for a table made out of crystal, which someone made 'disappear' earlier. Did it by any chance 'reappear' here in your shop?" "...Uhh, I don't have anything like that here," the owner said. "Why would I even sell a thing like that here?" "Well, I cast this really amazing spell that transported it to the last place I was thinking of," Trixie said, cluing the mare in that she was the one who did the mentioned disappearing act. "But I might have been thinking about how I'd treat myself to a nice brooch instead." "Ah, well, no huge crystal tables here," the owner said. "Are you still interested in that brooch?" "Sure!" Trixie said. "No!" Starlight interjected while Ventus facehooved, being lead on a wild goose chase no thanks to Trixie's negligence. "We don't have time for this! Twilight and the girls will be back soon, along with Aqua!" Starlight bottled up the next cloud of anger, Trixie thankfully too busy scarfing her face in cinnamon nuts to notice, but the shop owner saw, her jaw dropping in shock and worry. "But I'm not upset...Where's our next stop?" "Hmm..." Trixie hummed in thought while munching on her snack, leading Starlight out of the jewelry store. "...Uhh, is she ok?" the owner asked cautiously. "Yeah...Just peachy," Ventus grumbled, letting out a frustrated sigh as he followed the two mares. "Thanks for the help, anyway, ma'am..." Their next stop was at Sweet Apple Acres, where Granny Smith answered the door as they asked if the Cutie Map wound up in the Apples' home. "Nope, Ah ain't seen it," the elder Apple responded. "Are you sure?" Starlight asked. "It's really, really important that we find it. And it might be here because somepony-" She looked at Trixie in emphasis for her "subtle" point, more of her anger seeping out and quickly bottled away before she saw. "-was craving apples..." "I'm still craving them," Trixie said. "They'd go so well with cinnamon nuts!" Trixie held out the bag of nuts to Granny Smith, who smelled the delicious snack food as she got a craving for them herself. "Oh, them nuts sure do smell good!" "AGH! FOCUS!" Ventus snapped, grabbing the bag and throwing them far. The bag flew off and smacked Sora in the face as he walked out from the barn where the nuts were flung toward. "Ow! Hey!" Ventus winced, not even knowing Sora was even in Sweet Apple Acres as he was probably searching for the map. "Sorry, Sora!" he apologized. The wielder hovered over to them, rubbing his snout after getting hit by the deliciously cinnamon-y nuts. "Please tell me you found the map." "I looked up and down the orchard, the barn, and even in the house," Sora said. "No dice." Ventus and Starlight sighed heavily, slumping their shoulders with their heads hanging low. Sora noticed how drained Starlight looked, physically exhausted while her hair seemed to wilt. "Uhh, you feeling ok, Starlight?" "I'm fine," Starlight said, giving him a weak, but forced smile. "Not getting upset at all..." "...Ok. You just look a little...out of it," Sora mentioned. He looked at Ventus, seeing he was definitely showing his own irritation. "Ven?" "Just please keep looking around while we try to figure out where Trixie's brain went," Ventus said, gritting his teeth bitterly. Without a word, Sora nodded and flew off to continue searching. The younger pegasus let out a groan as he walked away, wondering where else Trixie was going to take them next. "This is gonna be a nightmare..." Ventus started to become as emotionally numb as Starlight, continuing on their quest to find the Cutie Map. Trixie lead them almost everywhere in Ponyville, and there was no sign of it anywhere. Starlight, however, was feeling the worst between the duo, tired, her hair drooping as it lost its lift, and trudging along on an invisible leash. Trixie was oblivious to their feelings, as usual, skipping along merrily like a filly enjoying a fun field trip to the best place ever. "I could have sworn it'd be at the ice cream parlor, because it was warm in the castle and I thought I wanted ice cream," Trixie rambled as she continued her cheerful gait, Ventus and Starlight slowly stumbling forward, unable to take this madness anymore. Ventus reached a hoof to his ear, contacting the others. "Guys, please, PLEASE tell me you found the map," he begged with a helpless whine. "I can't deal with Trixie any longer. One thought goes in her head, only to come up with something else while forgetting the last thought altogether." Instead of an answer, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Terra approached him, the four meeting back in the center of town as their searches came up with nothing either. "Has Trixie really been that bad?" Terra asked. "She almost killed Sora, trapped Ponyville in a dome, and turned me into a baby," Riku said. "And that was when she was bent on revenge with the alicorn amulet." "You still mad at her about that?" Sora teased. "You did look cute. Bet you liked Twilight holding when you were temporarily an infant." Riku flashed Sora a leer, his friend giving him a cheeky grin. "So, completely harmless, but mostly annoying," Terra paraphrased. "...And, she hasn't been able to figure out where she teleported the map yet, has she?" "No! She's taking us on a scavenger hunt, but the list of items is always random, and she changes her mind about what those right items are every second!" Ventus exclaimed, tugging his mane. "She even turned what was supposed to be one of the numerous teacups she transformed into a teacup poodle, and I don't know where her mind wandered into poodles when turning a frosting bag into a TEACUP!" The four wielders stared at Ventus as he panted heavily, on the verge of a mental breakdown. "...I guess that explains those pink teacups in the kitchen," Terra muttered to himself. "What the heck is a teacup poodle?" The