//------------------------------// // Chapter 24: The Frozen North // Story: KINGDOM HEARTS: Fractured Friendship // by KHXhero //------------------------------// Chapter 24: The Frozen North All the Way Up North... The sky was very cloudy, and snow was blowing through the wind up at the Frozen North. It was only a few yards away from the Train Station, where the conductor was just coming out of the outhouse. He let out a sigh and headed back to the station, ready to drive the train back to Canterlot. But then suddenly, he started to hear voices, voices that sounded like screaming. Turning his head, he saw a twinkle in the sky, with a massive object hurling right toward him. "What the b-" The conductor asked, seeing the spark just pass the station, hurtling straight into the snow, causing the spark to break apart, popping out six ponies and one baby dragon first, followed by a Sora, Donald and Goofy, flying high into the air, next was Ventus, Terra, and Aqua, all of them pummeling into the snow. Well, luckily, they were all safe and sound thanks to the snow being soft enough for a hard landing. Though there was no telling how much snow is on the ground since they were now in the Frozen North. The conductor only stood there, surprised and startled by what he just saw. That was definitely something no pony sees everyday. "I need a drink!" The stallion said, going back into the station. Back in the pile of snow, Sora lifted himself up, and rubbed the back of his head, while Twilight lifted her face off the ground, her eyes spinning a bit. The other girls, and Spike got up, rubbing their poor sore areas, and Donald lifted his head out of the snow, as his entire body was completely deep. "Well, good thing the snow is so soft." Sora said. Twilight got to her hooves, and glanced around. "Is everypony ok?" She asked. "Yeah, we're good." Rainbow Dash said as the other girls gave nods, well, except for Pinkie Pie, who was half-way stuck in the snow. Luckily, the party pony pulled herself out and landed on her back. Looking around her, she saw snow everywhere. "Oooo, Snow!" Pinkie Pie said. Instantly, she began to spread her hooves out flat on the ground and began to make a snow angel, giggling to her hearts content. Donald slowly got up and rubbed his beak. "Wait..." Donald said as he glanced around. "Goofy, where are you?!" Suddenly, two hands popped out from Donald's sides, showing the green sweater sleeves and white gloves that Goofy always wore. "I'm ok!" Goofy's voice said from below Donald's spot, lifting himself out the snow, pushing Donald completely out, sending the royal wizard diving face first into the snow... again. The duck gave a quacky fit. Aqua began to come to as she lifted her head up, only to see that she was on top of Terra, again. Both of them glanced at each other for a second. "Hi..." Aqua said. "Hi..." Terra said, both of them looking surprised and embarrassed. Getting up, the girl helped him back up as well. "You ok?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm ok. Thanks." Terra said, but the two looked around, seeing someone was missing. "Wait a second, where's Ven?" "YAAAH!" A shout came from under the snow, startling Terra and Aqua. Luckily it was just Ventus, alive and well. "What happened?" He asked. "What year is it? Did I move forward in time again?!" Yeah, he was ok. Rainbow Dash began to pat the side of her head, getting the snow out of her ear. "Well, that was some landing." Rainbow Dash said. "You're welcome, by the way." Discord said, revealing a small version of himself inside Rainbow Dash's ear, making the pegasus yelp in surprise. "And seriously Rainbow, you should be careful patting your head like that." He continued as he slithered out and grew back to his original size. "I almost got stuck inside." "Hey, how did you do that?!" Rainbow Dash asked. "Well, I slithered in to keep myself warm." Discord said. "Don't... ever... do that again!" The rainbow maned Pegasus spoke. "What?" Discord asked. "I did bring you guys here to the Frozen North, didn't I?" The girls looked around, seeing that they were surrounded by snow, and near the Train Station. "Yeah, we suppose you did." Applejack said. "See, I told you we can trust him." Fluttershy said as she patted the draconequus's head. As the Pegasus tended to Discord, Sora turned his head around and moved forward in his direction, taking a glance around, seeing nothing but snow... and snow... and snow... Suddenly, he felt the chilly wind blowing against him, making him shiver. "It's cold!" He said, his voice shaking a bit. "Donald, Twilight, someone give me a coat!" The duck lifted his head out of the snow. "Hey, you're suppose to be a keyblade master!" Donald shouted. "Start acting like it!" "I take it he's not used to the cold, is he." Twilight said. "Nope." Goofy said. "He's more used to the beach than the snow." "Yeah..." Sora said as he continued to shiver. "It comes with being an islander. Man I could use some sleeves right now." Before he could say anymore, his clothes then started to sparkle, glowing with a red and white magic. Then suddenly, his upper sleeves began to spread out lower arm sleeves that covered his entire arms into his gloves, and his pants also grew leggings that went toward his shoes. Now he had sleeves on his arms and legs, and he didn't feel cold either! "Whoa..." Sora said as Donald and Goofy watched in awe. "Thanks, Twilight!" "I didn't do that." Twilight said, as Goofy started to think. "Hmmm... maybe the clothes decided to help warm you up since it's cold up here." Goofy said. "Oooh..." Sora said, but then he started thinking for a split second. He recalled their previous adventure back in Arendelle, where the entire land was covered in snow because of Elsa's ice magic, and nearly sent the land into eternal winter. "Oh sure, it didn't do that in Arendelle, but now it does it here?!" Sora asked with annoyance. "Well, it was Summer back in Arendelle." Donald said. "Arendelle?" Twilight asked. "What's this Arendelle?" Applejack asked. "Oh, it's another world we've been-" Sora said. "HEY!" Donald shouted at the boy. "ORDER, Remember?!" The boy looked at the royal wizard. "Oh, c'mon Donald." Sora said. "They knew about the