//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Harmony // Story: KINGDOM HEARTS: Fractured Friendship // by KHXhero //------------------------------// Chapter 19: Harmony The group had just left Zecora's hut and now Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or the CMC for short, were making their way deeper into the Everfree Forest, to find the solution to those black vines that they saw growing about, and hopefully, the backup source for the magic. As they continued onward, the CMC were explaining to Sora about their club, and their dedication to find their cutie marks. "So, let me get this straight." Sora said. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders is a ...secret society?" "Well, it used to be." Apple Bloom said. "But we decided to open the club to those who haven't gotten their cutie marks." "Yeah, we also got these cool capes we made for members." Sweetie Belle said. "And we try out all kinds of stuff to get our cutie marks." Scootaloo said. "We tried pig farming, taffy making, hairdressing, mind-reading, baking and underwater exploration." "We ever tried carpentry and chicken-herding." Sweetie Belle said. "But all of them turned out to be a bust, though." Apple Bloom said. "Garsh." Goofy said. "Well, I'm sure you girls will find something you're good at. Maybe you should broaden your horizons." "Huh?" The girls asked. "Expand your range of interests and such." Sora said. "Try things that could put you to the test." The three girls looked at each other. "Good idea!" They said. "Maybe we should try stuff that can test us." Apple Bloom said. "How about... magic tricks?" "Nah... how about sky-diving?" Scootaloo said. "Sounds cool!" Sweetie Belle said. "Or how about tightrope-walking." "Or tiger-taming." Apple Bloom said. "Maybe we can become mountain climbers!" The girls continued to talk about what other stuff they could do to earn their cutie marks, though the ideas they spoke of were actually dangerous ones, like construction building, dragon-ologists, or maybe beast hunting! Hearing all that made Donald worry a bit. Just hearing them talk about that reminded him of his nephews and their shenanigans. "Whoa, Whoa, hold on!" Donald said, making the girls stop for a second. "Those sound a bit dangerous if you ask me." -WHACK- The royal wizard was whacked in the back of his head by Sora. "OW!" Donald said. "What was that for?" "Donald, don't hinder their hopes and dreams." Sora said. "You wanna see three fillies tame a tiger?!" Donald asked. Sora started to think on that, three little fillies taming a tiger. "I can see that being a cool possibility." Sora said, with Donald only shaking his head in annoyance. "Well, I think Donald means is that they should probably wait until they're older before trying anything like trying to tame a tiger." Goofy said. "Well, I've grown tired of waiting." Apple Bloom said. "I really want my cutie mark as soon as possible." "Then once we're done with all of this, we can start searching for them right away!" Scootaloo said. "Definitely!" Sweetie Belle said as the three put their hooves together. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, Forever!" The three fillies said, as a sudden up beat marching song began to play in the background, much to Donald's notice. "HUH?!" Donald asked, knowing what was going to happen. "Oh, not another song..." Suddenly, Scootaloo appeared before him. When you're a younger pony And your flank is very bare Feels like the sun will never come When your cutie mark's not there So the three of us will fight the fight There is nothing that we fear We'll have to figure out what we'll do next 'Til our cutie marks are here! Suddenly, the three fillies lined up together and began to march along the path as they began to sing, while Sora and Goofy happily nodded their heads to the rhythm, while Donald only shook his head. We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders On a quest to find out who we are And we will never stop the journey Not until we have our cutie marks! "Do you think these musical numbers are too much?" Donald asked. "Shhhhhh!" Sora and Goofy told the duck, while Sweetie Belle continued with the next verse. They all say that you'll get your mark When the time is really right And you know just what you're supposed to do And your talent comes to light But it's not as easy as it sounds And that waiting's hard to do So we test our talents everywhere Until our face is blue We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders On a quest to find out who we are And we will never stop the journey Not until we have our cutie marks! We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders On a quest to find out who we are And we will never stop the journey Not until we have our cutie marks! "Say, with us having good vocals, how come we don't have cutie marks for singing?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Hey, don't sweat about it." Sora said. "I know what it's like, waiting to finally find your purpose in life." "You do?" Apple Bloom asked. "But, aren't you a keyblade master or something?" Surprisingly enough, the little filly did witness Sora effort to stop Nightmare Moon when he was here the first time, though she was escorted out quickly by her older brother before she could see the fight. "Well, actually no." Sora said. "I'm not a master officially. So, I'm kinda at where you are." "So, he admits it." Donald said, only to receiving an annoyed stare by the boy. "You're not a master yet?" Apple Bloom asked. "And that doesn't bother you." Scootaloo asked. "Of course not." Sora said. "I don't need to be a master to prove to everyone who I am. If anything, what I really love is to help people. Every place I've been to, I've always helped someone who is in need of help." "Really?" Sweetie Belle asked. "You just help people?" "Of course he does, and that's proves that he's a real hero." Goofy said. "And so are we!" Donald said. "Wow..." Apple Bloom said. "You helped so many people?" "Well, he should be a master if he's helped so many people." Scootaloo said. "I don't actually help people to become a keyblade master." Sora said. "I help others because I want them to be happy again. I don't really care how long it takes for me to become an Keyblade Master. So long I can help others be happy again, then that's good enough for me. And who knows, maybe someday I will be a master. And someday you girls will get your cutie marks too." Sora said. "It just takes patience and work. And who knows, maybe the talents you've had all along will shine through too." He knelt down toward the fillies and sang as the music got back up. I know how you feel, tired of waiting Wanting to spread your wings and soar. But if you're patient and work hard enough You'll find your marks for suuuuure! Then, summoning the keyblade, he tossed it into the air, and shot upwards a magical spark that lit the sky above, creating fireworks in a wonderful display, while the CMC watched with amazement. "I could do that." Donald said as he brought out his staff and aimed it into the air, only for it to spark up and give a puff of smoke, covering the royal wizard in soot, and Goofy let out a giggle. Pretty soon as they continued to march on, they jumped on to stepping stones over a large river, climbed