moment Sora asked, they heard yipping as said animated teacup poodle scampered over to them, nuzzling up to Kairi's leg. "I think this is a teacup poodle," she said, confusingly petting the top of the oddball of a creation. "And Trixie made that?" Sora questioned, slightly impressed, but still baffled at the showmare actually using her magic to make this affectionate teacup with paws and a tail. While Ventus was struggling to keep his sanity, Starlight was getting more frustrated, tiredly stuffing her magic in her jar while Trixie thinks the map might be in the Crystal Empire, tuning her out after mentioning the Castle of Friendship and its crystal structure. "Ok, we better start moving if we want to make it to the Crystal Empire," Starlight said. Trixie finally observed Starlight's odd behavior, snapping out of her own selfish desires after hearing how tired she was. "Are you ok, Starlight? Because you seem a little, uh, what's the word...'Ich-blah-ba'." Starlight growled, her cloudy ethereal anger finally noticed by the showmare, unaware of her gaze on her as she stuffed the cloud in the bottle in her bags. "Nope. I am great." "What was that?" Trixie asked. "And your saddlebags just glowed weird. What's in there?" "N-Nothing," Starlight said. "Gimmie your bag!" Trixie demanded, then grabbed Starlight's saddlebags and tried to see what was inside. Starlight struggled to keep her bags closed, but after constantly bottling up her anger, she was left gravely weak, making it harder for her to keep Trixie away. Sadly, her magical strength waned in their tug of war, both mares flinging the bag off Starlight while sending the bottled up jar of anger hurtling toward the Keyblade wielders. "Heads up!" Riku called out, he, Sora, Kairi, and Terra managing to leap out of the way when they saw the falling jar head their way. Ventus, being too mentally perturbed to react, he turned and saw it too late as the glass jar crashed at his hooves. The red cloud of negative emotions was freed, quickly seeping into the pegasus as he let out a startled gasp, then let out a breath, standing stock still. Once all the energy was forcibly absorbed into Ventus, the others stared with concern as his back was turned to them. "...Ven?" Terra called out. He didn't respond, unnerving the earth pony. "...Ven, are you ok, buddy?" Ventus's head turned slightly, staring at Trixie as the mare rubbed her head after falling over from her tug-of-war with Starlight. Slowly, he approached the unicorn, his hooves practically stomping into the ground with each step he took. Trixie opened her eyes as the pain subsided, looking up to see Ventus looming over her, but his eyes were different, leering at her angrily as they were shrouded by an ominous red glow. "...Ven, why are you looking at me like that?" Trixie asked. The teen growled, then shot his hoof out, summoning his Keyblade, shocking the mare. "W-What are you doing!?" Ventus let out a roar, rearing his hoof back to slam down on Trixie. The showmare shrieked and scrambled away, barely avoiding getting hit. Gasping in shock, the other wielders quickly ran up to Ventus, Terra quickly grasping his hooves around the pegasus's waist while Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood defensively in front of Trixie. "Ven, what are you doing!?" Terra questioned, holding the struggling pegasus tightly as he flailed aggressively. "Whoa, what happened to his eyes!?" Sora asked, pointing out the red glow completely engulfing his eyes. Ventus growled, managing to headbutt Terra hard, surprising the stallion as he staggered back, then grunted as he was bucked in the gut by the young pegasus. Sora, Riku, and Kairi summoned their Keyblades, only to act in defense as Ventus was somehow lost in the cloud of Starlight's rage that made him so aggressive. His sight focused on the terrified showmare behind the trio, he growled, spinning his Keyblade in his hoof as he flew toward her. "You ruined my teacakes!" Ventus shouted, slashing past Sora, Riku, and Kairi, blocking his strikes as they were surprisingly pushed back with incredible force. "Y-Your teacakes!?" Trixie exclaimed, confused, but fearing for her life more than asking questions, she screamed and ran away from the incoming pegasus. Ventus tackled Trixie, slamming her to the ground, holding his blade over her head. "You just had to give Twilight those smelly pretzels!" "W-Were they your pretzels!?" Trixie asked. "I'll buy you more!" Before Ventus could plunge his Keyblade through Trixie, Terra rammed Ventus off of her, slamming him into the ground and held him down. "Ven, snap out of it! What's gotten into you!?" Starlight had a feeling she knew what was happening to him. Everything he was saying to Trixie was what she wanted to say to her, culminated inside of the ethereal clouds she kept releasing whenever Trixie irritated her. And with that negative energy inside of Ventus, it made him aggressive and lash out at her while belting out her thoughts toward Trixie's actions. But she didn't want to hurt Trixie, and she knew Ventus wouldn't really physically harm her, so why was he attacking her? Ventus pushed Terra off him with all four legs, launching the stallion in the air that surprised everyone, his rage-fueled strength stronger than his own. Ventus then cast Thundaga on the earth pony, zapping him and numbing his body as he fell to the ground in a twitching heap, then faced Trixie again. "You don't pay attention when I'm trying to teach you!" Ventus shouted, aiming his Keyblade at the mare as he unleashed a barrage of Firaga spells. Trixie shrieked and ducked, Kairi quickly stepping in front of her and cast a barrier around them, blocking the explosive flames, but the blasts made her buckle a bit with each connective hit. "What the hell is going on?" Kairi