outside world when I first came here." "Yeah, but still!" Donald shouted. "I could really use magical clothes or at least a coat too." Ventus said. "You know, it really is getting cold out here." Discord said. "I think I need to warm up." Then suddenly, he began to shrink down and transformed into a colored scarf, wrapping himself around Fluttershy's shoulders and neck. "Uh, what about us?" Applejack asked. "Well, you should've brought your own clothes." Discord said as he popped his head out. "But since you all need some, here." He then snapped his fingers, and then suddenly, all the girls had winter coats and cosmetics on, shielding them from the extreme cold. "Wow... uh... thanks." Rainbow Dash said. "Well, I have to say, these do look a bit dashing." Rarity said as she gave a slight pose in her own winter coat. "See, he really is a gentle one, isn't he?" Fluttershy said as he petted Discord's neck. "Aww, you are so kind, Fluttershy." Discord said. "Wait, what about us?!" Donald asked. "What?" Discord asked. "You already have clothes on, and you have a fur coat of feathers all over your body." "He is right about that." Sora said, making Donald quack in confusion. "Your feathers do count as an additional coat." "Uh huh." Goofy said, as the duck gave a defeated quack, while the others laughed. "We better get going." Twilight said as she looked on into the foggy storm. "Hopefully the Crystal Empire isn't too far." "Yeah... if we knew where to go." Sora said, as Rainbow Dash looked on. The cerulean Pegasus's eyes widened up as she saw something. "Hey, Look!" She said, pointing her hoof forward. Turning their heads toward the direction Rainbow Dash pointed toward, they saw something. Something was moving in the fog, right toward them. "A heartless?" Donald asked. "Doesn't look like one." Goofy said, as the shadowy figure came closer. Emerging from the stormy snowy fog, was a tall man, a little bit taller than Sora, with his hood up. But his jacket with the checkered pattern was enough for Sora to know who it was. "Riku?" Sora asked, as the figure got closer. He then unhooded himself, showing that it was indeed Riku! "Sora!" He said with a wave. "Riku!" Sora said as he rushed over and hugged his friend, who welcomed him back with the same. "Hey, good to see you." "Same here." Riku said, then looked behind Sora to see the others arriving. "You all made it in one piece." "Of course we did." Rainbow Dash said. "Because we're awesome!" Riku gave a nod, but then noticed someone new in the group. His attention turned to Twilight, who gave a notice. "Oh yeah." Sora said. "Riku, meet Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle, Riku." The silver haired boy knelt down to see eye to eye with the unicorn. "Oh, hello Miss Sparkle." Riku said. "Hello Riku." Twilight said as she shook the boy's hand with her hoof. "It's nice to meet friends of Sora." "Same here." Riku said. "He told me that you helped him train for his last adventure. Thanks." "Oh, it was nothing." Twilight said with a blush. But then she heard something right next to her. Turning her head, she saw Rarity, staring right at Riku. The fashionista's eyes began to sparkle, and hearts floating and popping around her, just seeing this handsome slightly muscular build. The white unicorn couldn't help but blush and squeak. "Rarity?" Twilight asked, while her friend gave a gasp and his herself behind Twilight, holding on to her friend's hind legs. "He's.... He's.... he's, he's, he's, he's... he's sooooo handsome....!!!" Rarity squeaked, trying to cover her own face with the lavender unicorn's tail. "Uhhh... ok?" Twilight said. "Did the rest make it here?" Terra asked. "Yeah, they arrived just a while ago." Riku said. "They?" Sora asked as he tilted his head. "WAIT!" Donald spoke out, interrupting the conversation. "Where's the King?!" "Donald." Goofy and Sora said, making the duck silent. "He's back at the Crystal Empire." Riku said. "Speaking of which, we better get moving. There are things out here we don't wanna run into in this storm." "Then let's go." Sora said with a nod. The group then made their way through the snow. The storm wasn't going to let itself calm down, so they had to be quick. "So what's it like at the Empire?" Sora asked. "Can't really describe it." Riku said. "The place is... pretty much dull then what Master Yen Sid described." "Dull?" Ventus asked. "With it being crystal, should it be sparkling?" "Well, it does when the sun's shining." Riku said. "I bet that Shadow King must've done it when he made the Empire disappear." Rainbow Dash said. Sora then remembered, the man in the black coat. "Oh, right!" Sora said. ""We also met someone that isn't from this world. He was wearing an Organization XIII coat." "What?" Riku asked. "Organization XIII? But we got rid of them, didn't we?" "We did, but this guy doesn't seem to be one of them." Sora said. "He also said that Maleficent and Pete were here too, and they're trying to take over the Crystal Empire." "Maleficent?" Riku asked. "She's here?" Riku has had some history with the witch, where she helped him search for Kairi, while also attempting to turn him towards the darkness, to be a vessel for Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness. "And she released that Monster Shadow King from his prison!" Donald strictly stated. The silver-haired boy then started thinking, where realization was showing from his face. "Oh, so that could explain it." Riku said. "Explain what?" Sora asked. "There was a giant heartless trying to get into the city." Riku said. "At first we thought it was the unicorn king, but it looks like Maleficent must've brought it out." "Trying to get in?" Twilight asked. "You mean the city's protected?" "For now." Riku said. "Mickey casted a powerful dome around the kingdom so no dark forces could get in. But we're not sure how long it'll last. It's been taking quite a bit on him keeping a big shield up." "Barrieza." Aqua said. "A very powerful protection magic, but it takes a lot out anyone who casts." "Uh oh..." Goofy said. "I hope the king's alright. He's not used to casting strong magic. Last time he nearly collapsed from trying it the first time." "Yeah." Riku said. "Princess Amore offered