up a step mountain, and even leapt over from one cliff to another, unaware of some of the animals looking up and amazed by their feets, and just like that, they sang along too! They're the Cutie Mark Crusaders On a quest to find out who they are And they'll never stop the journey Not 'til they have their cutie marks They're on a quest... (Slaps their knees) To take the test... (Slaps their knees) Until the finally have their cutie maaaarrrks!!! While the song was finished, Sora, Donald, Goofy, Spike, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or the CMC for short, were making their way through the forest to follow the trail of black vines. Luckily the ones they've seen recently were not like the ones they saw back at the castle, but there was more of the vines, so they had to be getting close. But then the group stopped in their tracks, seeing a blockade in their way. It was a wall of those black lines tangled up together. "More vines." Sora said. "So that must mean we're getting close." Goofy said. Donald made his way toward the wall and examined the vines. He pulled out his staff and gave the wall a good whack. But nothing happened. "Great, we can't get through." Donald said. "Should we try going around?" Apple Bloom asked. "I could fly over it, if I could." Scootaloo said, flapping her little wings, though they weren't able to help her off the ground. "Maybe we can set it on fire." Sweetie Belle said, with the girls glaring at the unicorn filly. "What?" "That would set the whole forest in fire!" Scootaloo said. "Where did you ever-" "Shhh." Sora said with a hush. "You guys hear that?" "Hear what?" Apple Bloom asked. -GRRRRRRRRR- The sudden grrrrr caught their attention. There was a sound coming from somewhere. It was either a low rumble, or a very low growl. They all looked around, while Goofy glanced at the wall. Something on that wall... or in that wall managed to get him to point. "Hey, I think that eye has walls." He said. "Eyes?" Donald asked. "Yeah, look." Goofy said, pointing up at the wall. He was right, there were eyes in those walls. There were at least six eyes, one pair that were moderate harlequin with black sclera, the other pair being very dark purple with moderate apple green sclera, and the last pair black with moderate amaranth sclera. The sight of those eyes made Spike worry a bit. "Something doesn't feel quite right..." Spike said. -BOOM!- The wall of vines quickly burst open, surprising the group, and causing the vine pieces to scatter across the floor. Everyone looked up to see what just came out of the wall. Standing before them was a monstrous creature, with the head and front legs of a brilliant gamboge tiger with black strips, the head and hindquarters of a grayish amber and godish grey goat with a greenish black mane, and long tail that was actually a moderate spring bud snake! As the tiger head let out a roar, Donald quickly screamed as he clung to Goofy in fear, while Spike hid behind Sora, and the CMC looked with surprise. "What is that?!" Donald asked. "It's some kind of monster with a head of a tiger and goat." Sora said. "With a snake for a tail." Goofy said. "Uh oh... it's a Chimera!" Apple Bloom said with shock. "A what?!" Sora asked. "A Chimera!" Apple Bloom said. "Cool!" Scootaloo said. "How is that cool?" Sweetie Belle asked. "My, my... such lovely guests." The tiger head spoke. "So delicious looking too!" The goat head said. "Wait a second, Granny Smith always said that this thing is usually in the Flame Geyser Swamp." Apple Bloom said. "What are you doing all the way out here in the Everfree Forest?" "Simple." The snake head of the tail said leaning forward, startling Apple Bloom. "We may live in the Swamp, but that doesn't mean we can go to other places and eat." "Especially those who willingly come into this forest..." The tiger and goat heads said in unison and they leaned towards Apple Bloom, making her gasp in fear. "Back Off!" Sora shouted, summoning the Missing Ache keyblade and whacking both heads in the face with the blade, as Apple Bloom watched with awe. "Pick on someone your own size for once!" "Yeah!" Donald shouted as he and Goofy joined him side by side, ready to defend the CMC from the Chimera. The tiger and goat head, showing a cut on their faces from the blade, showed very angry scowls. "You will pay for that, you vermin..." The snake head said. "Oh yeah?" Sora said as he pointed his keyblade forward. "FIRE!" Upon command, the tip of the keyblade began to conjure up a sphere of flames, ready to shoot out a fire ball. -POOF- A sudden puff of smoke ignited from the blade, suddenly surprising Sora and the group. That didn't work? How? "What the?" Sora said. "BLIZZARD!" His keyblade then charged up a crystal blue sphere, hoping to shoot out an ice bullet, and then... -POOF- Another poof happened as the sphere just gave a puff of sparkles. Neither Blizzard was working. "What's going on?" Sora asked. "You're wearing the bracelets, aren't you?" Goofy asked, referring to the magic enhancer bracelets Princess Celestia gave them. Sora looked down and saw both bracelets on each of his wrists. But he noticed that they weren't glowing brightly. Come to think of it, the glowing was weak. "I don't think they're working properly." Sora said. "Oh no, it's probably the magic." Spike said. "It's not working now!" Hearing that made all three heads of the Chimera smile with glee and hunger. "Well, what do you know." The tiger head said. "Now you're defenseless." "Which means eating all of you..." The goat head said. "Won't be much trouble." The snake head said. "So what should we eat first?" The CMC fillies coward behind the trio, and so did Spike. "Uh oh..." Donald said. "I say we eat the boy and the other two, then we eat the little ponies for desert!" The tiger head said. "No way!" The goat head said. "We eat the three little fillies first, then we eat the boy and his delicious duck and dog." "No!" The snake head said. "Let's eat the chubby dragon first!" "Well, finally they notice me." Spike said. "And I'm not chubby." The little dragon however did look down at his gut, poking it with his finger, seeing that it was a bit pudgy "No, let's eat what I want to eat!" The tiger head said. "No, I want to eat what I want!" The goat head said. "No, me!" The snake head said, with the three heads starting to argue, much to the group's surprise. The Chimera was in a conflicted battle with itself, trying to decide what to eat. "What's... happening?" Sora asked. "They're arguing more than how me and Rarity would argue." Sweetie Belle said. "They can't seem to agree on anything." Donald said. "Well, how are we gonna get past this thing?" Spike asked. Goofy began to think, and then an idea came to his head. "Oh, I know what can work!" He said. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a flute, made from a gourd, or something like that. "A flute?!" Donald asked. "How is a flute going to help us?!" "Just watch." Goofy said as he stepped forward, and the Chimera, drawn out of it's own argument, approached him, with the snake head leaning it's head towards the knight captain, opening it's mouth. Goofy took a deep breath and started playing the flute. He played it so perfectly, jazz music began to play along with it. Suddenly, the snake head froze and began to move in motion with Goofy's swaying, as if it was hypnotized. Sora and Donald watched with amazement. "Ooooh... he's distracting the snake." Sora said. "He never told us he was a snake charmer." Donald said a bit surprised. Pretty soon, Goofy finished up the song, and the snake still felt tranced. "Awww... there we go." Goofy said. "You're not gonna hurt anybody now, right?" "Riiight..." The snake said, with the goat head and the tiger head gasped in confusion. Suddenly, Goofy pulled out some rolled up ricotta cheese. "Here, have some cheese!" He said as he tossed it into the air, and the snake grabbed it with it's mouth. "Mmmm... cheesy..." The snake said. "Hey, give me that!" The tiger head shouted. "I'm hungry too!" "Me too!" The goat head shouted too, pulling the snake head and beginning to get in a scuffle, causing the entire body to roll over away as the three heads continued to fight over the cheese. The Chimera rolled wee wee wee all the way down the hill. Goofy looked back at the group with a smile, while everyone only watched with surprise. Sora then started clapping, and so did the fillies and Spike. "Nice job, Goofy." Sora said. "Thanks." The knight captain said, while Donald tilted his head. Goofy had rolled up ricotta cheese in his pocket the whole time? "Wait, you just had that cheese on you?" Donald asked. "Well of course." Goofy said. "They had some in Canterlot." Donald was about to speak, but he only shook his head. Goofy sure does come prepared, just how prepared he comes is a mystery. "Thanks for that." Apple Bloom said to the trio. "No problem." Sora said. "You alright?" "Uh-Huh." Apple Bloom said. "Come on." Spike said. "We better go before that Chimera comes back." Everyone agreed, and they continued on down the road to follow the black vines, completely unaware of some more vines following them. And so, the group continued down the road, going deeper into the Everfree Forest... again. Yes, they just kept walking and walking, and the moon was still high above the sky. There was certainly no telling how much time has past. "I wonder how much farther we have to walk." Donald said. "Hopefully not too far." Sora said. "Say, how come your magic wasn't working back there?" Apple Bloom asked. "Well, apparently Equestria seems to be tied to the magic of our universe, and for some reason, something here is causing the magic to not work right." Sora said. "And now our magic is hardly working at all." Donald said. "But... Sweetie Belle's magic works just fine." Apple Bloom said. "Yes, but it's actually our own magic." Sora said. "Pony magic isn't really affected by whatever is causing our magic to stop... at least that's what we've been told." "You know, I wonder with the bracelets not working now, I think that means the source of the thing that keeps our magic running is not working now." Goofy said. "But I wonder what it could be." Sora could only think. He remembered his previous conversation with Chirithy, who said that the Elements of Harmony came from something called the Sacred Tree. "I wonder if this Sacred Tree could be the reason." Sora said. "Sacred Tree?" Donald asked. "Yeah." Sora said. "Apparently, this Sacred Tree is also where the Elements of Harmony came from. Maybe that's what we need to find." "What makes you think that?" Donald asked. "Who told you about that?" "Someone named... Chirithy." Sora said. As the group continued on, Donald and Goofy stopped for a second. Chirithy? Why does that name sound familiar? "Chirithy?" Donald asked. "Why does that name sound familiar?" "Come to think of it." Goofy said. "Didn't the King mention a Chirithy before, when he was looking for us one time?" The two continued to think. They remember that the King had told them how he was looking for the long ago, and had help from a friend and someone named Chirithy. "Hey guys, Check this Out!" Sora called out, getting their attention. Realizing that they were behind, they quickly made their way through the bushes and such. As they got through, they saw what the others were seeing. Water. In the middle was a huge spring, sparkling and some water shooting out of some parts. It was... peaceful and beautiful. "Whoa..." Sora said. "It's a Geyser Spring." "Now that certainly looks beautiful." Goofy said as Donald gave a nod. "Ooooh." The Cutie Mark Crusaders said in unison, amazed by the peaceful looking spring. "That's odd..." Sora said as he looked at the area. "I don't remember seeing this place the first time I came here." "Well, it's a nice place to take a quick dip though." Spike said. Sora looked around, wondering what kind of a place this is. With the Everfree Forest being unnatural, this certainly was unnatural for there to be a geyser spring here. "Evil...." A whisper ran in Sora's ear, making him turn his head. There was no one behind him. Where did that come from? "Do not be fooled..." The whisper said again. The voice sounded like three people speaking to him. Was it Mr. Scarf and those other two? Suddenly, he glanced down and saw that the Missing Ache Keyblade was glowing in his hand. It was like the keyblade itself was speaking to him. "Evil..." The voices said again, making Sora look at the spring, which was sparkling. He squinted his eyes, and saw something evaporating from the water. It was some kind of dark mist. "Darkness!" Sora thought, realizing that this water must be polluted. "Well, let's go for a dip!" Scootaloo said as she began to rush forward, flapping her wings, ready to jump in. "Scootaloo, NO!" Sora shouted as he grabbed the filly Pegasus and pulled her away from the spring. Luckily she didn't touch the water. "What?" She asked. "Don't touch the water!" Sora said, much to Donald and Goofy's confusion. "Why not?" Scootaloo asked. "It's evil!" He said. "Evil?" Scootaloo asked. "How can a geyser spring be evil?" Apple Bloom glanced at the spring, squinting her eyes to see. She then noticed something was off with the spring. It seems Sora wasn't the only one who was seeing that dark mist. "I think Sora might be on to somethin'." Apple Bloom said. "That water does not look right." Donald and Goofy also examined the pool, and wondered what was going on. "Could it be darkness?" Goofy asked. Spike then approached the water and glanced right at it, seeing his reflection. "It looks fine to me." Spike said, looking back at the group, unaware of a huge black mass taking shape in the water before him. "Maybe it's probably letting off steam." "I dunno." Apple Bloom said. -RUMBLE, ROAR- The sudden shake and a low roar caught the group by surprise again. All of them looked around, wondering where it came from. "What was that?" Scootaloo asked. "Is it the Chimera?" Apple Bloom asked. No, that can't be the Chimera, because it went far away from them, fighting over the cheese that Goofy gave them. Speaking of which, Goofy looked ahead and gasped. "Um... fellas, I don't think that was the Chimera..." He said, pointing at the water. Suddenly, the water itself turned into a greenish color. Then two light yellow eyes began to glow as a head began to emerge from the water. "Uh oh..." Donald said. The creature lurking in the water rose from within it, revealing to be some sort of dark grayish apple green giant crocodile, but it was covered in tangelo-ish black rock shapes. "What's that thing?" Sora asked. "A Cragadile!" Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo shouted in unison. "Cragadile?" Sora asked. "Don't you mean Crocodile?" "No, it's a Cragadile!" Apple Bloom said. "And they aren't friendly one bit!" Sweetie Belle screamed. "Where's Rainbow Dash when you need her?" Scootaloo asked. Pretty soon, the cragadile walked out of the lake and gave a snarl at the seven before it. "What do we do?" Spike asked. "Quick, do something magical!" "But our magic isn't working!" Donald shouted as the beast got closer and closer. "Don't worry, I got an idea!" Sora said as he took a step forward, summoning the Missing Ache keyblade in his hand. He took another step forward just as the cragadile got closer. As it gave a growl, Sora did the only thing that could work. He whacked the reptile in the head with the keyblade. And it was not effective. -ROOOOOOAAAAAARRR- The Cragadile roared right in Sora's face, causing his spikey hair to blow back a bit. "Ok, Plan B." Sora said. "RUUNNN!!!!!" As he shouted at the top of his lungs, he and the rest of the group screamed in fear as they took off running, while the Cragadile took off after them. "That was your plan?!" Donald asked. "That was your plan?!" "Well, do you have any better ideas?!" Sora asked. Suddenly, the group had no choice but to stop, seeing more black vines emerging right before them. "Uh oh!" Goofy said. "We're surrounded!" Seeing the vine sweep in to attack, Sora jumped to the side and swung the keyblade, slicing the vine up. Suddenly, they heard another roar. Looking back, they saw the cragadile far behind them. Apple Bloom looked around, and saw that there more vines on the side, but there were dozens that didn't have any of the claws like the ones that attacked Sora. Then an idea came to her head. "Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, I have an idea!" Apple Bloom said. As she pointed at the vines, the two other fillies knew what she was thinking. They quickly ran to the side, while Sora and the rest were unaware. Their focus was on the Cragadile, which was getting closer. It began to charge towards them, which was surprising since it was a big fella. Luckily, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Spike jumped out of the way as the beast crashed into the wall of the black vines, making it dizzy. "Ok, let's get the jump on it!" Sora shouted. With a nod, he, Donald, and Goofy jumped on the Cragadile's back in hopes to keep it down, but the beast wasn't giving up. Shaking it's body, it flung the trio off it's back, making them roll onto the ground, Spike cringed as he saw them on the ground. "Are you guys ok?" He asked as Sora lifted himself up. "Ok, that didn't work." Sora said as Donald got up all dizzy. After he came to, he looked around and saw that the CMC were not nearby. "Wait, where did the fillies go?" Donald asked. Before they could figure out, the Cragadile's roar made them turn and see the monster slowly approaching them. Sora pointed the keyblade forward while Donald and Goofy hid behind him. Before it could make them into it's meal however... -WHISTLE- The sudden whistle got the Cragadile's attention, making it turn around and see Apple Bloom, holding a long length of a vine in her mouth. "Hey Craggy, Over Here!" She waved, making the beast growl, turn it's entire body, and then charge straight forward toward the farm filly. The group gasped as the reptile opened it's mouth. "NOW!" She called out, with Scootaloo bolting through and swung a lasso made from one of the black vines and grabbed the Cragadile by the tail, making it stop in it's tracks. The other end was wrapped around one of the trees, preventing the Cragadile from getting closer to Apple Bloom. Then the farm filly swung her vine lasso around the reptile's mouth, closing it snout, with Sweetie Belle using her magic to attach the other end of the lasso the tree behind her. Apple Bloom then hopped on it's head, causing it to go dizzy, and then she, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle tied more vine lassos on the Cragadile's legs, attaching the other ends of the lasso to other trees, trapping the beast and immobilizing it in the air, trapped in a vine lasso knot! "YAY!" The three fillies cheered at their work done so well. They've managed to trap the Cragadile! "Cutie Mark Crusaders Cragadile Hunters!" "Hey, you guys did it!" Spike said as he gave a cheer. "That was awesome!" Sora said as he, Donald, and Goofy applauded. "You three sure are brave!" Goofy said. "Thank you!" Donald said. "No problem!" Apple Bloom said. "Sometimes you just gotta tie a beast up in a knot." "It's kinda of a bummer that we didn't Cutie Marks for it though." Sweetie Belle said. "Oh well, we did manage to tie up a Cragadile though." Scootaloo said. "Rainbow Dash would be so proud of me!" "Proud of us, you mean?" Apple Bloom asked. "Yeah, that's what I mean." Scootaloo said. The two fillies gave giggles as Scootaloo gave a blush. "See Donald?" Sora asked. "I told you they would be fine." The royal wizard gave a sigh. "Ok, Ok." Donald said. "I suppose I underestimated the fillies a bit." "You mean a lot?" Goofy asked. Donald only sighed in annoyance, while Sora couldn't help but smile. "Hey guys, take a look at that!" Spike called out, pointing straight forward. The group then looked on at what Spike was pointing at. Before them was a cave just up ahead, and coming out of it was more of those black vines, moving a bit slowly, and there were lots of them. "Uh oh, that doesn't look good." Goofy said. "So that must be where those plunder vines are coming from." Apple Bloom said. "Plunder vines?" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo asked. "Well, what else could we call them?" Apple Bloom asked. The two fillies knew she made a point. "Those vines seem to be coming from that cave." Donald said. "I wonder if that's where the source of the magic could be." Goofy said. "So... it's not a tree?" Sora asked as he thought for a moment. But as he looked up, there was someone who caught his eyes. A familiar boy with white curly hair and a red scarf! "Mr. Scarf?" Sora asked, with Donald and Goofy looking at him in confusion. The boy with the red scarf then took off into the cave. "Wait up!" The boy quickly took off running towards the cave. "Sora, wait!" Donald shouted as he and Goofy ran after him. The CMC and Spike followed also, chasing the boy into the cave. Sora continued making his way into the cave, going after Mr. Scarf, or Ephemer. As he kept going, he saw a light, a light that was getting closer as he got closer and closer. As he got far enough, he saw that the light was inside a huge room. Then, the boy stopped in his tracks, seeing what was ahead of him. As Spike, Donald and Goofy, and the CMC joined behind him, the boy's eyes widened as he saw what was ahead of him, a strange looking tree, of what appears to be made of crystal. It was a sparkly mixture of blue, from dark to light, but yet it's glow was very week, as if it was dying. "Whoa..." Sora said as he made his way toward the tree, with the fillies, Spike, Donald and Goofy following behind him. "It's beautiful..." Sweetie Belle said. "It looks like a tree." Goofy said. "And it's crystal!" Donald said. "It's definitely no apple tree." Apple