uttered to herself. "His physical AND magical strength are insane! How much negative energy was in that cloud!?" Ventus roared, speeding off and headed straight toward the two mares. Sora and Riku quickly flew forward, blocking Ventus with their Keyblades, Sora deciding to try using the Keyblade of Kindness and see what its power could do. "I know Trixie's annoying, Ven, but she's not THAT bad!" Sora exclaimed as he and Riku pushed the teen back. Ventus grunted, letting out a growl as he firmly planted his back hooves into the ground. He then began to push back, making Sora and Riku skid backward as they struggled to push with all their strength, slowly moving back faster and faster, getting closer to Kairi and Trixie. The duo were then suddenly shoved back hard into Kairi's barrier, breaking through her magic shield, sending the trio toppling over each other, followed by getting swept up in a Tornado spell as it moved away from Trixie, sparing her, but not his magic-induced wrath. "Uhh, S-Starlight, I don't know what's happening!" Trixie exclaimed. "A little spark of magic might be very helpful right about now!" Starlight tried to focus, grunting in exhaustion as she tried to light up her horn. Her magic sputtered, her whole body physically and mentally drained from literally bottling up her emotions, taking away her magic as she sealed them up. "I-I can't," she weakly said. She tried again, helplessly watching as Trixie ran away from Ventus as he chased her. The showmare climbed up a nearby tree, failing to see he could easily get her if he flew up into the branches she cowered in, but instead, he dashed past the tree, the sound of steel slicing several times in the air, followed by the trunk sliding off in pieces, causing Trixie to yell as the upper half of the tree fell over, making her roll out from the branches as she fell out. "W-What's happening? Why can't I-?" "Starlight, do something!" Kairi called out, breaking free of the Tornado spell as it began to die down, Sora and Riku quickly racing down to tackle Ventus away from Trixie, Terra joining them with his own Keyblade out as they piled on top of the flailing teen. "M-My magic...it's drained," Starlight said. "My emotions...fuel my magic...and...I don't think I have any emotions left when I sealed my anger from Trixie." "Then how are we supposed to get it out of Ventus!?" Kairi asked, Trixie quickly scrambling behind Kairi, clutching one of her hind legs while shivering in fear. "I...don't know," the heliotrope unicorn uttered, unable to find a solution to the problem she caused. Ventus let out a loud shriek, a flash of light shining underneath the three stallions on top of him as he shifted into his D-link with Thorax. He slashed wildly, sending Sora, Riku, and Terra flying back, his red eyes clashing with the pure white changeling form he possessed. As the three stallions got back up, Sora felt it was time to unleash the Keyblade of Kindness's power. Ventus tried to charge past them, but Sora thrust his Keyblade forward, the blade elongating and becoming elastic, almost like a whip. The whip-like blade wrapped around Ventus's waist, the butterfly teeth acting as a lock as it connected like a belt, then with a sharp tug, Sora held Ventus back like a dog on a leash before pulling back hard, releasing him as he was sent flying across the plaza, but Ventus recovered in the air as he landed to the ground unfazed. Sora swung the whip around expertly, smacking it to the ground with a snap, his clothes changing at the flinching sound: his clothes now a bright yellow with pink-winged butterflies appearing on different sections of his jacket. "The Keyblade of Kindness...turns into a whip???" Riku questioned. "How is that supposed to be less painful than a sword? Let alone your own fists?" "Probably more like a taming whip for wild animals," Terra guessed. "Can we not question what Sora's Keyblades can turn into when Ven's possessed by Starlight's rage?" "Maybe we can whip the magic out of him?" Sora suggested, the trio preparing themselves for another charge as Ventus flew toward them, his wings releasing the hallucinogenic spores that confused Vanitas. Before he got closer to spread the enchanted spores around them, Sora twirled around his new whip Keyblade, then swung it toward Ventus with a crack. The butterfly tip struck Ventus's chest, the stinging impact making him stagger slightly. Sora then coiled the whip around Ventus's wings, closing them to his sides in a tight vice. Riku and Terra rushed Ventus together with Sora, Ventus continuing to retaliate even with his wings tied down, the two masters restraining themselves from harming Ventus with their blades. Sora continued using his, even with half of it around Ventus's waist, the stretched out blade still made of steel as he used it to block while ducking, flipping, and sending the teen into a dizzying spiral by using his own movements against him. Growing frustrated that he couldn't get his target, Ventus let out a roar, charging forward while surrounded in a veil of flames, using Fire Dash. He charged into Sora, dropping his hold on his wings as he shot them out, then released his spores. Sora had quickly recovered, getting knocked far enough away from the cloud of hallucinating spores, although Riku and Terra weren't so lucky as they stumbled around trying to grab illusions of the enraged Ventus. With no one else standing in his way, Ventus spotted Trixie, then turned his head when he saw Bulk Biceps's nut cart nearby, the bulky pegasus very confused by what was happening. "Uhh, is this a fight show or something?" he asked. "If it is, I could sell a lot of cinnamon nuts!" Just mentioning the snack made Ventus's eye twitch from Starlight's irritation about them earlier, letting out a yell as he rushed the