//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: Black Magic // Story: KINGDOM HEARTS: Fractured Friendship // by KHXhero //------------------------------// Chapter 18: Black Magic The boy fell through and onto the hard floor. Luckily, he didn't hit his face hard as he did. Opening his eyes, he saw the floor wasn't white and no red carpet. He saw some cracks, and the floor's color was gray. "Sora!" A pair of voices called out, getting his attention. He turned to see, Donald, Goofy, and Spike rushing up to him with surprise and worry. The boy lifted himself up and shook his head, seeing that he was back at the Castle of the Royal Sisters. "Ow..." Sora said. "Sora, are you ok?" Goofy asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." Sora said as he got up to his knees. "What happened?" Donald asked. "Did you find out how Twilight got that amulet?" Spike asked. "Yeah... I did..." Sora said as he got back up and rubbed his forehead. Then it came back to him, making him gasp. What he saw, the groom seeing everything and was put under mind control, and the girls learning the truth, and their memories were erased... by the Chancellor! It was he who also placed the amulet so Twilight would find it! "He knew..." Sora said. "It was him!" "What?" Donald asked. "Who did you see?!" Goofy looked around, and his eyes widened as he glanced past Sora, giving a gasp. "Sora, it's-!" Goofy said. "Neighsay." Sora said, turning his head around, knowing that somepony was watching. Looking deep in the shadows, there was a unicorn stallion, light azureish gray, with a gray mane, tail and beard, his turquoise eyes were the only thing that was visible. There was silence in the room, as Donald, Goofy, and Sora, gripping the keyblade tightly in his hand, staring at the Chancellor, while Spike was behind them, with worry all over his face. "I consider myself a reasonable pony." He spoke, his voice in a low tone. He emerged from the shadows, still showing his scowl. "There are certain rules, keyblade wielder." He spoke as she approached the trio. "And those rules are expected to be obeyed. Using the power of waking to learn certain knowledge is forbidden-" "You knew..." Sora said, interrupting the stallion. "The bride being a changeling. You knew the whole time, did you!" Donald and Goofy's eyes widened up hearing what Sora asked. The Chancellor knew that the bride was the changeling queen? Neighsay was hesitant, but he kept his cool. he turned his head away, but spoke. "Yes, I did." Neighsay said. Hearing that made Sora grip the keyblade more tightly. "The whole time?" Sora asked. "Oh, please." Neighsay said. "Celestia's student isn't the only pony who has known Cadenza for a long time, everypony saying how wonderful she is. I've known that her behavior was off when that moron Captain Armor brought her into the castle. I began to do some research, and that's when I started making the connection." "And you helped her, did you." Sora said, as Donald and Goofy gasped, while Spike's eyes widened up. "What?" He asked. The Chancellor only looked away once more. "There are some things that you were never suppose to know... Keyblade Scum." He said. That sounded like a big fat yes. The boy only glanced down at the floor, his grip on the Missing Ache keyblade loosening up. "If the King or Princess Celestia were here, they would've stopped me." Sora said. His grip on the keyblade tightened up. "But They're Not Here!" He shouted as he charged forward, surprising Donald and Goofy. "Sora!" Donald and Goofy called out, but the boy leaped into the air and with a battle cry, he prepared to swing down with his keyblade upon the unicorn. He then pointed his horn forward, and a strange glow came from the medallion on his sash. Suddenly, Sora felt himself stopping in midair, which took him by surprise. He was then tossed across the floor, tumbling back and forth. Donald and Goofy winced. "How dare you!" Neighsay spoke out. "You dare strike a member of the Unicorn Council?!" "You're a traitor!" Sora shouted as he got up, the keyblade still gripped in his hand. He made another charge, and fired a ray of energy right at him. But the Chancellor summoned a magical shield around him, without the use of his horn. The ray bounced off and nearly struck Donald, who jumped into Goofy's arms. "What?!" Sora asked. "How did you do that without your horn?" The unicorn gave a wicked smile and pointed to the medallion on his sash. "The EEA Medallion gives me a boost in magic, and I can use magic without the need of my own horn." He spoke. The medallion gave another spark, conjuring up energy. He then fired a bolt of lightning straight at the boy. He raised the keyblade up in defense. Suddenly, the bolt bursts as it hit something before the boy. Sora glanced forward and saw Goofy standing between them, holding his shield up. He blocked the attack with his shield! "Goofy!" Sora said. "Thanks." "No problem, buddy." Goofy said. "You fool!" Neighsay said towards the Knight Captain. "You dare go against a government official?" "Not on your life, but any official who betrays their Princess and tries to hurt our friend gets the boots!" Goofy said, ready to fight. "Yeah!" Donald said as he jumped in with his staff. "And you're about to get a butt-kicking too!" The Chancellor only gave a growl, as Sora got back up. "Let's get him!" Sora called out as the trio rushed forward to attack. The Chancellor only smiled, and his horn glowed, along with his medallion. Magical chains began to evaporate out of nowhere, and grabbed Donald, and Goofy, tying them all up. Another pair of chains grabbed Sora out of nowhere and began to pull him to the ground, and wrapped around him, making him drop the keyblade. The boy tried to break free, but he couldn't. Chancellor Neighsay approached the boy, while kicking away the keyblade. "You fool." He said. But then suddenly, Spike jumped up from behind him. "Leave him alone!" He shouted and grabbed the stallion by the mane, making him yelp backwards, while Spike tried to pull him by the ears, making him frantically jump and kick, like a bull being rode on by a cowboy. The Chancellor finally had enough and yanked Spike off his back with his magic. "Get off me you filthy scaley beast!" He shouted before firing a magic beam at the dragon, tossing him across the floor. "Spike!" Sora called out, trying once more to break free. But the chains wouldn't budge, nor would they break free. The Chancellor made his way towards the boy. "You are under arrest, boy." He said. "Why are you doing this?!" Sora asked. "What do you have against the Princess?!" "Let's just say Princess Luna wasn't the only pony to hold a grudge." He said. "All Pony kind have been forced to live together for more than a thousand years. Before than, we were once separated and the Unicorns had ruled the land, until Princess Platnium's foolish advisor Clover the Clever befriended the other tribe leaders secretary and second-in-command. They may have saved us from an eternal blizzard, but everypony was treated as equals, when the Unicorns were the ones who used to be in charge!" Sora tilted his head. "So... you're holding a grudge because a unicorn befriended a Pegasus and Earth Pony?" Sora asked with a confused raised eyebrow. "Dude, you really need to lighten up." "It's not just that." Neighsay hissed. "Princess Celestia has allowed creatures from the outside to live in Equestria as well. She is therefore disrupting the sacred order, letting beasts and monsters roam on our land, not fully knowing how dangerous they could be to all of us!" Sora was now having a better understanding of what he meant. The Chancellor didn't want creatures like dragons, changelings, and others on Equestria. "Well, that explains why you're... um..." Sora said, trying to find the word. "Being a racist ass!" Donald finished, which Goofy gasped. "Donald!" Goofy said. "The correct term is arse." The royal wizard only shook his head in annoyance. "I was hoping the Changeling Invasion would set the Princess right, but no." Neighsay