Bloom said. "So there really is a Tree." Sora said. As they got close enough, the boy took one better look at the tree, seeing something very interesting about it. At the bark of the tree were two symbols. One at the bottom was a crescent moon, and the one above it was a sun. Those two symbols looked exactly the same as the cutie marks on the Princesses. But the kicker here was the white star above it, pointing in six directions. The star looked exactly like Twilight's cutie mark. "That star." Sora said. "It looks just like Twilight's cutie mark." "And the sun and moon look like the Princesses' cutie marks too!" Spike said. "Is this the Sacred Tree?" Donald asked. "It looks like it." Sora said. "But, what is this thing?" "The Tree of Harmony." Turning their heads, the trio then saw a stranger approaching next to them, a boy with white curly hair and a red scarf! It was Ephemer! "Who is that?" Goofy asked, showing that he and the others could see him too. "It's Mr. Scarf!" Sora spoke, getting the two's attention. "You know him?" Donald asked. "No, but I've seen him before at the Keyblade Graveyard." Sora said. "He's the one who brought those keyblades to help us." "Really?" Goofy asked. "He's a keyblade wielder from long ago?!" Donald asked. The boy gave a nod, and then he started to approach Ephemer. "So, what's this tree again?" Sora asked. "This is the Tree of Harmony." Ephemer said. "It's not like any other tree you've seen before. It's a magical tree that protects Equestria from the most dangerous threats. It contains and controls everything in the Everfree Forest, even without the elements." "Without... the Elements?" Sora asked, looking back at the tree. Then to his surprise, he saw the five branches sticking out, with dangling spheres on each one. At the top of each brance was a gemstone carving, like the ones he saw back at the Royal Sisters' Castle, on the old stones that were suppose to contain the Elements themselves. "This is where the Elements of Harmony came from?" Sora asked. "That's right." Ephemer said. "A thousand years ago when Discord began to cause chaos in Equestria, the Royal Sisters discovered the tree, and they took the Elements from the tree to use their magic to seal away Discord. But now... the tree is losing it's magic." "Losing it's magic?" Goofy asked. "Is that why it's not glowing brightly." Donald looked around, and noticed something below and around the tree. He saw multiple black vines with blue spikes emerging slowly wrapping around the base of the tree. "Look!" Donald said, seeing the plunder vine spreading across the tree, and the tree began to lose it's color, going black. "What's happening?" Sora asked as more vines began to appear, emitting strange-like crab claw, ready to attack the group. "The Tree of Harmony is dying." Ephemer said. "And these monstrous plunder vines will do anything to destroy it. And if nothing is done, Equestria will lose it's magic, and the magic across the universe will die out." "Then let's torch these suckers!" Donald shouted as he summoned his staff, and aimed it forward. "FIRE!" He shouted. The staff began to glow, but it only let out a burst of smoke, and nothing else. "Hey, it's not working!" "The magic's gone out!" Goofy said. "Maybe this will work!" Sora said as he summoned the Missing Ache Keyblade, and charged towards the vines, which was blocking the tree. He swung forward, but the vines didn't flinch or anything. "That didn't work either!" He shouted. Goofy held it shield up just as a plunder vine swept in to attack. "They're everywhere!" Goofy shouted. Spike looked around, and saw that the plunder vines quickly sealed up the exit. "We're trapped!" Spike said. "How do we fix it?" Sora asked. "The tree must have it's magic back." Ephemer said. "It's magic back?" Sora asked as the vines got closer to the group. "How do we do that?" While everyone was panicking, the CMC fillies began to back away as the plunder vines approached them. "How do we stop these suckers?" Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom began to look around, and he attention was drawn to the tree. She then had an idea. The Elements came from the tree, did they? Maybe the Elements can be used to stop the vines! "Spike, give us your backpack!" Apple Bloom said. "Why?" Spike asked. "The Elements!" Apple Bloom said. "Give them to us!" "What?!" Spike asked. "NOOO!!" "Oh, c'mon Spike!" Scootaloo said. "We're not going to break them or anything!" "No way!" Spike said, clutching his backpack to his claws. "Sora asked me to keep them safe, so I'm keeping them safe." The three fillies looked at each other, then began to give a sneaky smile. Scootaloo raised her wing up, and Apple Bloom used her snout to pull a feather from the filly's wing. "Don't make me use this." She said, making her way towards the baby dragon. The little guy realized what she was about to do. "You wouldn't dare!" Spike said, but it was too late. The filly began to wiggle the feather on Spike's tummy, making him giggle and laugh. While his skin was scaly, he was quite ticklish. He laughed so hard, he dropped the bag, allowing Scootaloo to take it. "Got it!" She said. "Sweetie Belle, throw me!" "On it!" The filly said as she picked up the orange filly Pegasus. "Hey Sora!" Scootaloo called out, getting the boy's attention. "Heads up!" Sweetie Belle tossed Scootaloo, and she used her tiny wings to fly... well, actually she can't fly, but her wings allowed her to hover towards the boy. She then tossed the backpack to Sora, who caught it in the nick of time. "Got it!" Sora said. "Now what?!" "Use the Elements!" Apple Bloom said. "Maybe they can stop the vines!" "Ok!" Sora said. He then pulled out the elements and placed them on the ground. He then pointed the keyblade forward, and a white circle formed around him, and the six elements began to glow. They floated up around him, charging up with energy. The circle then let out a flash of magic, causing only some of the vines to be sent away. But the plunder vines were still moving towards him. "Come on!" Sora said, but then suddenly, a plunder vine snuck forward and grabbed the keyblade. "Hey, let go!" He struggled to hold on, but the vine pulled the keyblade out of his hands and tossed it away. The elements began to drop, but five more vines grabbed the necklaces, except for the Element of Magic, which dropped in front of Sora. "Oh no!" Sora said. Then, two plunder vines grabbed ahold of Donald and Goofy's legs, pulling them up into the air. "SORA!" The two called out. "Donald! Goofy!" Sora said. He then turned back to Ephemer. "What do I do?" "The tree just needs it's magic back." Ephemer said. "Just return what was taken from it." "Return what was taken from it?" Sora asked. Then suddenly, his brain sparked. Return what was taken from it... Now he began to realize what Ephemer meant! The Tree functions without the Elements, and this is where the Elements of Harmony originated! The tree is powered by the Elements themselves! He didn't need to use the Elements. He just needed to return them. Seeing the Element of Magic on the ground, he picked it up, and removed the gemstone from from the tiara. He glanced up at the tree. "Return what was taken from it." Sora said as he rushed forward. "Sora!" Donald and Goofy cried out as the boy