cart, picked it up, and tossed it in Trixie, Starlight, and Kairi's direction. "NO! My nut cart!" Trixie screamed and hid under her hooves while Starlight and Kairi braced themselves, the alicorn preparing a barrier to protect them. "Kairi!" Sora called out, rushing toward them as another transformation to the Keyblade of Kindness shot out of his hoof. The blade coiled up, creating a shield while the blade merged with the guard, creating a giant butterfly sigil as it was also shaped like one. Thrusting his hoof out, the clasps on the back wrapped around his limb, firmly held tight, and when he stopped before the girls, he shoved his foreleg forward, creating a large ethereal shield in the shape of a butterfly. The cart struck the barrier, shattering to pieces to Bulk's wailing despair, neither Sora nor the girls at all surprised by what these powerful Keyblades were able to do. "You just do whatever you want to!" Ventus shouted, stomping his hooves as he approached them menacingly. "Ven, I really don't want to knock you out, but I'm gonna if this doesn't stop!" Sora warned, the barrier disappearing in a flock of magical butterflies as he charged forward. Ventus warped away as Sora went to try to bash him with his new shield, suddenly appearing behind Trixie, surprising the girls as he smacked Kairi out of the way and pinned Trixie to the ground. "And you don't have to bring up my dark past!" "I-I never mentioned anything about your past!" Trixie shrieked. Ventus was suddenly smacked in the side of the face by the flung butterfly shield, releasing sparks of butterflies as it bounced off of him. Sora ran toward him, catching the shield and leapt in the air, copying one of Goofy's moves as he spun around like a top, homing in on Ventus and repeatedly smacking him with the shield. One final smack sent Ventus flying back as Sora slowed to a halt, then held the shield out in front of him as energy began building up in the wings of the shield's wings. "Sorry to have to do this to you, Ven, but you're in need of a time out!" Sora said, unleashing the Keyblade's finishing power. Shooting out from the shield was an ethereal form of Discord, though more feral as the pink and yellow draconequus spirit slithered through the air, letting out a dragon-like roar as it soared up into the air, then dive-bombed Ventus. Upon impact, the controlled explosion released a huge cloud of pink energy, the mushroom-tip of the atomic-like blast filled with the faces of many different species of animals as different animal sounds echoed all over Ponyville. Sora's shield reverted back to the Keyblade of Kindness, letting out a sigh, thinking that should have been enough to knock Ventus out. However, in the dust cloud, a light tan blur shot out with a yell, charging straight toward him at blinding speed. Sora was caught off guard as Ventus had turned back to normal, still conscious, and was continuously struck by a Sonic Blade attack, unable to recover as each charge felt like he was getting struck by a fast moving skyscraper made of orichalcum. After the last hit, Sora was sent tumbling across the ground, Kairi quickly catching him as they both skid to a halt on the ground. "Sora!?" Kairi exclaimed. "Ugh...He's...incredibly strong...when in berserk mode," Sora groaned. Trixie tried to crawl away, but Ventus stomped down on her tail, keeping her from going anywhere, no one able to stand and get in his way this time. "I just can't believe you sometimes! You make me so mad!" "I'm trying to remember where the map went! I swear!" Trixie pleaded. "Why are you so mad at me!?" Starlight couldn't take this anymore. She didn't know how to take back her anger without her magic, so the only thing she could think of was to finally admit to Trixie how she was feeling toward her and her unwanted shenanigans today. Even if she hated her forever, she would at least be glad knowing the first friend she made on her own would still be breathing. "He is, but all of those things weren't from him," Starlight said, stopping Ventus before he could try to run his Keyblade through Trixie again. "I'm mad at you, too." The tip of Starlight's horn began to glow red, slowly sucking out the negative magic from Ventus as it just as slowly swirled in a gaseous cloud above her. "...Starlight?" Starlight took in a deep breath, ready for the inevitable aftermath, her hair regaining the curled style she chose as her emotions and magic began flooding back to her. "I'm really...really mad at you," she began. "You lost the Cutie Map. You make jokes like it's no big deal. It's like you don't even care you could get me in a lot of trouble." While Trixie watched the cloud growing bigger over Starlight, really listening to her this time, Ventus's eyes returned back to normal as the last of Starlight's anger was sapped out of him. He blinked, rubbing his head as he stepped back, wondering what had happened, only to stare in shock when he looked at Starlight and the huge cloud of negative energy as she released her pent up anger toward the unicorn magician. "If we can't find that table, not only will Twilight NEVER trust me again, Aqua would kill the BOTH of us when she returns and finds out! And the worst part is YOU DIDN'T SAY YOU WERE SORRY!!!!!" Trixie winced, then looked at Ventus. "...Yeah. You've been on our nerves since this morning," he said. "And Aqua is going to hurt you far worse than I would..." Looking around his surroundings, he noticed Sora and Kairi on the ground struggling to get up, Bulk Biceps crying over his broken cart, and Riku and Terra slowly snapping out of his D-Link's magical spores. "...Or...whatever ran through here. What happened to me?" "...I'm sorry, Starlight," Trixie apologized. "I had no idea you felt that way." "Yeah! I do!" Starlight said. After finally