to help keep the shield up, but he didn't want her to risk getting drained either." "Princess Cadance?" Twilight asked surprised. "She's here?!" "Yep." Riku said. Twilight gave a smile, but then a frown of realization came to her. If Cadance was here... did that mean Shining Armor was here too? "Is... Shining Armor here too?" Twilight asked. "Yeah." Riku said. "He's here." The unicorn turned her head away, either out of spite or conflict. It was too hard to tell, but her friends noticed that she was feeling a bit uneasy. "I... don't think Twi's ready to see 'er brother yet." Applejack said. Sora only gave a nod. "So... how'd things go?" Riku asked. "Ok." Sora said. "We got into some crazy stuff down. Nightmare Moon was influencing and controlling Twilight. She was trying to release some demonic pony from the grave, but we managed to stop her." "And we blasted that nightmare hag into a million pieces!" Donald said. "Yeah." Sora said. "Anyway, Twilight and her friends made up and such... but I don't know about her brother though." He lowered his head. Twilight forgave her friends, yes. But it was her brother he was more worried about. He was the one that brought her the most pain. So it's gonna be much more difficult to make peace between them. Riku placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry." Riku said. "If anything, Shining Armor is a bit worried too. We can worry about that after we save the Crystal Empire." Sora glanced at his friend and smiled. Riku was right. They can worry about Twilight and Shining's crumbling relationship later. The Crystal Empire was more important. "Ok." Sora said. And with that, the group continued onward through the snow. But it was a big foggy to see where they were going, and the snow falling wasn't helping one bit. No doubt it covered the tracks coming from the castle. Donald and Goofy couldn't help but shiver. "Garsh, it's pretty cold out here." the latter said as he tried to warm up his arms. "I'm freezing!" Donald said. "Wait..." Riku said as he stopped, with everyone else stopping. "What?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Are we there yet?" "No... I sense something." He answered. At that moment, Aqua and Terra looked around. No doubt whatever Riku was sensing, they too could sense. "It's a terrible darkness." Aqua said. "Well what do we have here?" a voice spoke through the wind. "It seems that the wolves have been invited to supper." Sora couldn't help but shake his head. "I know that voice." He said. Turning straight to their right, they saw the last person they wanted to see. A witch wearing black robes, two dragon-like horns on her head, and a long staff in her hand. Yes, it was Maleficent, emerging from the dark portal behind her, and so was Pete, who was giving a big smile. "My, my, so many guests." Maleficent said, as Pete stood by her side. "Maleficent!" Sora shouted as he and the others stood their ground. "And Pete!" Donald and Goofy shouted. "Pete?" Ventus asked, but then he recognized the big brute. "Wait, that's the guy who was causing trouble in Disney Town, right?" "Same one!" Donald shouted. "Alright, ready for the fight!" Rainbow Dash said, raising her hooves up. "What?" Pete asked. "No hello? That's a bit rude, don't you think?" "So, you guys are after the Crystal Empire too, aren't ya!" Sora said. "You catch on pretty well, though you probably wouldn't have if someone didn't say anything about it eariler." Maleficent said, giving a short glare to Pete. "I said I was Sorry Ok!" Pete said. "You're the witch!" Twilight said. "The one who was causing trouble in the other worlds! Why are you here? And what do you want with the Crystal Empire?!" "Why, you don't know?" Maleficent asked. "Well it's obvious. The magic of the Crystal Empire is quite powerful, as even the Princesses struggled against it. With all that power at my command, this world will plunge into darkness, and then, the worlds beyond it." "You're wrong!" Twilight called out. "We will never let that happen!" "Oh, are you so sure about that, Little Twilight Sparkle?" A familiar voice said, getting the ponies surprised. Even Sora, Donald, and Goofy knew that voice. They soon saw someone... actually, somepony emerging from the dark portal as well, revealing a familiar light gray unicorn with a dark azure tail, mane and goatee with turquoise eyes, wearing a EEA scholar robe. He was looking at the group with a stern but confident smile. "The Chancellor!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy called out, with the girls giving gasps. "Hey, that's the pony who erased our memories at the wedding!" Pinkie Pie shouted. "Chancellor Neighsay?" Twilight asked, knowing full well who he was. "In the flesh." He answered. "I do say, what an odd sort of people these are. And look, more keyblade scum to deal with. I thought most of them were wiped out centuries ago." Sora could only growl. "That's not very nice!" Ventus said. "Wait, how did you get out of your chains?" Donald asked, remembering that they were told that the Chancellor escaped the old Castle. "I had help." Neighsay spoke. "Chancellor Neighsay, what are you doing?" Twilight asked. "Why are you with them?" "Just doing Equestria a little favor." Neighsay said. "But why are you helping them?" Twilight asked the chancellor. "Why?" Neighsay asked. "You should know why. You are familiar with the story of how the three pony tribes came together, correct? Originally the Unicorns were all in charge until that fool Clover the Clever helped unite all the pony tribes and we were forced to treat the Pegasi and Earth ponies as equals. We, the unicorns, were once in control, and we've been attempting to get that back on track." "But Equestria cannot survive with just one race of ponies!" Twilight argued. "All ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies help keep balance in Equestria." "And look at what bringing the three tribes did so far!" Neighsay said. "Discord started causing chaos, Nightmare Moon almost brought eternal night, and everything in between! That's because Princess Celestia failed to see how allowing new things onto this land can bring harm to everyone!" "But other creatures should be welcomed into Equestria." Twilight