continued. "She had the nerve to call you here instead of solving the issue herself." "Dude, it's beyond her control!" Sora said. "She can't fix everything!" "No, she can't." Neighsay said. "But I will. The Unicorn Movement shall be the ones to fix it and we shall take our rightful place to rule this land. The Changelings may have not done the job, but soon, very soon, Celestia will get what's coming to her." That smile he was giving showed he was up to something real nasty, and Sora wasn't going to let that happen. "You won't get away with this!" Sora shouted. "Oh I will." Neighsay said. "But first, to deal with you. Then, with his magic, he pulled something out of his pocket, which was a grey stone. Sora recognized the stone. It was the same one the unicorn used on the girls and took away the memories of Cadance's deception! "That stone!" Sora said. "Oh yes." Neighsay said. "The Memory stone. It allows the holder to take away memories of those around them. And now I shall do the same to you!" "You're going to erase our memory?" Sora asked. "Of course!" Neighsay said. "I'm going to erase all of it. I can't let you all go to the Princess and tell her what I've been doing all this time. But don't worry, I'll let her know that her little student fell to darkness while you lost your minds and sanity over it." He then aimed the stone directly at Sora, ready to activate it. "Say goodbye to your memory, Keyblade Scum-" He shouted. Suddenly, something flew straight into the room and zoomed past Neighsay, throwing him off. Then it zoomed past him again, and got right into Neighsay's face, making him stumble backwards and yelp. That something was a yellow glowing orb, and it was flashing bright lights, making the chancellor turn away. "What is this?!" He shouted, trying to catch it with his hoof, but it dodged. "Get away from me!" The orb began to fly around him in a crazy way, while he tried to shoo or whack it away. "Huh?" Sora asked, wondering what was happening. That orb was trying to save them. Suddenly, three more glowing orbs appeared into the room, one white, one black, and one gray. Together, they seeped into the Missing Ache keyblade, making it float up into the air, surprising the boy. It then swung down in front of him, destroying the chains that were around him. With that done, it dropped to the ground, as the three lights moved in to help the other orb distract the Chancellor. With the opportune moment at hand, Sora rushed over to Donald and Goofy, and sliced the chains off them with the keyblade. "Thanks!" Goofy said. "No problem." Sora said. "Go help Spike." The two got up and rushed over to Spike, who was quite dizzy from the impact. "Are you ok?" Donald asked the baby dragon. "Yeah, I'm ok." He said, shaking his head a bit. The chancellor continued to swing back and forth, trying to whack the orbs away, but every time he tried, the orbs just phased through, and continued to fly around his hand. Sora then aimed his keyblade, and charged up as much energy as he could. "Gotcha!" Sora shouted as he fired a ray of light, hitting the Memory Stone in Neighsay's hoof, causing it to fly across the room, and onto the ground, right in front of Sora. He then raised his keyblade into the air, and then swung it down hard onto the stone, shattering it into pieces. As he did, magical streams of energy, in the shape of video tape strips, began to burst from the stone, flying up into the air and out the window, going wherever they go... except for one. Suddenly, the orbs stopped flying around Neighsay and flew away out the window, to the same direction the streams flew off to. Sora caught a quick eye at the orbs. "Those lights saved us..." Sora said. But why? Were those orbs people? He then turned his head to see the stream of magic that didn't leave the building, all colored in green. Swiftly, the stream flew straight towards Spike and seeped right into his head, making him shake and groan. His eyes began to glow, showing scenes of him frantically looking for Twilight on the day of the wedding, running into the girls, learning of the fake bride's deception, confronting her, and the cloaked pony, who was Neighsay, erasing their memory of this discovery. Spike gasped in shock, and he fell to his little knees, and his arms and hands on the ground to keep him up. "Spike?" Donald asked as he and Goofy rushed to him. Seeing this, Sora ran towards the baby dragon. "Spike, are you ok?" Sora asked. Spike looked forward, still having a shocked face, then straight at Sora. "Sora... I... I remember... I remember everything." Spike said. Sora was surprised. Spike remembered what happened before the wedding? "You do?" Sora asked, kneeling down to the baby dragon's level. "Yes." Spike said. "I remember looking for Twilight, then telling the girls, then we went looking for her, then Rainbow Dash said she saw the imposter being all evil. We went to confront her and... that was that!" As the baby dragon stared at the floor, going over what he now remembers. Sora's eyes widened, and he looked back at where he destroyed the stone. Perhaps the destruction of the stone allowed the memories to escape. "So if you got your memory back, then the girls should get their memories back too!" Sora said. "Yep." Goofy said. "NO!" Neighsay shouted, getting the group's attention. The Chancellor was very angry now, and he was giving a cold scow to the spikey haired boy. "You'll pay for this, Keyblade Scum!" He shouted. "By order of the Canterlot Council, you're hereby under arre-" As he spoke, a glare came from Sora's face, and the boy started marching straight towards him, having a tight grip on the keyblade in his hand. "You! You Foul Evil Little Cockroach!" Sora shouted, cornering Neighsay to the wall, making him stand on his hind legs, and pointing the keyblade right at his neck. The Chancellor gasped as the boy pointed the keyblade right at him, as if he was about to either shoot him or slice his head off. "Sora, Wait!" Donald called out as he, Goofy, and Spike rushed up to him. "Sora, don't!" Goofy said. "He's not worth it!" The Chancellor opened one of his eyes, fear all over his face, staring at the boy, who was not very happy, but angry. Usually Sora doesn't get this angry, but it can happen if he was having a rough day. And to be honest, this was one of those bad days. A few seconds passed before any of them said a word. "You wouldn't dare..." Neighsay said. The boy only squinted his eyes with seriousness, pushing the keyblade close to Neighsay's neck. "I would..." Sora said. "But I ain't a slaughterer." He slowly lowered his keyblade away from the Chancellor's neck, who let out a sigh of relief. Donald and Goofy sighed in relief too. "Garsh, for a minute we thought you were gonna... you know." Goofy said. "No." Sora said. "But I will do this." He then threw a kick with his leg, right into the unicorn's groin, making him squeal with a high pitch voice, followed by a swing from Sora's empty clenched hand, punching the Chancellor right in the face, sending him to the floor all dizzy and moaning in pain. "Whoa..." Spike said with surprise. "That felt good." Sora said. "Not good." Donald said. "Brilliant!" Hearing that brought a chuckle from the boy, and one from Goofy. The Knight captain glanced over to the wall behind the chancellor and noticed that there were chains dangling on the wall. "Hey, I got an idea!" Goofy said as he rushed over to the wall and grabbed the chains. He then knelt down and cuffed the chains to the Chancellor's front hooves. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a ring. He then placed it onto the Chancellor's horn. Luckily, he was too dizzy to notice. "What's that?" Sora asked. "A ring inhibitor." Goofy said. "That way he won't do any magic and such. Good thing I went to the store before we came into the forest. "Nice thinking." Sora said with a thumbs up. Pretty soon, the Chancellor finally came to his senses and made a yelp, only to find out that he's chained up and such! "What the?!" Neighsay shouted, and he tried to do magic, but he couldn't due to the ring on his horn. "What is the meaning of this?!" "To teach you a lesson." Sora said, as Donald and Goofy gave a nod. "You nitwits!" Neighsay said. "I may not have my horn, but I still have the EEA Medallio-" He then looked down at his sash and to his complete shock, the medallion was gone! "Ahem." Spike spoke, getting his attention. The baby dragon held the medallion up in his claw. He must've swiped it while Goofy chained the Chancellor up. He then snapped it in half, rendering it powerless. "You were saying?" Neighsay only gave a growl. "You all will pay for this!" He said. "The only one who will be paying for this is you." Sora said. "We're going to tell Princess Celestia what you've done." "How?" Neighsay asked. "You just gonna rush all the way back there?" "No need." Jiminy said as he hopped out of Sora's hood, holding up a piece of paper with written words on it. "I've written a letter of everything that Sora witnessed when he was looking in the past, and it includes everything that you've confessed to, Neighsay!" Hearing that made the Chancellor gasp. "Nice one, Jiminy." Sora said, as the top hatted cricket rolled it up. "Spike, here you go!" Jiminy called out as he tossed it into the air. The baby dragon jumped up and blew out a flame, making the letter sparkle and fly out the window in a fiery trail. "Message sent." Spike said with a smile. The Chancellor only gave another growl, trying hard to break from the shackles that held him, but there was nothing he could do. If anything, he got what he deserved. "Well, guess that's that." Sora said. "So now what do we do?" Donald asked. "Well, now we know what we know." Goofy began. "So I think we should go fix the magic." "What about him?" Donald asked, pointing at the struggling Chancellor, who kept grunting and making horse sounds as he continued to try and break out of his chains, but no prevail. "I don't think he'll be getting out any time soon." Sora said. "The Princesses will deal with him when they get the message. Let's just focus on fixing the magic right now. Then we round up the girls, and save Twilight." "But how are we gonna fix the magic?" Spike asked. "We should probably go deeper into the forest." Sora said. "Deeper?" Donald and Goofy asked. "Yeah, we should go deeper if we're gonna fix the magic." Sora said. "I think we might need to find a very special tree." "Special tree?" Spike asked. "Yes, something like that." Sora said. Donald only rolled his eyes, a little annoyed that they'll have to go deeper into the Everfree Forest. But then, something caught his eye, something that made him scream. "AAAHHH!!!" Donald shouted, with horror on his face. "Look!!!" He pointed forward, making the others see what he was looking at. Slithering inside the room from outside the window was a strange black snake... Wait, that wasn't a snake. It rose up and revealed a strange black front. It opened up, revealing eight black legs, almost like a spider, but inside it was a spore. It was some kind of vicious vine with spider-like legs and blue crystal spikes covering all over it. The group gasped with surprise. "What is that?!" Goofy asked, his face full of shock. "It looks like some kind of vine!" Sora said. Then suddenly, behind the strange black vine, two more black vines appeared, followed by three more... no, more than three. They began to slowly come into the castle, making their way towards them. "Whatever they are, I don't think we should be wait and find out!" Jiminy said, jumping back into Sora's hood. "Let's get out of here!" Donald shouted as he made his way towards the stairway, as Sora, Goofy, and Spike followed the royal wizard out while the vines took pursuit, leaving Chancellor Neighsay still chained up to the wall, as he only sighed and slightly bonked his head on the wall. "This was not how I hoped things would go..." He said. "Oh boy, sounds like you're in a lot of trouble." Someone spoke. The Chancellor turned his head and saw with a surprised face, a hooded man in a black coat, leaning back against the wall. Surprisingly, Neighsay didn't react with shock and horror. He only sighed. "Oh, it's just you." He said, showing that he somehow knows him. "Do you want some help, Friend?" The hooded man asked, lifting and shaking his hand, showing a set of keys. Seeing those keys made the chancellor give a wicked smile. "About time." He said. Rushing out of the front doors of the castle, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Spike made a run for it from the castle, away from the black vines, which continued to chase them. They made their way towards the bridge. "Let's go across!" Sora shouted. As they got closer however, more vines emerged from below the bridge, and began to rip the bridge apart, tearing the rope from both sides, and breaking the plank boards on them. In an instant, the bridge was gone! "Oh No!" Spike said. "That was our way out!" The group turned their heads and saw more black vines getting closer. "What do we do now?!" Donald asked. Goofy checked his surroundings quickly, and saw that there was a pathway that led directly down a hill, and it was free of those vines. He quickly summoned his shield. "Fellas, Hop On!" Goofy called out as he threw the shield facedown so the back and handle was upwards. Seeing the slant drop ahead, Sora and Donald realized what Goofy was planning. Picking up Spike, the two hopped onto the shield. "Wait, what are we doing again?" Spike asked. "Just hang on, Spike!" Sora said as he was front, with Donald in the middle, while Goofy pushed the shield so it would go down the slant part of the hill. "Here we go!" He called out as Goofy pushed with all his might, allowing the shield to go down. He hopped aboard and the group rode the shield like a snowboard down the hill, while the black vines took pursuit. They held on as they slid on down the hill, making their way through the forest up ahead. As they continued to slide onward, they passed multiple trees and flowers, even some before them. "We got trees!" Sora shouted. "Go Left!" Donald shouted. They shifted their combined way to the left, allowing them to move and dodge the tree, but another tree was up ahead. "Another tree!" Sora shouted. "Right!" Donald shouted. They leaned to the right, dodging the other tree. Then they saw before them a couple of dirt piles that slanted upwards, almost like a ramp. "Ramp!" Sora shouted. "Let's jump!" Goofy called out. The group held onto the shield and jumped upwards, while doing a cool twirl and spin, making a perfect landing and continuing to slide down. They continued to shifted left and right in order to dodge any trees or branches that could whack them and stop them. They even jumped off a couple ramps to gain more speed, even doing tricks with the air time they got. It was almost more than two minutes as they kept sliding on the shield while doing all this. "Did we lose those vines?" Sora asked. Donald turned his head to look, only to see more black vines and spores after them. "They're still coming!" Donald shouted. "Just hold on, fellas!" Goofy said. "We got a big ramp up ahead!" "Big Ramp?" Sora, Spike, and Donald asked. They looked ahead and saw a huge ramp right up ahead. How there was a ramp like this in a forest like this wasn't important. They knew they had to make a big leap. "Hang on everyone!" Sora shouted as Spike held onto Sora's legs, while Goofy hugged them and Donald close. As they rode the ramp, they made one more leap, jumping high into the air. Looking around them, they saw they were high above a huge river, making a long way towards the other side. They landed, and continued sliding onward without harm. Looking back, they saw the black vines cease movement, not attempting to go after them. The group smiled. They escaped the vine. "Yes!" Sora called out. "We made it!" "Hurray!" Donald called out. "We did it, buddy!" Spike said. "Good going, guys!" Goofy said. The group cheered as they continued to slide. However, the victory cheer was cut short as they saw up ahead, a huge long branch on the ground and in the way. As their faces turned to bits of worry, they knew one thing. They were going to crash. "Uh oh." Donald said. "Wait a minute..." Sora said. "Oh, this ain't good." Goofy said. "Can we scream now?" Spike asked as they got closer and closer to the branch... or log so to speak. "Hang on!" Sora shouted as they tried one more leap, only for the shield to hit the log, causing all four of them to fly off, though Goofy managed to grab his shield. All four of them began to fly into the air and into the forest below them, with no destination of where they were going to land. Again, it was pitch black around him as he came to. Why is it always pitch black when he would wake up once and a while? Sora looked to his left and looked to his right, and realized he was standing. But right below him, he saw that he was some large glass-stained circle-like pillar, which depicted a picture of himself, drawn into the pillar. Next to him were four other pictures, of people close to him. Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy, all of them in the circles. Below them was the sea and the sky, and around them were smaller circles, each one having a crown symbol that matched the one on Sora's necklace. Sora knew what this place was. This was the Station of Awakening. His Station of Awakening at least. They're framed as worlds within dreams, or usually the place where one's mind goes to. Sora had been here countless times before, way more than he can count. But what was he doing here this time? He looked around. "Hello?" Sora asked. "Helloooooo?!" There was no answer, only the echo of his voice. He gave a sigh. "Sora?" a voice spoke out. The boy lifted his head. He knew that voice. It was a girl's voice. It wasn't Kairi's voice, but it was a voice he heard before... "Is that...?" He asked. "Don't worry, I'm here." The voice spoke again. Sora looked up and saw a bright yellow orb floating down towards them. That orb was the same one that saved him and distracted the Chancellor long enough for Sora to break free. The orb floated before him and gave a bright glow. The orb than took the shape of a young girl almost Sora's height. The girl bore a resemblance to Kairi, sharing the same blue eyes and general body structure, though it was a bit more subdued than most. Her hair was blond, slightly longer than Kairi's that drapes across her left shoulder. Her white dress ended at her thighs in an embroidered lace pattern and she wore light blue sandals decorated with yellow flowers. Sora gave a smile, knowing who she was. "Naminé?!" Sora asked. "Hello, Sora." The girl, Naminé, spoke. Naminé is... well, used to be the Nobody of Kairi, born right after Sora gave up his own heart to release Kairi's heart during his first adventure. Sora actually met her before, when he visited Castle Oblivion, where she was forced by rogue members of Organization XIII to rewrite Sora's memories to make him their puppet. But she rebelled and restored Sora's memories to the way they were before he went into the castle. During his restoration she has been helping Riku look after him while the spikey haired boy slept for a whole year. Though he had no memory of her, Jiminy wrote down "Thank Naminé", so Sora would thank her one day. And thanks to Sora, Riku, and of course Ienzo, Ansem the Wise, and Even, they were able to construct a replica body so she could exist. Since then, she had become her own person. "Wait... how are you here?" Sora asked. "I sensed that you were in great despair a while ago." Naminé said. "I just followed my heart and I was able to find you. Sorry it took a while." "Wow, thanks." Sora said surprised. Then he gasped. Oh, that's right! Kairi! "Kairi! Naminé, how is she?" "I've been looking after her for sometime now." The girl answered. "She's still struggling. The infection seems to be getting stronger. But she's still fighting. She's still has a lot of faith in you, Sora." Sora didn't know what to say. Kairi was still holding on. She was still fighting whatever's infecting her. But at the same time, knowing that she's struggling still, he felt a bit sad that he was making her wait that long. "Naminé…" Sora said. "I... I know I promised her that I would fix this, but I still don't know what to do. The friend I'm looking for has turned a really dark leaf, and I'm trying to find a way to save her too. Right now I'm trying to get the magic working, but I still can't figure out how." He lowered his head with a bit of shame. "I'm sorry..." He said. The girl moved closer to him and lifted his chin up. "Don' be sad, Sora." She said with a smile. "I know that you've been going through a lot too." "Huh?" Sora asked. "I've seen what you were seeing a while ago." Naminé said. "Xehanort's illusion conjured up by your trauma and doubts, the horrible things you saw before you managed to change the outcome. I know it's too much sometimes, but don't be afraid to share it with those close to you. Just remember you're surrounded by those who care about you. Just remember that they're with you... In here." She pointed directly at Sora's chest, straight to his heart. The girl looked at him and smiled. "Yeah, you're right." Sora said. "Donald and Goofy told me the same thing. When I was alone in that room, when Xehanort was trying to hinder me so much, I heard them calling out to me. Just hearing their voices helped me remember that no matter where I am, no matter where I go, they're with me. My friends are always with me. Whatever is lost can always be found again. My friends still have faith in me, no matter what. And someone I know that's special to you has faith in me too." The girl gave a happy smile and a nod. "Naminé?" Sora asked. "Tell Kairi to hold on a little longer, ok? I'll set things right." "I know you will." Naminé said. "Oh, and Sora?" "Yeah?" The boy asked. "While you were using the Power of Waking to see the events leading to Twilight's turning, I tagged along with you, and I saw everything." Naminé said. "You did?" Sora asked. "Of course." Naminé said. "And I was able to collect these." she held out her hands, and within them appeared an orb of magical streams in the shape of video tapes. Seeing that made Sora even more surprised. "Are those?!" Sora asked. "Yes, the girls' memories of what truly happened before the wedding." Naminé said. "When the memory stone was destroyed, the memories flew off with no where to go. I was able to gather them all, with the help of a few friends, and placed them in here." She then held out her hand, and summoned a white colored stone, which had the same markings that were on the old memory stone, but the markings were yellow, and there was a paopu fruit sigil on it. She then handed it to Sora. "Keep it with you." She said. "When you find the other bearers, use this to give them back their memories." "Ok, but where do I find the girls?" Sora asked. "They've given up." "Don't be to sure about that." Naminé said. "Huh?" Sora asked. "While I'm my own person, I still have the power to connect with those through your memories." Naminé said. "I've used the connection to find them, and they haven't given up just yet." "Really?" Sora asked as he tilted his head. "Don't worry, they'll find you again, ok?" Naminé said with a wink. Hearing that made Sora smile and nod. "Ok." He said. "Th-" He then stopped himself for a second. He just remembered, one important thing. He never fully had the chance to say thanks to her, for restoring his memories when he lost them in Castle Oblivion. He had another chance to thank her back in the Final World, but he wanted to say to her in person. But she is here, right now, so. "Ah, screw it." Sora said. "There's something that I've been meaning to tell you, and I've never had the right time to say it. But I'll say it now, now that you're right here in front of me." "And what's that?" She asked. He looked back at her, with a smile. "Thank you, Naminé." He said. He finally said it. Hearing that was a bit of surprise, but she gave a warm smile. "You're welcome, Sora." She