letting it all out, Starlight let out a huff, her cloud of negative energy disappearing with a poof, a heavy weight literally lifted off the unicorn's shoulders. "But, to be fair, I don't know how you could have known...Well, Ventus's was obvious, but I used a spell to bottle up my anger, and when it broke around him, it infected him and he almost killed you." "What!?" Ventus screamed, grabbing his head as he tried to remember what happened before he blacked out. "Yeah," Terra grunted, he and Riku walking over to them, the white pegasus going over to help Sora and Kairi up. "Don't worry, Ven. It's not your fault. But I did warn Starlight that bottling up her emotions would backfire...not what I had expected, though, but it backfired." Ventus grimaced, feeling tears well up in his eyes as he once again hurt someone out of his control, just like what Vanitas did to Aqua and Mickey back in the Keyblade Graveyard. "Not again," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I-I...did all this?" "Ven, it's ok," Kairi reassured the upset teen. "Yeah, we're used to taking a whooping from time to time, remember?" Sora said. "Besides, you took all of my 'kindness' like a mad bull wanting to kill the color red at all costs." He laughed as he waved the Keyblade of Kindness around, emphasizing his joke, only to earn a glare from Terra. "...Shutting up now." Terra wrapped his hoof around Ventus's withers, pulling him into a comforting one-armed hug. "Everything's gonna be alright, Ven. No one else got hurt." "My nut cart!" Bulk cried out, dropping the remains of his cart in front of everyone as he bawled. Starlight, with her magic returned, fixed up the bulky pegasus's nut cart good as new. "Yay! My nut cart!" "Bulk, don't you work at the spa?" Riku asked curiously. "Ahh! I'm late for my other job!" Bulk exclaimed, earning several skeptical glances. "...What? I wear many hats." Bulk dragged his cart as he left to start his shift at the Ponyville Spa. "Ok. That's something I didn't expect out of him," Riku said. "I'm not gonna lie, Starlight. Hearing you and Ventus say those terrible things about me wasn't easy," Trixie admitted. "But I needed to hear it. Why didn't you just tell me how you felt?" "I didn't want to lose you as a friend," Starlight said. "Pfft! Come on!" Trixie said. "It'd take a lot more than that to lose me. Our friendship is stronger than a few angry words." "Or a magical temper tantrum by a powerful sword wielder from another world?" Starlight added, making Ventus wilt as he was reminded of the trouble he caused. "I'd take that over the boring pony you were becoming any day," Trixie said. "The Starlight I love is passionate, lively, and yeah, sometimes angry. Those are my favorite parts of you. That and the fact you forgive me every time." "Why did that sound like Trixie was admitting to Starlight she likes her more than as a friend?" Sora questioned, earning a glare from Trixie as he chuckled at the teasing jab from her choice of words. Starlight laughed as well, grateful to have Trixie as a friend, even after she got on her nerves. "I'll forgive you if you forgive me." "Deal," Trixie agreed. But as the two friends hugged it out, Trixie let out a gasp as she remembered something important. "I just remembered what I was thinking about!" "About the map?" Terra asked. "Yes! This way!" Trixie lead the others, making Ventus grimace as he feared they were going to reach a dead end in their search. They were lead to the spa, one of the places none of them had checked out, and as they walked inside the main lobby, all but Trixie gawked in disbelief, finding the Cutie Map used as a massage table with Bulk working on a costumer's lumbar region. "...You have got to be kidding me," Ventus grumbled. "It was in the spa, why?" "Well, there's more to it than that," Trixie stated matter-of-factly. "I was thinking about how glad I was to have met Starlight, and I remembered our first meeting; here at the Ponyville Spa." Starlight was touched by the notion, even though this could have been avoided had Trixie's attention span weren't the size of a flea. "And now I just have to teleport it back!" Everyone winced as Trixie lit up her horn. "NO!" Ventus screeched, tackling the unicorn to the ground, thankfully disrupting her spell before she teleported it elsewhere. "No more teleportation magic until you can actually focus on doing it right and not anything else random!" "I was just joking!" Trixie reasoned, but the irritated glare on the younger pegasus told her he didn't find it funny. And after almost meeting her end by his hoof, she didn't want to risk that chance while he wasn't affected by a magical cloud of emotional stress. "Ok, ok. No more magic. I promise." Refraining from teleporting the Cutie Map back inside the throne room, Starlight and Kairi levitated the table back to the castle. "Ok, just a tiny smidge over to the right," Sora said, guiding the two mares as they placed it back to where it originally was. "My right or Kairi's?" Starlight asked. "Mine," Sora said. "Starlight's right?" Trixie questioned. "I'm talking about my right!" Sora exclaimed, making the others facehoof. "Whose right?" Aqua asked as she walk up to the throne room, startling everyone as she returned. Starlight and Kairi quickly dropped the table, perfectly back to normal as everyone turned to face the blue unicorn Keyblade Master. "Nothing!" they said simultaneously. Aqua raised a brow skeptically, but she sighed and shook her head, walking around the group as she observed the Cutie Map. Before Terra could check on her, Twilight and the rest of her friends returned from their friendship retreat as they entered the throne room. "Hey, Twilight," Riku greeted, giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek. "How was the retreat?" "It was