said. "And if they're bad, we can help them become good!" "But not all of them want to be good." Neighsay said. "Don't you remember the Changeling Invasion at the wedding? Where your friends and loved ones turned you away for some imposter and abandoned you for some stupid-" "Don't even try." Twilight said. "Don't even try to tell me that my friends are to blame. Sure, they may have left me, but it was because I too was in the wrong accusing the Cadance that I grew up with of being evil. Besides, I know what you did to them. I know you erased their memories when they realized the bride was an imposter!" Hearing that made Neighsay only give a hateful glare at the lavender unicorn. "Oh, so you know about that." Neighsay said. "How very clever of you Little Twilight Sparkle..." The growls in his voice as he said her name made Twilight give a snort. "But the really question is why?" Twilight asked. "Why did you help the Changelings?" "To make Celestia open her eyes." the Chancellor answered. "I wanted her to realize how dangerous it is to allow these disgusting creatures into Equestria, but no, she still believes that all creatures should be welcomed. Well, the only way to ensure Equestria's survival is to make sure she's out the way for good, and the Unicorns will be the ones who will fix everything the way it should be." "And you're proving that by joining with the witch?!" Twilight asked. "They're just using you like Nightmare Moon used me!" "Well, you see Little Twilight, in order to win a fight that isn't yours, sometimes you need to join the side that's going to win." Neighsay said. Spike turned around for a split second, and suddenly he gasped. He patted Twilight's side, getting her attention. He pointed forward, and Twilight gasped what he was pointing to. "Sora!" Twilight said, getting the boy's attention. The spikey haired boy then saw what Twilight and Spike were pointing at. Just a few short yards away behind the group was the man in the black coat, giving a creepy wave. "You!" Sora and Riku shouted. "Hello, sorry if I'm late." D answered. "I was off doing some stuff." "So he is helping you!" Sora shouted towards Maleficent. "Let's just say we have a common goal." The witch answered. "After all, the enemy of my enemy is also my friend." "That's right!" Pete said. "And we got loads of more friends too, and we'll be conquering this world for sure!" "You're meddling with dark forces you don't understand, Maleficent!" Riku said, summoning his keyblade. "If I were you, I would leave right now before I'd try anything." "My, such brave words, boys." Maleficent said. "But just words." "Then we'll turn words into action." Terra said. "You won't succeed Maleficent!" Aqua said. "The light is stronger than you think." "Is it?" Maleficent asked. "Why don't we test it then?" She then tapped her staff onto the floor, and a wave of darkness blasted from it across the floor. Suddenly, several heartless began to appear before the two, consisting of Wyverns; winged blue draconian creature with sharp claws for feet, Wizards; magic heartless that wore wizard hats, Defenders; blue and purple armored heartless with shields that have living black dog heads, Darkballs; sphere-shaped pureblood heartless wit blue mouths, Armored Knights; humanoid knights with single swords. Then, behind our heroes and in front of D appeared several Ice Cubes; which were Heartless made in blocks of ice, some Blizzard Plants, flowers with white leaves, signifying their use of blizzard attacks, and lots of Winterhorns; reindeers with sharp horns made of ice. "We're surrounded!" Spike cried out. "Don't worry, we can take them." Sora said as he summoned his keyblade, and so did Riku, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. The ponies also stood their ground, while Spike hid behind Twilight. "I can't wait to see this..." Neighsay said with a wicked grin. "Ooo… this is gonna be good." D said as he sat down in the snow to watch. Soon, everyone prepared to fight as the Heartless surrounded them, ready to pounce. "Ready?" Sora asked. "Ready!" Riku, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Goofy, and Donald called out. "Let's go!" Sora said, and so the fight was on. Sora made the first move as he charged toward the Armored Knights. "Let's Go!" Sora shouted as he initiated Prism Windmill, spinning his keyblade like a windmill as he rushed several of the Armored Knights, whacking them into the air. "C'mon!" Goofy said as he jumped onto his shield and began his Goofy Turbo attack, sliding across the snow and hurtling the Ice Cubes into the air, giving Donald some target practice!" "My Turn!" Donald shouted. "TRIPLE FIRAGA!" He then fired three massive fireballs onto the cubes, melting them in the process, while the heat wave got rid of some of them as well. Rarity found herself summoning diamond shaped blades and hurtled them toward some of the Darkballs. However, a Defender was beginning to creep up behind her. "Well, besides the round shaped ones, these monsters do have a very unique fashion sense, I'll give them that." Rarity said as she turned around hoping to speak with one of the others, only to see the black dog's face on the Defender's shield give a low growl. "Oh, not another mutt." She said. Pretty soon, the Defender began to lunge forward, with Rarity giving a loud scream. -CLANG- Opening her eyes, she saw Riku in front of her, using his keyblade to block the Defender's bite. Pushing it back, he then sent out a blast of aura with his Counter Aura, sending the Defender away. It then spun it's shield a bit as the dog gave red glowing eyes, showing that it was going to do a fire attack. Opening it's mouth, the dog on the shield shot out a fireball towards the two. "Ok, I'll play Ping Pong with ya." Riku said as he whacked the fireball back at it, while the shield bounced it back. The two went back and forth until Riku gave one more hit, an the fireball hit the shield, causing the Defender to stagger and lift it's shield up, and unable to bring it down. "Alright, an opening." Riku said as he pointed his keyblade forward, conjuring up a Dark Firaga attack. "Here's mine!" He then shot a purple fireball forward, the sphere moving slowly, but then