said, and pretty soon, everything went white. This could only mean one thing. Sora was waking up now. He blinked. Opening his eyes, Sora was now waking up from his dream, or his conversation with Naminé. He lifted himself up, shaking his head a bit to wake himself up. He then turned to his right, and saw the new Memory Stone Naminé created, the one that had all the girl's memories. He picked it up and placed it into his pocket for safe keeping. He rose back up on his feet and looked around, seeing that he was still in the Everfree Forest, and it was still night time. He turned around, wondering where Donald and Goofy were, and Spike of course. "Guys, are you ok?" Sora asked. Then suddenly, Spike popped his head up from a small patch of strange blue flowers. He shook his head and straightened up his spines and scales. "Yeah, I'm good." Spike said as he emerged from the flower patch. Two hands lifted up from the patch as well, and two duck legs as well. Yep, Donald and Goofy were alright. "I'm ok!" Goofy said. "Not me though." Donald said as he lifted his head up and collapsed again. Sora only shook his head as Spike let out a sigh. "Well, all are accounted for." Sora said. "Yeah, definitely." Spike said as he began to scratch his stomach. That's odd, he thought. Why did he have the sudden urge to scratch? He felt... itchy. He started to scratch himself a bit more. "That's weird." Spike said. "Why do I feel itchy?" Sora looked down at the baby dragon, but then he let out a yelp of surprise. "What?" the baby dragon asked. "Um... Spike, you're getting bigger!" Sora said. "Bigger?" Spike asked. "I don't feel bigger." "No, no, look down!" Sora said as he pointed at the baby dragon. Spike tilted his head and looked down, seeing that his stomach was slowly swelling up. Wait... Swelling up?! Spike looked down and saw that his gut was starting to expand farther out. "What the?!" Spike asked. "What's happening to me?!" Suddenly, the baby dragon's entire body was starting to swell up, and round out too! His little arms and stubby legs began to sink into their sockets, leaving only his head, claws, and feet out as his entire body rounded out. His body also lifted off the ground as his body was now in a round shape, and suddenly, his cheeks puffed up. "What happened to me?" Spike muffled through his swelled up cheeks, as Sora only looked at the poor guy with a raised eyebrow. "Huh." Sora said. "That's actually the second strangest thing I've seen throughout my whole life." "Ow... my head." A new voice spoke out, making Sora turn his head, only seeing Donald lifting his head up. "At least this flower patch cushioned my fall." Donald said, though his voice wasn't... raspy or quackity. It was more lower-pitched, and more southern too! Sora's eyes widened with more surprise. "D...Donald?" Sora asked. "Was that... you talking?!" "Who else?" Donald asked, but then he froze, hearing that new voice as he spoke out. That was... his voice?! "What the... what happened to mah voice?! It's different and lower now!!" The spikey haired boy looked back at Spike, who was moaning with worry as he was floating in the air. "First Spike, now Donald, and... Goofy?!" Sora asked, realizing that Goofy was also in the flower patch. The captain of the knights lifted himself off the ground and was about to speak... until... -SQUEAK- A squeak came out of Goofy's mouth. He then closed it up, realizing he made that sound. Sora tilted his head more. First, Spike puffed up like a balloon, Donald's voice just got lowered down, and now Goofy... squeaked? "Goofy, did you just make that sound?" Sora asked. Goofy looked at the boy and at Donald. He then let out another squeak from his mouth. "Yep, he did." Donald said. Sora only stood there, but suddenly, a smile was slowly forming on his face. He began to chuckle, and then he started to laugh at how Goofy squeaked and Donald's lowered voice. "Hey, stop laughing!" Donald shouted. "I can't help it." Sora said. "You both sound so funny!" He couldn't help but continue to laugh. Then Goofy also joined in, laughing in squeaks, while Donald only grumbled in annoyance. "This is so embarrassing." Donald said. "Well, at least we can understand you better." Sora said. That only made Donald grumble even more, though Goofy squeaked another laugh. "Um... guys?" Spike spoke out, making the trio turn to see his round out body still floating in the air like a balloon. "What about me?" "Well, it looks like you blew up like a balloon." Sora said. "Yeah, I noticed that." Spike muffled. Suddenly, he puffed up some more, his body expanding out a little bit, making him moan in a bit of pain and worry. The three were a bit more surprised. Spike inflated a bit more. If he inflates even more, than he could fly up into the air. Sora knew he had to do something to make sure Spike didn't float away. "Hold on a second." Sora said as he moved to the trees, and yanked one of the vines that were dangling down from the trees. Getting a nice long one, he went up to Spike and pulled him by the tail. He then tied up the vine to the dragon's tail, making Spike look more like a balloon. But now he won't fly off. "Here Goofy, you hold on to him, ok?" Sora asked. Goofy squeaked as he gave a nod, taking the vine and preventing Spike from going upwards. "Yeah, now this is embarrassing." Spike said, only to swell up some more. He let out a worried moan, unsure how much more he can handle it. "Ok, how did this happen to us?" Donald asked. Sora began to think, and then his attention was drawn to the flowers that Goofy and Donald were in. Those flowers did look pretty strange. Then it clicked. They were just fine before they fell into the flowers, so maybe the flowers must've did this to them! "Guys, I think the flowers may have a part in what happened to you guys." Sora said as he pointed at the blue flowers. "Those flowers must've did some kind of altercation to you guys. They must've turned Spike into a balloon, made Donald's voice lower, and left Goofy squeaking." Goofy let out a nod and a squeak. "Well, what are we gonna do?!" Donald asked. "I don't want to sound like this forever!" "Don't worry, Donald." Sora said. "We'll figure out something." "PUSH!" The sudden voice made Sora turn his head. "Huh?" Sora asked. "What was that?" "What was what?" Donald asked. "Shh... listen!" Sora said as he leaned in towards the direction the voice was coming from. The voice was a bit different, but it sounded more youthful. "Keep Pushing Scoots!" "I'm pushing as hard as I can!" "More voices?" Donald asked. Sora gave a nod. "Let's go check it out." He said as he ran deeper into the forest. "Sora, Wait!" Donald said as Goofy squeaked, running after the boy, with the latter tugging Spike with them. Soon, the boys managed to get much farther into the forest, but then they came to a stop. Right there in the close distance, were two smaller ponies, fillies to be precise. One was a light grayish olive earth filly with a brilliant amaranth mane and tail, gamboge eyes, and a crimson bow on top of her head. The other was a light brilliant gamboge pegasus filly with a moderate cerise mane and tail with grayish purple eyes. The two were pushing a large round dark blue ball. "Are you even pushin' at all Scoots?" The earth filly said. "Of course I'm pushing!" The little Pegasus said. Seeing this silly situation, Sora looked at Donald and Goofy, who both gave shrugs. What were this fillies doing out here? Either way, it looked like they needed help. The trio went on to check on them. "Excuse me, girls." Sora said. "Are you two lost?" The fillies turned their heads, looking at the three. "Oh, no, not really sir." The earth filly said. "We're just helping our friend here." "Yeah, we're just taking her to get checked out." The Pegasus said, tapping her hoof on the light grey ball. The boy tilted her head. There are three of them? But there's only them two and that huge blue ball. "But, there's only two of you." Sora said. "Oh no, this here is actually our friend!" The earth filly said, lifting her