fun!" the lavender alicorn cheered. "We almost broke the escape room's record, but we were off by two seconds when we got distracted by singing a silly song right before finishing it." Starlight snorted, her guess being spot on earlier as she and Trixie tried not to laugh. Twilight noticed Riku, Sora, Kairi, and Terra were a little banged up, almost like they got attacked by Heartless or a wild manticore. "What happened to you guys?" "Oh, just a little bit of training while you were gone," Riku lied. "Kinda went a bit too rough on each other, but it's good practice." "And I learned a little friendship lesson while you were gone," Starlight added. "You've barely graduated, and you're already taken initiative," Twilight said as she teared up with joy. "So proud..." "We learned about team building and problem solving," Fluttershy said. "And when not to sing songs!" Pinkie added. "We certainly had a good time, but I really was looking forward to a spa day, and the Ponyville Spa's still open. Anyone want to join me?" Rarity offered. Starlight winced, hoping Aloe, Lotus, and Bulk Biceps didn't accidentally let it slip that the Cutie Map had ended up in the spa and was used as a massage table. The Mane Six all agreed and joined Rarity as they headed off to the spa, but Aqua quickly stopped them before they could even leave the throne room. "Before you all go and relax, there's some news I have to tell you all," Aqua said. "What news?" Terra asked. Whatever the news was involving what Yen Sid told Aqua seemed to bother her more than this morning. "Aqua, what did Master Yen Sid tell you?" "Well, a lot of stuff revolving Sora that I needed to know." She leapt up onto her throne, letting out a breath as she contemplated all she discovered. "...One of them being his 'Formchanges', as he so politely called them." Sora grinned, running his hoof against his nose cheekily. "...Turns out, like your Drive Forms, the clothes you're wearing gave you the ability to change your fighting style with whatever Keyblade you use. It's not a special gifted power you possess." Sora balked, disappointed as he let out a groan, the others quite shocked at the discovery as well. "Aww man. So...Any Keyblade I use can change thanks to my new outfit?" Sora asked, tugging at his shirt, then summoned his Kingdom Keyblade. "Even if it's not a Keyblade of Harmony?" "Yes, but the reason why your clothes are that special to begin with is mostly to help protect you," Aqua continued. "With Xehanort knowing your exact location and his new Organization XIII members hunting you down after Marluxia and Vanitas, you'll need to defend yourself more than ever now." Sora sighed, seeing Yen Sid's point, but he was grateful gaining some new skills, along with knowing his master was still looking out for his safety. "Not only that, but Master Yen Sid thinks it's time for you to recover the power of waking, where you and Riku both tried to achieve when traveling through the sleeping worlds." "'The power of waking'?" Trixie questioned. "Wouldn't it be easier to use an alarm clock instead?" "It's a power to wake a heart that's lost to darkness, or is unable to return to its host," Riku explained. "I did that once to save Sora when Xehanort captured him, his heart almost corrupted by what looked like Ventus's armor, which was shrouded in darkness." "Oh," Trixie muttered. "So...Sora almost died, in a sense?" "Right," Twilight said, her and Sora looking at each other when they thought back to the Sombra timeline as they traveled back in the past to stop Starlight. "...Xehanort mentioned Riku...killing you by mistake when he tried to save you. I think, in that timeline-" "Riku wasn't able to save me with the power of waking," Sora stated, glad he didn't end up lost in darkness forever. "But the thing is that Sora HAS used the power of waking," Aqua said, shocking everyone. She then looked down at Ventus, lucky to have him brought back after all these years, but what they did to wake him wasn't what they had expected. "...He used it to bring Ven's light back to his heart." "I...did?" Sora asked, highly baffled while scratching his cheek. "But, I thought Kairi did that. I just...touched his chest and she guided his light from me to him." "Exactly; Kairi helped guide Ven's light through you, but it couldn't have been done without the power of waking," Aqua corrected. "And Master Yen Sid told me Kairi's Mark of Mastery exam didn't give her anything special. She's already a Princess of Heart, and with her ring, she's able to use her light to enhance her strength without exhausting herself." "Oh, so we could have been fine without turning into Heartless?" Rainbow asked. "Gee, Sora, thanks for hiding THAT from us!" "Even if it was neglected to be told, using the power of waking is not to be taken lightly," Aqua continued, ceasing Rainbow's further complaints with any casualties from the Heartless. "Whether this power is used carelessly or not, the one accessing it could eventually be lost themselves if they stray too far, or are unable to return. Sora lost it during his and Riku's exam when his heart was asleep in the sleeping realms, losing his grasp on it...And considering how many times Sora's been held back losing his strength in the past, he's incredibly lucky to have survived this long." Sora grimaced, now completely understanding why he was given his new clothes and powers. From Castle Oblivion to the end of his Mark of Mastery Exam, it always felt like he was on a new journey, and his magical abilities and physical skills kept getting lost after what seemed like the end of one journey while transitioning to another. His confidence in himself wavered a little, wondering if he really was suited to be a Keyblade Master after all if he kept getting held back by unfortunate circumstances