broke off into multiple smaller shots that shot at the Defender, making it explode. As Riku brushed his bangs a bit, Rarity couldn't help but become lost at his amazing performance, and his handsome face. "Beautiful... just handsomely... beautiful." She said as she began to stand on her hind legs and her front hoof to her face. She then swoon, making Riku quickly catch her. "Are you ok?" He asked. "Yes, I'm fine." Rarity said as she glanced at him. "I feel very close to your right now." "I... What?!" Riku asked confused, while Spike only looked at this moment and only grunted with jealousy. "Oh, c'mon!" Spike said. "What does he have that I don't?" Suddenly, a Darkball appeared behind him. Seeing the spherical shadow before him, the baby dragon turned his head to see it. "WHOOOAA!" He shouted as the Darkball opened it's mouth, until it was shot by a magenta colored shot that hurled it backwards. Spike turned to see Twilight, who blew the steam off her horn. "Spike, be more careful!" She said. "I was!" Spike said. "I just didn't see it coming!" In the air, Rainbow Dash was taking flight, seeing the Wyverns chase after her. "C'mon, you guys know this is a losing battle for you right?" The rainbow maned Pegasus asked the flying heartless. As they charged toward her, she flew up fast, causing them to bash into each other, allowing the rainbow daredevil to stomp them all to the ground. "Piece of Cake." Rainbow Dash said. "Huh?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Who has a piece of cake?!" All in a while, Applejack was galloping as the Winterhorns gave chase. "Gee, they sure know how to gallop like real reindeer." Applejack said. "Hey, lure them to me!" Terra called out. "Alright!" Applejack said as she charged towards him, with the Heartless in pursuit. "They're all yours!" She said. "Thanks!" Terra said as he leapt into the air. "METEOR CRASH!" Slamming down with his keyblade, several meteor fragments appeared behind him and rained down on the Winterhorns, sending them flying. Pretty soon, a Defender made his own charge towards him, only for it's arm holding it's big shield to be lassoed by Applejack's rope, causing it to lose it's balance, allowing Terra to whack it onto it's back. "You got any rocks?" Applejack asked. "Just this one." Terra said as he spun his keyblade and struck down, summoning a Rock column from below the snow. With her apple-bucking legs, Applejack kicked the rock into the Defender, making it poof away. "YEEHAW!" Applejack said. "Nice swinging partner!" "Thanks." Terra said. "Nice kicking too." For Fluttershy, she was looking around, seeing everyone doing their part. But her, she's not much of a fighter. She soon founder herself surrounded by Blizzard Plants and Ice Cubes, which popped right out of the ground, making her yelp and cower. Then suddenly, Aqua appeared before, protecting her from the heartless. "Don't worry." She said. "I'll take care of them." "How?" Fluttershy asked. "With Fire!" Aqua said, twirling her keyblade. "FIRAGA BURST!" She conjured a growing ball of fire into the air, which then began to rain fireballs in all directions, melting the Ice Cubes, and even burning up the Blizzard Plants. With them being ice type heartless, the Fire magic can roast them easily without trouble. Fluttershy stood there amazed by the young woman's bravery, but then she saw a lone Winterhorn ready to charge at her. "Look Out!" Fluttershy called out as she galloped forward, and barged right into the Winterhorn before it could attack Aqua. The butter-colored Pegasus stared right down at the heartless with her stare, not just any stare, though... The Stare. "You monstrous beast!" Fluttershy shouted at the Winterhorn below her. "How dare you charge and attack someone without care!" She then gave it a soft punch with her hoof, causing it to poof away. "Gosh, Fluttershy, I didn't know you were quite aggressive." Discord said from the scarf around her. "Well, it was attacking someone, and I couldn't let that happen." Fluttershy said. "Thank you!" Aqua said, getting her attention. "You were very brave." "Oh, thank you." Fluttershy said with a squee. Twilight was firing multiple beams of energy at the Wyverns above her, taking some of them down, while Sora threw his keyblade at one of the Armored Knights with his Strike Raid. "Are these the Heartless you were talking about?" Twilight asked. "Yeah, though the flying ones, the wizard ones, and the ones with the big shield, I haven't seen those ones in a long time." Sora said. "But how is the witch controlling them?" Twilight asked. "With her dark magic, probably." Sora said. "I'm surprised she isn't a heartless herself." Twilight then spotted three Wizards approaching them. She shot a magic beam at them, but it didn't do anything. They soon then shot out a much more stronger attack at her, causing her to raise her shield. As the attack struck, her shield gave a little crack, but it didn't break. "Magic doesn't work on these ones." Twilight said, just as Ventus ran forward to help her and Sora. "Then maybe this will!" Ventus said as he spun his keyblade. "TORNADO!" As he pointed his keyblade upwards, a small but powerful green tornado began to sprout below the ground, sucking in the Wizard heartless, hurtling them into each other as they spun around and around. "Oooooo!" Pinkie Pie said as she watched the twister go and go. "That looks like fun!" Soon, the tornado attack ended, and the Wizard heartless exploded, releasing the hearts from within them. But then, some more Darkballs appeared before them. "Oh, I'll get these ones!" Pinkie Pie said as she pulled out her Party Cannon. She then shot balls of confetti, hitting each of the Darkballs, making them poof. Ventus glanced at the party pony and her cannon. "You just have that on you?" Ventus asked. "Of course I do." Pinkie Pie said. "I get that a lot." Pretty soon, Sora whacked away a Blizzard Plant, just as Riku bashed another Wizard. "Doesn't get easy, does it." Riku said. "No, but that's the fun part." Sora said, just as more Armored Soldiers appeared, all of them surrounding the two. "Then let's bring it!" Riku said. "Got it!" Sora said as both grabbed each other's hand and performed a mighty Shadowbreaker, sending