ran toward the tree. The vines quickly took action to strike, but the boy leapt up and over to reach the tree. Taking the Element of Magic, he threw the star gemstone toward the tree. Then... -FLASH- The Element of Magic began to glow brightly, and the tree began to send out a magenta colored wave, blowing away most of the vines that were trying to catch Sora, including the ones that had the other five elements if their grasp. The five gemstones began to glow as well, and with a might blast, the necklaces shattered, but the gemstones remained intact. The blast incinerated the plunder vines that held them. The remaining elements began to make their way towards the tree, each one placed in their perspective branch, killing away the vines that wrapped around them. With all six elements on the tree, the Tree of Harmony began to regain it's color, and started to sparkle. It's sparkles disintegrated every vine that wrapped around the tree. It then sent a powerful blast that began to kill all the vines around the trio, Spike, the crusaders and Ephemer, finally wiping the area clean of those pesky plunder vines. The tree then began to emit a radiant glow, showing that it was now back to it's full power. The group watched in amazement as they saw the tree even more beautiful. "The Tree is back to normal!" Goofy said. "Yeah!" Sora said, picking up the Missing Ache keyblade that was dropped onto the floor. Then suddenly, the boy's body began to glow, and Donald's body began to glow too. For a strange reason, both of them felt much better and more... stronger... in a mystic kind of way! Could this mean, the magic is back? "Hey, I feel better somehow!" Donald said. -ROOOAAR- The sound of a familiar roar filled the room. Turning their head, they saw the Cragadile again, making it's way inside, ready for another bout! "Uh Oh!" Goofy said as he brought out his shield. Donald however, glanced down at his staff, and gave a smile. He then stepped forward. "Donald, wait!" Sora called out. Then the duck pulled his staff backwards. "FIRAGA!" Donald shouted as he pointed the staff forward. Then to their surprise, the staff glowed brightly and fired a massive fireball right at the Cragadile, hitting it right in it's face! The beast then gave a yelp and crawled off, away from the trio. "That was awesome!" Sweetie Belle squeaked as the other two fillies cheered. "Whoa!" Sora said. "Way to go, Donald!" "Haha, you did it buddy!" Spike said as the royal wizard then twriled his staff. "Yep, I still got it!" Donald said. "Garsh, the magic's back!" Goofy said. "Yeah!" Sora said. "But... how?" "You guys restored the Tree of Harmony, the source of the magic across Equestria." Ephemer explained. "With the magic of Equestria restored, the magic in the universe is back in balance." "Amazing." Sora said. Then, before he could say anymore, a bright light began to shine from the Tree, as if began to emit a much more brighter glow. Then suddenly, emerging from the tree was a small glowing sphere. The ball began to slowly descend to the ground and flashed, revealing the silhouette with dark red hair and blue eyes. Sora's eyes widened as he saw the silhouette. The hair reminded him of someone he knew. "Kairi?" Sora asked, greatly surprised, as was Donald and Goofy. How did Kairi get here? "Kairi?" He asked. "Is that... you?" Then the silhouette got closer, revealing it to be a pony figure, just as tall as Princess Celestia. The pony had a long horn and majestic wings like Princess Celestia. But she was a bit more whitish tan, and her long messy mane and tail was dark red. Her eyes were blue, and her cutie mark was of a ink glass with a quill inside it. Sora was taken back, a little surprised that it wasn't Kairi, but another alicorn! How many more alicorns were there? "Who... are you?" Sora asked. "I am the Tree of Harmony." She spoke. "I have the power to project a physical form of my consciousness." The boy nearly gasped as she spoke. This was the Tree of Harmony? It can take a physical form and it had a consciousness of it's own? "Consciousness?" Sora asked. "So, you... or the tree is alive?" "Yes." The alicorn said. "Whoa... that's just incredible." He said. "But... what are you doing here?" "I contain and controls all that grows in the Everfree Forest." She said. "I also keep the magic of this world and the universe balanced and maintain it. But my magic was slowly dying away after the Princesses took the elements. But now that you've returned them to me, my magic is now restored." The boy smiled. "That's great." Sora said. "But... what about Twilight. She's... down a very dark path." "Yes, I know." The tree spoke. "She is being led astray by a dark force that you may be familiar with. And if nothing is done, she'll be lost forever." "No..." Sora said, showing concern and worry. "But she can be saved." The alicorn spoke. The boy lifted his head up. "Really?" Sora asked. "Please, tell me what to do!" "You already know how to save one who is deep in the darkness." The tree said. The boy began thinking. "You mean... the Power of Waking?" Sora asked. The tree giggled and shook her head. "No... you've had the power to save those all along." She said. "You just have to follow your heart, and just be yourself." The boy was taken back by what she told him. "Being myself." Sora said, his hand over his chest. He realized what she meant. He was able to help those find themselves again when they were lost, by just being himself. "I want to save her... but... how can I when...?" Before he could finish, the spirit placed her hand on his shoulder. "Friendship is always tested by the greatest of obstacles." She said. "And there are times when those around us are lost. But they can be saved. Let her know that you and those around you care for her. And if all else fails, sing a happy song." "Sing a song, huh?" Sora asked. "Ok, I'll take that advice to heart." "And don't forget." The tree said. "Whatever is cleaved apart..." Then extending her hand out, the broken pieces of Sora's keyblade began to glow brightly. The pieces floated out of Sora's hands and above the silhouette of Kairi, and the Elements of Harmony began to glow brightly, and the Star in the tree shined as well. Their energy began to surround the keyblade, reattaching the two broken pieces together. The blade began to glow very brightly, letting a powerful wave of light to shine down on Sora and company. As the boy opened his eyes, the light began to fade, and the keyblade was not only fixed, but also transformed. The blade, the keychain and token are the same, but the rest is different, looking almost like King Mickey's new keyblade. The handle is black with both ends capped with dark blue. The top and bottom part of the guard was red, while the sides of the guard was black, the colors matching Sora's own duds. The edges at the bottom tipped with yellow circles and the edges on the top capped with a sun parallel to the teeth and the moon on the otherside. The base of the blade is red with black stripes running on the side. The keyblade then floated back into Sora's hand. Surprise took hold of him, as did Donald and Goofy. The keyblade was fixed, and received an upgrade. "Can be cleaved back together." The tree said. Sora was astonished. The Tree restored his keyblade, and now it was