that practically reset his powers. "Well, even if Sora kept losin' his strength, he's still incredibly strong," Applejack said. "He just keeps gettin' better by the day, and Ah know nothin's gonna stop him from protectin' his family." "And he has us to be there for him when he needs a little pick-me-up!" Pinkie added, bouncing on Sora and hugging him from behind. "You should have joined us today! We had so much fun, and it didn't feel the same without you, Sora!" "He's been a part of our friendship circle just like us," Rarity said. "Even though Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom she made as a filly may have given him such a tragic moment in his life, he's just as connected by the rainbow as we are." "Yes," Twilight agreed. "He's the light that shines in our rainbow of friendship." The rest of the Mane Six joined Pinkie as they all surrounded Sora in a group hug. He began to tear up, happy to have made so many friends in the several years he's been a Keyblade wielder. Even if he gets weaker from losing bits of his memories or nearly falling into darkness, he knew his friends would be there as a his guiding light and strength to continue on, despite the downsides of his struggles. "Thanks, girls," Sora said, trying his hardest to hug all of them at once. The others grinned as they watched Sora being nuzzled by the six mares, even Aqua gave a small smile, highly impressed by his feats even when set back every single time. But even though Sora had discovered the power of waking, he wasn't able to use it to save his father, Kaito, or his crew when he went back in time. If that were the case, then Kaito would have returned if Sora attempted to use it, which could only mean Sora hadn't fully mastered it and got lucky with Ventus, since his light was held within his heart for so many years. The six mares finally broke away from the group hug, giving Kairi room as he held Sora in a loving embrace, being there for him no matter where they were. "Even if you never become a Keyblade Master, Sora, I'll always love you," she said, planting a soft kiss on his lips. "But I know you'll be one someday." "Oh yeah. Speaking of Keyblade Masters, did Master Yen Sid tell you when Sora's new Mark of Mastery exam will be?" Ventus asked, everyone looking up at Aqua as they grew interested in the best possible news for Sora. "Or...are you going to give him one like you did with Terra?" Aqua froze, his hooves gripping the armrests of her throne, conflicted by what she wanted to tell everyone. "What do you mean I'm not allowed to give Sora his Mark of Mastery exam!?" Aqua was taken aback as she spoke with Yen Sid, still taking in all of what she knew Sora could do while being denied granting Sora his next exam. "He's ready to face Xehanort! Why won't you give him another test if you're going to keep holding him back with these enchantments to his clothes!?" "Sora will receive his next exam when the time comes," Yen Sid said calmly. "Xehanort has sent his new Organization XIII members to try to capture him again. Thankfully, the last two attempts were faltered thanks to his father's Nobody overpowering Marluxia, and Ventus defeating Vanitas, even without magic at the start of their infiltration to save all of you." "Look at what he's done!" Aqua shouted angrily. "He's saved all of us several times, and that doesn't give him the right to be a master!? Just how much longer are you going to pull this off before he thinks he's a hopeless cause and you don't trust him and his abilities!?" "Aqua, calm yourself," Yen Sid ushered gently, but dodging her questions only infuriated the younger master. "Don't you dare tell me to be calm when Xehanort's still out there, and we don't know where he or his new Organization is hiding!" Aqua exclaimed. "I'm trying to upgrade both the maps in the castle to locate Nobodies and Unversed, but I'm having no luck no matter how hard I'm trying to improve them! The longer we wait, the stronger Xehanort will be, and there's going to be another Keyblade War that will repeat itself, only this time, EVERYTHING will be devoured by darkness! And you're refusing to give Sora another chance!" She slammed her fists on the wizard's desk, the impact almost breaking it in half. Yen Sid kept his composure, understanding why Aqua was getting upset about this. Without being given an answer, Aqua huffed and began to make her way out of his study. "I'm giving Sora his Mark of Mastery exam. I don't care what I have to give him, but if it's battle against all of us, I don't care! He's deserved this for a long time!" Right as she reached her hand out to the door, a golden light appeared, sealing off her exit. Looking behind her, Yen Sid had his arm out, his hand glowing, keeping the barrier around the door as he stood up from his seat and walked over to her. "I said calm yourself," Yen Sid said, still remaining calm despite Aqua blowing up on him. "I know all of you are anticipating Sora's advances into becoming a master, but he will receive another chance. And I am not refusing him the opportunity; he does deserve to be a master for all his feats. Due to his strength fading several times, I am only ensuring he is able to defend himself against what would be his toughest challenge yet." Aqua glowered at the powerful mage, unable to believe his words. She turned her head, flinching slightly as Yen Sid rested his other hand on her shoulder. "You are still stressing yourself. You may tell the others you're fine, but you still bear such deep mental and emotional scars from your past mistakes, an exile you chose to save Aqua, and surviving in an environment not one single being with a heart should have ever lived through in the last decade. Defeating Xehanort has been on your mind since your return, but your rash decisions and