a Dark spinning attack, followed by another spin attack powered with Light, which slashed through all the Armored Knights. As they watched, Pete was beginning to grow concerned. "Oh, C'mon!" Pete shouted. "I could do better than this!" "What's stopping you?" Maleficent asked. The big brute began to think. Getting beat up by five Keyblade wielders? Definitely not a good sight. "Never mind, just bring more out." Pete said. Despite all the heartless that were juggled into the air by the keyblade wielders and the Mane Six, more heartless began to appear, and pretty soon, they began to surround the group of heroes. "What is it gonna take to get rid of them?" Spike asked. Twilight glanced around and began thinking. Then an idea came to her head. She remembered reading a spell that can lift the monsters up off the ground and leave them immobilized. "I have an idea!" Twilight said. "Everyone stand back!" "Ok!" Sora said as they stood from Twilight, while the lavender unicorn stood her ground, while the heartless began to approach them. Her horn began to glow with aura, and a circle formed around her. "Here goes nothing!" Twilight said as her eyes lit up. "ZERO-GRAVIGA!" She sent out a wave of magic around herself, striking the heartless and causing them all, even the Defenders to float up into the air, trapped in magical sphere. "WHOA!" The rest of the Mane Six said. "Hurry!" Twilight said as she began to struggle with the spell. "I can't keep it up for long!" "Ok, now what?" Ventus asked. "Remember that move we practiced?" Terra asked. "Let's do that." "Ok!" Ventus said. "Need a hand?" Sora asked. "The more the merrier!" Aqua said. "Ok!" Riku said as they all joined together, pointing their keyblades together, all of them glowing with a magical aura, much to Donald and Goofy's surprise. "UNISON RUSH!" All five of them said, and they all rushed forward with mighty powerful dash attacks all over, striking all the heartless that were trapped airborne. Then, connecting together, they made one lash dash towards the center, finishing with a mighty wave attack that wiped out all the heartless in the area. With the heartless gone, Twilight ended her spell and nearly dropped to the floor. "Twilight!" Spike said as he, and the girls rushed forward to help her up. "Are you ok?" The baby dragon asked, showing a face of worry. The lavender unicorn shook her head. "Yeah, I'm ok Spike." Twilight said. "Are you sure, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "That was quite a powerful spell." Rarity said. "No, really." Twilight said. "I'm fine. I just never casted that spell before. But thank you." "That was pretty awesome, Twilight." Rainbow Dash said as she gave her friend a hug. Soon, all of them glanced up to see Sora, Riku, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus glide to the ground. "Sora!" Donald and Goofy called as they rushed over. "That went well." Sora said as Riku gave a chuckle. "Good goin' fellas!" Goofy said. "Thanks." Sora said. "We did pretty good." "Yeah, we sure did." Riku said. "Feels like old times." Terra said. "We make a good team." Aqua said. "You bet." Ventus said. "But we couldn't have done it without Twilight." Sora said, glancing at the lavender unicorn. "Excellent A+." "Oh, thanks." Twilight said as she gave a blush. "Well, I could've done better." Donald said. "I think we all did great." Goofy said. "Oh yes, definitely." Fluttershy said. "YIPPIE!" Pinkie Pie said as she began to hop and cheer. "We Won the Fight! Victory Dance!" She began to dance with a can-can technique, causing the group to laugh. But suddenly, they heard clapping. Turning his head, he saw D, who was applauding? "Bravo!" D said. "What a spectacular performance!" The hooded figure turned his head, seeing Maleficent, Pete, and Neighsay glaring at him, making him slow down his clapping and stop. "What?" He asked. "Why are you cheering them?" Neighsay asked. "They just wiped our your monsters!" "Well, you have to admire their valiant performance." D said. Maleficent only sighed. "So... you were saying, Maleficent?" Sora asked. "So you may have not lost your edge." Maleficent said. "But nothing can prepare you for what we plan to do. I believe it's time we give him a proper introduction." She glanced over to the hooded man and gave a nod. With a smile under his hood, he raised his hand into the air. "Alright, let us light this candle!" He called out as he slammed his fist into the ground, and then suddenly, the floor began to shake. The snow in front of him began to crack open, emitting a stream of black smoke from inside. "Hey Shadow King, come out and play!" D shouted as he raised his hands in the air. And then... -BURST- The crack opened up, revealing a giant black ghostly spirit to emerge from below. The spirit was of a stallion's face, with a jet black mane, green eyes with red pupils, and a red horn on his forehead. And there were some sharp teeth too! It must be the Shadow Pony! He let out a growl, that sounded like a lion's roar. "Oh No!" Donald shouted. "It's the Shadow King!" Goofy called out. "Oh right, forgot about that." Sora said. "Well, let's see how you all handle this big guy." D said. As the shadowy beast let out a mighty screech, Sora scanned the area. They may have fought off the heartless, but they don't want to waste all of their strength now. Right now, the best thing to do is stall the spirit so everyone else can get to the Empire. "Riku, get everyone to the Empire!" Sora shouted. "But what about you?" Riku asked. "We got this!" Sora said with confidence. "Ok." Riku said with a nod. "Everyone, Fall back! To the Crystal Empire!" "Alright!" Aqua said as she and Terra followed Riku. "C'mon, Ven!" Terra called out, getting his attention. "But what about Sora?" Ventus asked. "Don't worry, he's got this!" Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed the boy off his voice and flew off with the rest. "Sora!" Twilight called out. "Twilight, you and the girls follow Riku and the others." Sora said. "We'll catch up. Now go!" The lavender unicorn gave a nod. "Ok, let's go girls!" Twilight called as she, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy followed the others. Turning her head, she saw Pinkie Pie looking at the Shadow King's spirit with a giggle. "Pinkie, come on!" The lavender unicorn called out. "Laughing at it isn't going to help!" "Awww, it doesn't look that scary." Pinkie Pie said. "He just needs a hug, that's all." Suddenly, the spirit let out a loud roar upon the party pony, making her mane to blow and her happy face shift to horror. "AHHHHH!!!!" She screamed as Twilight picked her up with her magic, and then flung Spike onto her back. "SO SCARY!!!" "Be careful, Sora!" Twilight called out. "You got it!" Sora assured. "How come we can't go with them?" Donald asked. "Donald!" Goofy said as he raised his shield up, seeing the spirit looking down upon them. Donald quickly took action and readied his staff. "Ok, get ready!" Sora said as he, Donald, and Goofy stood ground. But suddenly, they saw the spirit moving closer to them, and growing to a much bigger size. It began to ignite it's horn and suddenly, the snow began to seep up towards the Shadow spirit, transforming into a huge body with arms, legs, and a face that resembled the spirit's. With it's not body, it looked down at the trio. -ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRR!!!- It let out a loud roar that blew into Sora, Donald, and Goofy. While it didn't blow them away, the three stood there in complete shock. "Ok, Plan B..." Sora said. "RUUUUUUUNNN!!!!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, while Donald and Goofy also screamed in terror as the three took off running, with the giant Shadow Snowman ran off after them. Seeing them running away made Pete laugh. "Guess they're not so tough after all, aren't they." He said. Despite taking some enjoyment from this, the Mistress of Evil knew that Sora and his friends were still going to be a big problem to her plans. The trio continued to keep running across the snow as the Shadow Snowman chased after them. It seems they weren't counting on the Shadow Pony to give itself have a body made out of snow. "That was Plan B?!" Donald asked. "I didn't know it could turn into a snowman!" Sora said. "Well, this ain't the first time we got chased by one!" Goofy said. "If only there were some trees we could plunge at it." "Where do we go?!" Donald asked. "To the Empire!" Sora said. "But what about the monster after us?" Goofy asked, pointing at the Shadow Snowman still after them. "Uh... I'm thinking about it!" Sora said. The three continued running as the Shadow Snowman chased after them. Suddenly, Donald tripped over and fell flat on the floor. Turning around, Sora and Goofy saw the royal wizard on the ground, turning up and seeing the Shadow Snowman approach him, ready to attack. "QUAAAAACK!" Donald shouted in fear. "Donald!" Sora and Goofy called out. Suddenly, Sora felt a pat on his shoulder. Turning right, he saw a hand, but it wasn't Goofy or Riku's hand. Looking up, he saw that it was a man. Heavy-set and muscular he was, dark skinned too. His clothes consisted of a off-white puffer vest with a fish-net shirt, green pants and brown boots. His hair was styled, arranged in cornrows, he had black eyes, and a skull tattoo was on his left arm. Raising his right hand, which was a steel hand, it transformed into a cannon! "HAAAAA!" The man shouted as he fired his arm cannon, shooting the Shadow Snowman with rapid fire energy shots, causing him to yelp backwards. With the opportunity at hand, Donald rushed towards the others with relief. Sora and Goofy were shocked but amazed to see this fellow. After shooting, the man turned his head to look at the three, showing that he was wearing a pair of shades. "Whaddup, little britches?" He asked. "Wha… who are you?" Sora asked. "Barret's the name!" The man, Barret said. "Now look out! We got some company!" The trio looked ahead and saw a squadron of heartless appearing onto the field. Consisting of Blizzard Plants, Winterhorns, and of course a Chill Ripper, the armored humanoid heartless with it's legs sporting white spikes, a helmet with a black antennae, and it's blades were jagged, and made of ice. "Hope these punks like a taste for a Grenade Bomb!" Barret shouted as his arm cannon shot out a grenade into the group of enemies, and as it exploded, the Heartless were blasted with damage, with some of the Blizzard Plants smoking in flames. "Sora, Donald, Goofy!" Another yet familiar voice called out. "On your left!" Turning to their left, they saw a young woman with dark brown hair, though it appeared black, reaching the middle of her back. Her leather suit consisted a white tank top under a black zip-up vest with black overhauled shorts that fold at the waist, forming an additional utility pocket at the front and short duster at the back extending to her heels. She wore black shoes, short black gloves, and her eyes were brownish red. Now this was someone they knew well! "Tifa!" The three called out with joy. The girl gave a nod and smile as she dashed past the group of enemies, ran towards Chill Ripper. "Let's do this!" She said. "BEAT RUSH!" She then threw multiple punches at the Chill Ripper and gave him an uppercut that sent him down to the ground. "Arf! Arf!" The sounds of an animal barking caught their ears, making the three musketeers turn to see who else was coming. Rushing into the battlefield was a quadrupedal animal with dark red and orange fur with a thin brown mane. His right eye was scarred and the remaining eye is ochre. He is adorned with a variety of beads, earrings and feathers around his head, with golden pastern braces and brands on his legs, one of them with the roman numeral XIII. Besides the flaming tail, the feline creature had black patterns on his legs and what appears to be face paint. Now that's something nobody sees everyday. Whatever this creature was, he leaped forward and gnarled on top of one of the Winterhorns with a Sled Fang strike, and spun around in a circle, using his flame tail to send a wave of fire around himself and burnt the other Winterhorns and the Blizzard Plants to the ground. "Who's that?" Sora asked. "Probably their pet?" Goofy asked. Suddenly, more Wyverns and Defenders appeared behind the trio, making them turn around surprised. "We're surrounded!" Donald shouted. But then, Sora noticed something behind the heartless, a little twinkle. It was a big four bladed Ninja Star coming in hot, striking one of the Wyverns in the air. Suddenly, a puff of smoke appeared before the three, revealing none other than the great ninja Yuffie, who grapped her Ninja Star as it came back. "Have no fear!" She said. "Yuffie's On The Scene!" "Yuffie!