legs up and pushing the blue ball forward. A voice was heard, coming from the ball. As it moved, the ball revealed the face of a unicorn filly, with a mane and tail colored with grayish mulberry with pale, light grayish rose streaks. Funny thing is, her cheeks were swollen like Spike's. "Hey, I'm out!" She said, making Sora, Donald, and Goofy jump in surprise. "Oh, that ball was a filly?" Sora asked. "Oh, that makes sense." Donald said as Goofy squeaked with a nod. "What happened to her?" Sora asked. "It's a long story." The earth pony filly said, blinking her gamboge eyes. Sora then looked straight at the filly. He recognized that face, from a few months ago when he first visited Ponyville. She was one of Applejack's family members! Her little sister! What was her name? Apple Bloom was it? "Hey, I know you." Sora said as he knelt down. "You're Applejack's little sister, right?" "Uh, yes I am." Apple Bloom said. "Have we met before?" "Yeah, we have." Sora said. "We met back at your farm months ago." The filly looked at the boy closely, but then she remembered. The boy that had a black getup with the spikey hair! This was the same boy. "Oh yeah, I remember you!" The earth filly said. "You're that boy that was with Twilight and Spike when we first met!" She then tilted her head a bit, and noticed that the boy looked a lot different, seeing that his hair was spikey but a teeny bit shorter, and he wore red and black clothes now. "Say, did you cut your hair since we last met?" She asked. "Oh, yeah." Sora said. "Everypony's been asking me that. My name is Sora, and this is Donald and Goofy." The royal wizard and knight captain gave a wave. "Name's Apple Bloom." The filly, Apple Bloom said. "Nice to meet you again." "I'm Sweetie Belle!" The unicorn filly said. "I don't usually look like this." "And I'm Scootaloo!" The pegasus filly said. "And we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" "And we're dedicated to finding our cutie marks!" Apple Bloom said. "And... um... Yeah, what they said!" Sweetie Belle said wiggling her one hoof. The boy tilted her head. "Cutie... Mark... Crusaders?" Sora asked, then looked back at Donald and Goofy, who shrugged again in confusion. "It's a club where we work to find our Cutie Marks, and help those find their Cutie Marks too!" Apple Bloom said. "You know, our special talents!" Sora tilted his head again. A group dedicated to find their special talents... and cutie marks. But then Sora remembered what they meant by cutie marks. The marks that represents a special talent. And he noticed that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle didn't have a mark. "Oh, you mean those marks that look like tattoos on your butts, right?" Sora asked, with Donald face palming his own forehead. The three fillies tilting their heads, but they understood what he was saying. "Uh, they're called flanks." Apple Bloom said, shaking her behind and tail a bit. "But yeah." "Oh, right." Sora said. "Say, what are you girls doing out here in the Everfree Forest?" "Um... well, funny story about that." Scootaloo said. "You see, we got lost and-" "Scoots, we can tell them the truth." Apple Bloom said. "We're not doing anything wrong. And besides, lyin' is gonna get us in more trouble." The filly pegasus was about to protest, but she just sighed and went silent, knowing that Apple Bloom was right. They lie, they'll get in more trouble. And lying isn't a good thing to do. "We're out here to go see a friend." Scootaloo said. "A friend?" Sora asked. "Here in the Everfree Forest?" "Yep, to fix up Sweetie Belle." Apple Bloom said. "We were trying to get our cutie marks in brewing magic potions. We attempted to make a potion that can make things bigger, but we accidently messed up a recipe." "How?" Sora asked. "We accidently dropped a blueberry into the mixture while eating lunch, and when Sweetie Belle tried to potion on herself, she got blue and big... and round." "Yeah, we think she's filled up with blueberry juice." Apple Bloom said, poking her friend's body, where there was a slosh sound inside, which made the unicorn filly giggle. "Rarity would flip if she saw me like this." Sweetie Belle said. "But I love it!" Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at each other with a bit of confusion. "And you're here to see if this friend can fix her up?" Sora asked. "Why not just squeeze it out of her? It's a very simple operation... I think." "Sora, they shouldn't be out here!" Donald said, his voice still sounding like a hillbillly. "It's dangerous in the Everfree Forest." The fillies tilted their heads. "Why is that duck sounding like Big Mac?" Apple Bloom asked, then she lifted her head up to see Spike, inflated as well! "And why's Spike a big balloon?!" "Oh yeah." Sora said. "Spike, Donald and Goofy fell into some strange blue flowers, and they're... not themselves." Spike let out a weak moan as his round body expanded even more, and Goofy gave a squeak. The girls gave awes. "Sounds like your buddies fell into some poison joke." Apple Bloom said. "Poison Joke?" Sora and Donald asked, with Goofy giving another squeak. "Yeah." Apple Bloom said. "It's a flower that plays a joke on whoever comes into contact with it, developing physically effects. My sister got poison joke on her once, and she shrunk down like a teeny tiny farm ant." "Plays a prank?" Sora asked, but then realized it. The flower played a prank on Donald and Goofy. "Oh, that's why it's called Poison Joke!" He said, turning back to Donald and Goofy. "The poison joke just played a joke on you two." "Oh, well at least it's not deadly." Donald said. "Ooooh… no wonder those flowers were familiar..." Spike muffled. "Twilight got poison joke on her too and her horn got all droopy from it." "Don't worry, Zecora can help you fellas." Apple Bloom said. "Zecora?" Sora asked. "She's a friend of mine." Apple Bloom said. "She's the one we're off to see and get Sweetie Belle fixed up. And she can fix your friends too!" "Oh, ok." Sora said, who then glanced back at Donald, Goofy, Spike. "Don't worry guys, this Zecora friend of theirs will get you guys better." "I hope so..." Donald said with a worried moan, and Goofy gave a squeak. "Me too..." Spike muffled. "I don't know how much more I can take this..." With that said, the boys followed Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and helped them push Sweetie Belle down the path to the home of Zecora. "We're here!" Apple Bloom said as the group came to a stop. After a few minutes of walking, the group came across Zecora's Hut, which was actually a hollowed out tree. "Huh... your friend has great tastes." Sora said. "Yeah, she lives here in the Everfree Forest." Apple Bloom said. "She likes to collect stuff out here for her potions and such." "Potions?" Sora asked as the Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went inside, as Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who was pulling Spike, went inside while Sweetie Belle waited outside. Since she was too big to get inside, she was gonna have to wait until she's better again. Inside the hut was a circular room with shelves all around the walls, containing bottles of different colored liquids and ingredients, and traditional masks hanging around on the walls. In the middle of the room was a cauldron, filled with green liquid. As the two CMC fillies walked inside, Sora couldn't help but glance around the room in amazement. "Wow... this place looks pretty neat." Sora said. "Neat?" Donald asked. "This actually looks pretty creepy..." "Yeah, but this kinda looks like Rafiki's place back in Simba's world." Sora said. "Except this place has a lot of tribal masks and antics, and a lot of potions. She must make a lot of them." "Many thanks to you, for it's what I do." The boys jumped hearing the strong African-esque accent and turned around, seeing not a pony, but a Zebra! She was coated with light heliotrope-ish gray with dark bluish grey black stripes, as all zebras would be. Her hooves were indigoish black and her brilliant amber jewelry