enhanced. Donald and Goofy, Spike and of course the Cutie Mark Crusaders reacted with awe. The boy gave a nod. "Thank you." Sora said. "Oh, and sorry about earlier. You looked like someone I know. Someone that is very precious to me." "Speaking of which." The tree said. "You don't need to worry now. The magic in the universe is now restored, so her power will be restored as well." The boy lifted his head up. "You mean, Kairi is ok?" Sora asked. "Yes." The tree said. "She will be ok." Hearing that made Sora smile, and now he felt even more relief. Kairi is going to be ok now! She's going to be ok! "Thank you!" Sora said with a nod. The tree also gave a nod. "May your heart be your guiding key." She said, and soon she faded away, floating back into the tree, as Sora and the group watched with amazement. The boy then glanced back at Ephemer, who was smiling too. "And thank you too." Sora said. "It was nothing." Ephemer said. "See you soon." With a wave of his hand, he suddenly disappeared, transforming into an orb of light, and then he took off flying out of the cave, while everyone watched. "Garsh, spirits of the past come and go so quickly." Goofy said as Donald gave a nod. "Wow, that was beautiful." Apple Bloom said. "Applejack's never gonna believe this." "APPLE BLOOM!" A voice called out. The filly froze instantly hearing the voice. She quickly turned her head around to see five ponies. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack! The latter was Apple Bloom's older sister. "APPLEJACK!" Apple Bloom shouted, showing fear on her face. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and of course Spike, turned their heads to see the girls. "Girls!" They all called out. "Hey, Sora!" Rainbow Dash with a wave. Applejack however, had a stern look on her face. "Apple Bloom!" She shouted as she bolted forward, heading straight for Apple Bloom. "Applejack, I can explain!" The filly shouted, but it was too late, Applejack rolled right in the young filly and began to hug her tightly and stroke her mane. "Oh, Apple Bloom, thank goodness you're alright!" Applejack said as she nuzzled the filly affectionately and stroked her mane. She looked like she was so worried... yes, she was worried. "Wait, you're not mad?" Apple Bloom asked. "Mad?" Applejack asked. "I wasn't mad, I was worried-sick! I saw the tree house near the barn and I saw the stairway broken!" "Oh, yeah." Apple Bloom said. "We were trying to get our cutie marks on making potions. But we screwed up and went to go see Zecora. I left you a note. Didn't you read it?" "I did." Applejack said. "Did you tell Big Mac or Granny Smith?" "Big Mac was working so we didn't want to bother him, and Granny Smith was asleep as usual." Apple Bloom said. "I couldn't find you, so we... uh.... went to the forest without telling anyone." Applejack only let out a sigh. "Apple Bloom, you know if I'm not home and if the others are busy, you're suppose to wait at home until I get back if something happened!" Applejack lectured. "Well, we didn't want Sweetie Belle to be a blueberry." Apple Bloom said. "Miss Rarity would've flipped out." "Actually, I was enjoying being a blu-" Sweetie Belle said, only to have her mouth hushed up by Scootaloo. "And don't worry, we were on the safe path." Apple Bloom said. "But what if somethin' bad happened to ya?" Applejack asked. "Those vines were all over the place when we got here." "I'm fine." Apple Bloom said. "I'm not a little foal." Sora, Donald and Goofy looked at the two sisters arguing at each other. Not wanting to hear anymore of this, Sora approached the two. "Hey, lighten up Applejack." Sora said, getting the farmpony's attention. "Sora?" Applejack asked surprised. "What are you doing here?" "We came into the forest to fix the magic." Sora said. "And it's fixed by the way." "You're welcome." Donald said. "We ran into the girls on our way here." Goofy said. "And you guys let them go with you?" Applejack asked. "Don't worry, we made sure they were careful." Goofy said. "And they helped us get all the way here." Sora said. "In fact, they helped scare that Cragadile away when it was trying to eat us." "And they helped us fix the magic too." Goofy said. "We wouldn't have done it without them." "Hey, what about me?!" Donald asked. "I scared the Cragadile too!" "Not before we came in here." Sora said. "You were screaming and running." Donald only rolled his eyes and grumbled. Applejack's eyes widened with surprise. Her sister and her friends managed to scare off a vicious Cragadile? "They did?" Applejack asked. "Yeah, we did." Scootaloo said. "It was no biggie." Sweetie Belle said. "SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity shouted as she rushed over and hugged her little sister affectionately. "Oh, Sweetie Belle, I'm so glad you're alright." "Rarity..." Sweetie Belle said, rolling her eyes. "But still, you were right Applejack." Apple Bloom said. "I should've waited back at the barn until you got back. I'm sorry for going into the forest without permission." Applejack was about to speak, but she shook her head and gave a smile. "Well, actually, while it was wrong of you to come in here without permission, it was actually a good thing." Applejack said. "If you hadn't went into the forest then Sora and his friends would've been that Cragadile's supper. And you helped them restore their magic, so I guess I really have taught you something." Apple Bloom lifted her head up with a bit of surprise. Her sister wasn't angry with her? "Really?" Apple Bloom asked. "So... I'm not in too much trouble?" "Well, I don't know about that." Applejack said. "I don't know if that's gonna save you from getting a lecture from Granny Smith. But I'll definitely have your back sis. You and your friends helped these boys out. I'm real proud of ya." Hearing that made Apple Bloom smile. She hugged her sister, and Applejack did the same. "Now that's sisterly love." Goofy said, as Sora and Donald each gave a nod. "Sora?" Rarity asked, getting the trio's attention. "Girls?" Sora asked. "We just want to say, we're sorry for giving up so easily." Rarity said. "Yeah, we're all still a bit pretty beaten by Twilight's betrayal." Rainbow Dash said. "It's ok, girls." Sora said. "If anything, you're just as victims as Twilight is." "Huh?" All five of them asked. "Hold on a second." Sora said as he reached into his pocket. He then pulled out the Memory Stone Naminé gave to him. "Hey, is that the Memory Stone?" Goofy asked. "It looks different!" Donald said. "Yeah." Sora said. "Naminé gave it to me." "Memory Stone?" The five girls asked. "The original one was used to take away and manipulate memories." Sora said. "But this one houses the memories of what really happened." "What really happened?" Rainbow Dash asked. "But what does that have to do with us?" "Here, this will help." Sora said. He then raised the memory stone high in the air, and it began to glow. Suddenly, five magical video strips emerged from the stone, one in different colors, orange, blue, white, yellow, and pink. The video strips began to fly around Sora, and then flew directly to the girls, seeping deep into their heads. "GAH!" All five of them gasped, much to the CMC's surprise. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie opened their eyes, all of them glowing. In their eyes, the scenes of what happened while Twilight was trapped down below began to play into their minds, Shining seeing Twilight getting sent into the caverns and then brainwashed by the Changeling Queen, the girls looking for Twilight that morning and learning the bride was an imposter, going to confront and stop her, and the hooded pony, who was Chancellor Neighsay, trapping them and using the memory stone to erase their memories of the whole morning, and the rest the know. All five of them let out a shocked gasp as they began to remember everything. Rainbow Dash was so shocked that she dropped to the ground on her hooves. The memories that were taken were now coming back to them. They remembered everything! "No... way..." Rainbow Dash said. "Applejack, are you ok?" Apple Bloom asked. "I... I can't believe it..." Applejack said. "It's... it's all coming back to us..." Rarity said. "What's coming back to you, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Everything!" Rarity said. "We didn't oversleep that morning at all! We went looking for Twilight." "Then we learned that Princess Cadance was an imposter... and that Chancellor, he took away our memories!" Fluttershy said. Pinkie Pie let out a huge gasp, causing her to inhale rapidly and bloated up like a balloon. With a quick exhale, she quickly deflated, but her mane and tail. "AHA!" Pinkie Pie said. "That's why my nose was itchy!" "So it wasn't truly our fault at all!" Rainbow Dash said. "But... we still realized it too late." Applejack said, still feeling guilty. "We still left her alone in that rehearsal hall instead of siding with her." "And we can't change that." Rarity said. "But we can still do something about it." Sora said, all of them looking at the spikey haired boy, who was not daunted at all. "We may not be able to change the past, but we need to focus on what we can do now. This friendship is not broken. We can cleave it back together. And besides, hearts are connected, so we can still save Twilight and make things right together." Donald and Goofy each gave a nod, and so did Spike and the CMC. The five girls looked at each other and gave smiles of determination. "You're right." Applejack said. "We can still make things right." "All of us will!" Pinkie Pie said. "Well then, let's go save our friend!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "Yeah!" The girls called out. -BOOM- The sudden sound caused them all of stop for a second and listen. It was quite faint, but it sounded just like an explosion. "What was that?" Sora asked. "Sounded like an explosion." Goofy said. Spike turned his head and looked from outside the cave. "Hey, look over there!" He said, pointing straight forward to whatever was on the other side of the forest. Everyone looked straight into the distance. Although the trees blocked the view, they saw smoking rising from whatever the source was. Rainbow Dash flew high up above the forest to see. She saw another explosion, and it came from Ponyville! "It's coming from Ponyville!" Rainbow Dash said. "That can't be good!" Donald said. "C'mon, we better check it out!" Sora said. Everypony and everyone agreed, knowing that saving Twilight would have to wait a little bit longer. And just like that, they were off to Ponyville to see what that explosion was. Meanwhile... in an Unknown Tundra in the North... It was cold... very cold, and the entire area was covered and surrounded by ice. Lots of ice. In the far end of the room, there was a huge block of ice, which was transparent and see through. Inside it was a black smoke-like fire, weakly flaming inside. And yet, the ice didn't melt at all. Walking in the room was Maleficent, with Pete behind her, making their way towards the ice. "Whoa... this place isn't what I expected." Pete said. "It's all just snow and ice." "Of course it's just snow and ice, you fool." Maleficent said. "We're underneath the land and inside the Ice Caves." Pretty soon, the two came to a stop, and glanced up to see the smoky fire inside the ice block. "Oh my, what's that thing?" Pete asked. "That... is the Unicorn King from the stories of the Crystal Empire." Maleficent said. "King Sombra." As she spoke his name, the smoke began to take shape, and morphed into a spirit, forming into what appeared to be a unicorn stallion's head, though his face was a bit monstrous, but he had red glowing eyes with green glowing sclera, with purple smoke flowing out of it, and a jet black mane flowing backwards. Pete turned his head to glance at the mist that was inside, but then nearly gasped as he saw the unicorn's head. "Oh, you don't say..." He said as he backed away. "Who.... goes.... there?" A voice echoed in the room, which Pete nearly jumped as he heard it. Maleficent had her eyes set on the spirit of Sombra inside, knowing that he was speaking to them. "Do not fret, your majesty." She answered. "We are here to set you free." "Set me free?" The spirit asked. "And why are you releasing me?" "We share a common goal." Maleficent said. "You seek the Crystal Empire just as we do. With the kingdom in the hands of darkness, all of Equestria will not stand a chance against the forces of evil. So, we're going to free you so we can take the Empire together." "If you free me, you will help me?" The spirit asked. "Oh yes..." Maleficent said. "But you must swear that you will do as we say, and when it's all over and Equestria is ours, the Empire is yours to do with as you wish." The spirit glanced at the witch, and at Pete, who looked a bit frightened. He gave a sinister laugh. "You have a deal." He said. "Now... release me." Before she could however, she turned her head back, sensing someone in the room. She then saw the hooded man coming into the room. "Hello... oh sorry, am I interrupting something?" He asked, then saw the spirit of King Sombra inside the ice block. "Oh, you found him! Good job." "We were just getting to business." Maleficent said. "Oh, well allow me." The man said as he stepped forward, passing the witch and made his way towards the block. He raised his right hand, and then slammed it on the ice, showing a little crack upon it. Seconds past... then the crack got bigger, and bigger, spreading across the entire block of ice until it was all covered in cracks. He then tapped his finger on it. -CRACK!- The entire ice block burst into pieces, with multiple ice fragments dropping to the ground. The man glanced up, with a smile underneath his hood, looking straight up at the shadow king's spirit, who began to chuckle... then laugh, then laugh more evilly and louder! He then flew across the room and circled around. "MUHAHAHAHA!" The Shadow King said. "At Last, I am finally free!" Maleficent and Pete watched, just as the man brushed his hands off. "Well, that's that." He said. "So, now what?" Pete asked. "Now, we get ready to take the Crystal Empire." Maleficent said, the she turned to the man in the hood. "Have you gathered your... accomplices?" "Almost." The man said. "There's also one other thing that I need to take care of first..." He opened up a dark corridor to teleport to his destination. "Then go, we'll let you do your thing." Maleficent asked. "But is this other thing?" "Just need to make sure there won't be anymore... Shadows to deal with." The man said as he disappeared inside.