seeking revenge is clouding your judgement, which only distresses your mind with worry and trying to be perfect as a leader." "...You don't know what I went through," Aqua muttered, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she was reminded of her time in the Realmof Darkness. "None of us do," Yen Sid assured. "Believe me when I say I'm searching for Xehanort's whereabouts as well. Knowing him as long as I have known Eraqus, he's a prodigal strategist, always finding a contingency plan if his current one had it flaws breached. After deterring you, Terra, and Ventus back then, he must know you would be emotionally unstable when you took his place falling into darkness." Aqua grunted in shock. Xehanort was a master manipulator, but if he knew everything that was going to happen, then he must have truly known Aqua would have sacrificed herself in Terra's place when they were heading for the Realm of Darkness. Looking past Yen Sid, she saw the picture of him, Eraqus, and Xehanort when they were younger, finding it hard to believe her master and the wizard trying to calm her were ever friends with someone so cruel. "In order to best him, we have to deal with his strategies like a game of chess: carefully plan our moves, try staying several steps ahead of him when he's already even more steps before us, and we need to be calm and ignore whatever mind games he throws at us. "Sora is the key to winning this endless war, but only when he is truly ready." Aqua looked back at Yen Sid, giving her a sympathetic look. She wanted to argue more, but those words would come from the pain in her heart after suffering for many years, from the guilt of putting Terra and Ventus in unfortunate circumstances, ashamed at being called a master when she kept messing up, and enraged by what Xehanort did to her family and others she wanted to protect. It was hard for her to let go of this pain, and Yen Sid could see she was still hurt by it. She hung her head, slightly nodding her head in understanding. "Tell Sora he must rediscover the power of waking and the reason for his new powers from his Drives to his Formchanges. Leave his exam to me when I believe the time has come." "...Yes, master," Aqua obeyed, giving another slight nod as her gaze drifted down to the floor. Yen Sid patted Aqua's shoulder, dropping his seal, allowing her to leave. "Had back to Equestria and try to let your worries fade," he instructed. "I know it's not easy and it will take many years for you to recover, but you are an incredible leader, Aqua. You need to remember that this war can't be won alone." Aqua nodded again, then turned and faced the door. She wanted to apologize, but couldn't bring herself to do so or else throw a fit over how immature she had been by talking back to a superior Keyblade Master. Aqua opened the door and took her leave, Yen Sid letting out a sigh as he turned back to look at the framed photo of his old friends. "Xehanort, what lead you down this path to bring others so much pain?" Aqua tried to blank out her mind, coming back to reality when she realized the ornaments hanging from the tree root chandelier could have revealed what she discussed with Yen Sid. The others waited for her response to Ventus's question, swallowing the lump in her throat and took a shaky breath. "...Master Yen Sid has Sora's new Mark of Mastery Exam in mind," she finally said. "I...don't know when, but...it will come soon...when he thinks Sora's truly ready." "Oh. Why couldn't you, Terra, Riku, or even Kairi give him his exam instead?" Ventus questioned. "Yeah, you gave Terra his exam and passed him after beating the tar out of each other," Rainbow mentioned. "...I...I don't know," Aqua said, coming up with no excuse as to why anyone else could, even after being told Yen Sid was the only one to give Sora his Mark of Mastery exam. Terra could see Aqua was struggling to find an answer, knowing something the others don't. "Aqua? You ok?" Aqua said nothing, shaking her head as her only response. Terra approached her throne to try and figure out what else is on her mind, she teleported out of the throne room, needing to be alone right now. As everyone wondered what had upset her, Terra had a strange feeling in his heart. He felt as if Aqua's grief was all his fault, even more so than just blindly trying to master the power of darkness and giving him, Aqua, and Ven their fates many years ago. That immense amount of guilt disappeared after a while, but he had no idea why he felt saddened by burdening Aqua, nor what that burden was aside from almost tearing their friendship apart. "Terra?" Ventus called out, snapping Terra out of his confusing inner conflicts. "You alright? You kinda...blacked out." Looking around, he didn't find the rest of the group in the throne room, most of them probably off at the spa or doing something else, not even aware of how much time had passed while deep in his thoughts. "...Yeah...I guess I dozed off for a second," he said. "Is Aqua going to be ok?" Ventus asked. "Is she hiding something from us?" "I'm sure she'll tell us when the time comes," Terra assured. "Besides, best not explain what happened to the map with how upset she seemed." Ventus nodded, then walked out to reach his room and get some rest after the stressful day he had. Terra looked down at the map, bringing a hoof to his chest. "That was...strange...Why did I feel more sorry for her?" After contemplating what that feeling was that came from his heart completely out of nowhere, he gave up when it didn't come back again. Seeing Aqua needed to be alone, Terra stayed in the room and looked over the map. He might not have any magical expertise, but if he could help Aqua figure out how to enhance both maps, he can try while also staying on the lookout for any Heartless for her.