consisted of rings around her neck, leg, and one in her earrings. Her light grey and dark bluish gray striped man was shaped like a mohawk while her tail only drifted downwards, and her cutie mark was of a tribal spiral sun, though that might be a tattoo or something. "Whoa... who are you?" Sora asked. "Zecora, that is my name, and surprised yet delighted I am that you came." Zecora said. "Huh?" Sora asked. "I think she is speaking in rhyme." Donald said as Goofy gave a squeak, though the zebra glanced closely at the duck and captain. "A duck that does not give a quack, and the dog squeaks like he has a panic attack?" Zecora asked. Sora tried to get those words in his head, but couldn't understand. "Hi Zecora!" Apple Bloom called out from behind Sora. "Ahh, Apple Bloom, very good to see you." Zecora said. "I take that you are here in need of my brew?" "Uh-huh, me and the girls were trying to make a magic potion, but we accidently turned Sweetie Belle into a blueberry." Apple Bloom said. "And these two fell into some Poison Joke." "Don't forget about me!" Spike muffled as his body swelled up even more. He wasn't looking so good. One more expansion and he could pop any minute. "Ahhh, so that is why your friend is a blueberry." Zecora said, seeing Sweetie Belle outside, giving a embarrassed smile as she rolled a teeny bit. "Have no fear, for I shall help you three. But it will take some time for me to brew, so please give me a minute or two." "Sure thing, Zecora." Apple Bloom said. "I'll help you out." The zebra and the filly gathered up several ingredients needed for the brew needed to fix Spike, Sweetie Belle, Donald and Goofy. The two tossed in what was needed for it, such as herbs, twigs, sugar, spice and everything nice... the last three were just made up... except for the spice, that was definitely needed. "So... you're like a... voodoo healer or something?" Sora asked. "I am a herbalist, from a land far away." Zecora said. "But the Everfree Forest is where I stay. I have traveled far and wide to see the world, for it is beautiful and completely unfurled." "Oh, you traveled the world?" Sora asked. "Well, that makes the four of us. Me, Donald, and Goofy travel a lo-" "HEY!" Donald shouted. "ORDER!" The boy quickly covered his mouth, realizing that he was speaking too much. "No need to hide the secret you three, for I know where you came from you see." Zecora said. "Your looks, your species, many I have seen, from many places that I have been." Sora was a bit surprised at what Zecora told him. She had seen others like him? But that can't be. She can't travel from world to world... unless? "Wait... you mean there are people like us that live here too?" Sora asked. "No, no, I mean the outside worlds you have known, I too have been there outside my own." Zecora said, while Donald only tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?" He asked. "I think she means that she's been to the outside worlds as well." Sora said. "Oooohhh..." Donald said as Goofy squeaked. "Wow!" Scootaloo said. "You guys are from the worlds outside our own? That is awesome! Not as awesome as Rainbow Dash, but still awesome!" "Wait, how do you girls know about the outside world?" Donald asked. "Because, Applejack told me stories about them ever since I was a little foal." Apple Bloom said. "And we have books about them." Scootaloo said. "Do you guys have books?" "Well, the king does have a library at his castle." Sora said. "But I've never been in there before." "What?" Scootaloo asked. "Where were you living on? An Island?" "Um... yes." Sora said, which surprised Scootaloo. "Oooohhh..." She said. "That makes sense." "Done." Zecora spoke, pulling the spoon out of the cauldron and filled four cups with the remedy. She then handed two of them to Donald and Goofy. "Take a drink, and be sure to swiss." Zecora said. "But be warned, it tastes like chicken piss." Donald looked at the zebra with a confused look. "Bet ya had experience with that, have ya?" Donald asked with a raised eyebrow, only to receive a disappointed look from Sora. "Really, Donald?" He asked. "Just tryin' to lighten the mood a bit." Donald said before drinking the whole glass down, and Goofy did the same. "It doesn't really taste like chicken pee, does it?" Sora asked, with Zecora shaking her head, giving a no response. Donald and Goofy finished drinking the remedy and gave a little sour reaction to the taste. "Did it work?" Donald quacked, but then smiled, hearing his usual quack sound again. "Hey, it worked! I can talk normal again!" "Me too." Goofy said, his voice no longer squeaking. "You know, it's been a while since I squeaked like that." "When was the last time?" Sora asked. "I accidently swallowed a toy squeaker." Goofy said, with Sora and Donald raising their eye brows. "Why?" Donald asked. "Oh I was helping a little girl smile for a photo take." Goofy said. "Oh yeah, you used to work at a toy store, right?" Sora asked. "Uh-huh." Goofy said, as Apple Bloom opened the door to give a cup of the mixture to Sweetie Belle. "Here you go, Sweetie!" Apple Bloom said as she gave the cup of the remedy to Sweetie Belle. With her being a massive ball, she couldn't move her little hooves, so Apple Bloom helped her drink it, putting the cup to her friend's lips, allowing her to drink it. As the unicorn filly swallowed it, her cheeks suddenly puffed up. Unable to keep it in, she opened her mouth, a loud burp came, and her massive ball form began to deflate. Within about a few seven seconds, she was no longer a ball, nor was she blue. She was a greyish-white, and now her usual self. "Hey, I'm not big and round anymore!" Sweetie Belle said as she sat down and squeezed her pudgy tummy. "Awww, and I was starting to like it." "Don't worry, Sweetie." Apple Bloom said. "There's always a next time." "And besides, what matters is that you're back to normal." Scootaloo said. The unicorn filly gave a smile and nod. "Hey, what about me?!" Spike asked. "I think I'm about to explode!" Sora then rushed over and gave him the remedy as well, helping him drink it through his puffed up cheeks and down his throat. Spike let out a bleh, but then suddenly, his body swelled up one last time, and his cheeks puffed up even more. Suddenly his mouth opened, letting him blow out air, lots and lots of air. Doing so made him fly around. Luckily, Zecora opened the door, allowing Spike's deflating body to fly out and circle a couple times, as the group watched. Within seconds, Spike dropped to the floor, now back to normal. But he was moaning in a bit of pain. "Wow... that hurt." Spike said. "Well, at least you're back to normal." Apple Bloom said. "Yeah." Scootaloo said. "Though it looks like you put on a couple pounds though." Hearing that made Spike give the Pegasus filly a glare, while she and the other two continued to laugh. "Well, guess that's that." Sora said. "But we still have a problem!" Donald said. "Yeah." Goofy said. "Those black vines that we just saw back in the forest could be back any minute." "Black vines?" Apple Bloom asked. "Yeah, they were black with blue spikes, and some of them had claws too!" Donald said. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at each other and gave a nod. "We saw something like that back in the forest when we were on our way here." Apple Bloom said "Yeah, and one of the vines swallowed up a birdie." Scootaloo said. "Poor little birdie." Sweetie Belle said. "That doesn't sound good." Sora said. "Yes." Zecora said. "Something very wicked this way it has come, and if nothing is done, it will succumb, the entire village of Ponyville first, and after that, all of Equestria it will thirst." "Oh No!" Donald said. Goofy then started thinking. "You know, something tells me that those vines might be a reason why the magic isn't working right." Goofy said. "Then we have to do something." Sora said. "There has to be a way." "If you wish to stop the vines, find the source." Zecora said. "The trail of bread crumbs will take you on it's course." "Huh?" Sora asked. "I think she means follow the vines to the source of where they're coming from." Goofy said. "Oh, that makes more sense." Sora said. "Ok, let's follow the vines to where they're coming from!" Donald said, with Sora and Goofy giving a nod of approval. "Hey, can we come with you?" Apple Bloom asked. "Yeah, we wanna help too!" Sweetie Belle said. The three looked at the fillies. "Oh, I don't know." Sora said. "Yeah, Applejack and the others might be worried sick about you three." Goofy said. "But we wanna help." Apple Bloom said. "Yeah!" Scootaloo said. "Plus, helping you guys might help us get our cutie marks!" "But more importantly, helping others is the right thing to do." Sweetie Belle said. The boy looked at the girls and began to think. "I'm not sure..." Donald said. "Ok, welcome aboard." Sora said. "WHAT?!" Donald asked. "Sora!" "Aww, c'mon Donald!" Sora said. "Besides, look at these fillies. They're so cute." He went up beside Apple Bloom, who was giving the puppy dog eyes, and he gave the same eyes to Donald, making the royal duck wince. But it was too much. Donald gave a sigh. "Ok, fine..." Donald said. "Well, the more the merrier I guess." Goofy said. "Then let's get going!" Spike said, as he, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Donald and Goofy headed out the door. "Thanks again, Miss Zecora." Sora said as he headed for the door. But soon her felt a hoof on his arm. Turning around, he saw Zecora looking at him. "Look after them, and be very careful." Zecora said. "The rest of your journey will not be merciful. But allow me to me give you advice, to help you not only once but twice." "Advice?" Sora asked. "What's that?" "Always trust in your friends." She said. Taking those words, he gave a nod. "I will. Thank you." Sora said, and he went out the door, but he stopped for a second. Did she not rhyme? "Wait... you didn't end with a rhyme." Sora said. "They are with you, even if your journey ends." Zecora finished with a wink. The boy looked at her, but then smiled. "Ok. Thank you." Sora said and he left with the others. "Love and Friendship is always with thee." She spoke. "May your heart be your guiding key." Somewhere north in the Everfree Forest. A certain lavender unicorn was walking down the pathway to the Foal Mountains, to the ruins of Ponhenge, where it is said that it's where the Pony of Shadows was sealed away by the six Pillars of Equestria. She was getting close. Very close. "We're almost there." Twilight said. "The sacred grounds where the Pony of Shadows was sealed away..." As she gave a wicked grin and continued trotting down the road, Discord, who was right behind her, was lost in his own thoughts. The three words that would best describe the mood he was feeling is as followed and quoted. Confused, conflicted, and disturbed. Everything was going so well for him. Sure he was out thanks to the quarrel between Twilight and her friends, and he was planning on spreading chaos and misery across Equestria. But now... now with everything he had seen and watched, he wasn't feeling like his crazy, manipulative, and happy self. And who could blame him. He just saw Twilight throw that spikey-haired boy out the window from almost 50 stories high. That was pretty dark, and Discord had never seen anyone get thrown out of a window like that. To be honest, hurting someone, let alone killing someone was not his kind of game. He just likes to see ponies panic and be in misery from the chaos around him. But seeing someone getting physically hurt, or killed, that was something he never liked. He couldn't help but wonder... was hurting someone like that the way of a villain? The way of a baddie? The way of a wrong doer? As he began to slow down the pace, Twilight turned her head around, noticing that he was looking at the ground. "Discord!" Twilight shouted, getting him to look back up. "Oh, sorry." He said. "I was just... um... thinking..." "About what?" Twilight asked, not dropping her scowl. "Well, I was just thinking about how you threw that boy out the window." Discord said. "I know you said it was necessary, but did you really have to do that?" "It was the only way to break him." Twilight said. "The only way to stop him. I cannot let anypony or anyone get in my way." "Yes, I understand that part, but still." Discord said. "There would've been other ways to get rid of him. Like send him to another dimension, or-" "Discord..." Twilight said, slowly turning her head, revealing her sclera to be glowing cyan. "Are you questioning me again?" Seeing those eyes brought a tint of fear to the draconequus. Seeing that look made him remember how she grabbed his beard and pulled him across the floor. And believe it, he was scared. "No, I'm not questioning you at all, my dear Twilight." Discord said nervously. "I was just thinking of a better alternative, that's all. I mean, I won't lie, I don't really like hurting someone and... uh..." "Thinking of another alternative is questioning." Twilight said. "I'll have you know Discord that you promised to be my friend and not question me. I helped release you from your stone prison, and I'll just seal you back up if you cross me!" The unicorn's horn lit up with a magenta colored aura, mixed with dark magic, making the draconequus shiver upon seeing her threatening her. "Is that what you want?" Twilight asked, her voice suddenly sounding distorted. "Is it?" Discord only gulped and replied. "No..." He said. "Good." Twilight said. "Now, I have a big task for you, friend... I'm going to let you have some fun." "Fun?" Discord asked. "Yes." Twilight said. "Go off to Ponyville and spread your chaos. You have the rest of the night to yourself to go to town with the town." Discord was a bit surprised. She's now letting him to spread chaos and misery on her hometown? To be honest, he felt a bit conflicted about it... Wait, why was he even feeling conflicted about it? He's just spreading chaos, and that's not hurting anypony... was he? Maybe that's just what he needs, to spread chaos. "Alright, thank you, Twilight." Discord said, giving her a hug. "I guess spreading some chaos will help clear my thoughts." "Good." Twilight said, just as the draconequus flew away to go to town with the town of Ponyville. "Though it'll be reduced to ashes soon enough." She spoke as she gave a devious smile and continued down the road. "Twilight... I'm sorry..." Sora's words echoed in her ear, making her turn around, only to see nothing. It was just her... alone... alone... and to be honest, she hated being alone... let alone feeling alone. She turned straight forward and started thinking. "This... this doesn't feel right." She said to herself. "Is destroying everything really the only way?" "Of course it is, my dear." a distorted voice spoke. "It's the only way you'll feel better, erasing everything." "But... ponies could get hurt." Twilight said. "And Sora... he didn't kno-" Suddenly, the amulet around her neck began to evaporate some blue mist, and it plunged into her ear, making her shake a bit, and groan with struggle. "Now, remember my little pony, those foals you once called friends and family abandoned you in your time of need." The voice said, making Twilight twitch and moan as the mist went right through her other ear, showing in her mind the painful scenes of her brother, her friends, and Princess Celestia leaving her, and where they were all at the Wedding room celebrating without even having a thought about her. "They only cared about themselves as they left you to die below the castle." The voice continued. "They must pay for their ignorance and lies, and the only way to do so is by destroying everything they love... everything." Twilight cringed her eyes, and when the voice finally spoken, she opened them, revealing the cyan glowing coloring around her sclera. "Yes..." She hissed. "I will make them suffer. I shall make them all... pay." She continued down the path to her destination, unaware she was speaking, as someone else... or something was speaking through her. "All who opposed me will be destroyed by my power..."