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy said. The girl glanced back with a wink. "Hey guys!" She said. "Been a while, hasn't it." Suddenly, a Defender rushed in to attack with it's big shield. "Look out!" Sora shouted. But then... "ROUGH DIVIDE!" A voice shouted, revealing Leon, bringing a mighty slash with his Revolver Gunblade, which was a gun with a long blade, which destroyed the attack Defender. "Leon!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy said with joy, with the man giving a smile, while Yuffie looked confused. "You're welcome." Leon said. "Uh... I had that." Yuffie said. "No you didn't." Leon said, then he aimed his gun blade and fired a fire bullet, shooting down the remaining Wyvern. "And you missed another one." "That was on purpose!" Yuffie said. "Guys, over here!" Tifa called as jumped back with the group, as the Chill Ripper rose back up to it's feet, and prepared to spin it's arms, giving a Freezing Spin Attack. It charged forward. "Incoming!" Barret shouted as he and everyone dodged out of the way, while Donald managed to roll away just an inch from the attack. With it dazed from it's own spin, the red lion-creature made a jump forward and pounced upon it, biting it on the back of it's head. But the chilling bladed Heartless shook itself, shaking the feline off of him and across the snow. "That didn't work." Sora said. Suddenly, from behind Yuffie, a blue furball alien jumped out, and rolled across the snow right in front of the Chill Ripper. To Sora's surprise, it was Stitch! "Hey, isn't that?" Sora said. "Stitch, go get him!" Yuffie called out. The blue alien glanced up at the Chill Ripper, who glanced down at him, tilting it's head in confusion. "Stupid head." Stitch said as he extended all four arms out, each of them holding an energy blaster. He then began to fire rapid plasma bullets at the Chill Ripper, causing it to shake and back away as it was bombarded with blast after blast, while the little blue alien laughed. Soon, the Chill Ripper began to feel too much damage upon him. "Why don't we finish this." Leon said as he raised his Gunblade in the air, making it glow with energy to summon a larger blade. He then leaped up and swung it down, striking the chilling Heartless before him, and breaking of it's ice swords in the process. "He's all yours, big guy!" Leon said to Barret, he gave a smile. "Ok, stay back everyone!" He said as he took over and charged up his cannon. "Get ready for a CATESTROPHE!" With his cannon charged up, he fired multiple blasts upon the Heartless, causing it to explode and release it's captive heart. All the other remaining heartless that were left were blown away and gone. "Yeah!" Sora cheered. "Oh boy!" Donald said as he and Goofy waved their hands. Suddenly, the ground shook a bit, just as the massive Shadow Snowman rose back up to it's feet, and let out a loud roar, while emitting black crystal spikes all over it's limbs, hands, and even face. "Uh oh!" Goofy said as everyone stood their ground. Stitch, surprised by this snowman, quickly rushed back and jumped into Yuffie's arms. "I gotcha buddy!" She said as he held him close. "It's gonna take more to take this thing down." Sora said. "Somebody Help Us!" Donald shouted. The Shadow Snowman let out a roar and charged towards the group, ready to bring a massive attack. "That the best you can do?" Sora's eyes widened, hearing that familiar voice. It wasn't Riku, but he glanced up, to see someone leaping up behind them with a massive sword, and swing down upon the Shadow Snowman with a down-thrust strike, causing it to fall back to the ground. As the snowy dust began to settle, Sora looked forward to see the sword the man was carrying. It was a long thick blade, or broadsword in this case, and it seemed to be a six-piece sword assemble, dubbed the Fusion Sword, wrapped in bandages. It wasn't just the sword that Sora recognized, but the man holding it as well! Holding it was a man with spikey hair like Sora, but it was blonde, and the man had a lighter shade of blue eyes. His attire consisted of a high collar sleeveless indigo shirt, with black pants and boots. A black sleeve-like cloth covered his left arm, while a long cloth covered his left leg as well. He had a shoulder pauldron, two straps around his body and shoulders, held together by a Fenrir wolf badge! Sora, Donald, and Goofy smiled, seeing this familiar man and called out his name. "Cloud!" They called. That's right. Cloud Strife. The man they befriended during their first visit to the Olympus Coliseum, as well as their comrade in the Battle for Hollow Bastion! Hearing his name, he glanced back at the group. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, good to see you again." He said. "You too!" Sora said as Donald and Goofy cheered. Cloud then glanced at the others. "Alright, which one of you is paying me?" He asked. "She is." The rest said, pointing at Yuffie. "Hey!" She shouted. Pretty soon, the Shadow Snowman got up, letting out another roar, getting his attention. "Ok, this one's mine then." Cloud said as he held his sword, ready to fight. He then rushed forward, while the snowman prepared to strike. Then, Cloud rolled out of the way and brought a swinging attack upwards, striking the snowman. I began to swing it's arm, but then the SOLDIER boy leaped backwards and performed a Blade Beam, unleashing an energy slash across the ground and it struck the Shadowy Snowy monster. The Shadow Snowman only shouted as he began to charge with multiple slashes with it's hands, while Cloud jumped up and off the snowman's head, making it dizzy. Jumping behind it, he raised his sword. "CROSS-SLASH!" Cloud called out, while a mysterious Kanji appeared before him, and then he slashed and swung, striking the Snowman a couple times, while the slashes formed the Kanji at the same time! The snowman only growled and swung upwards, striking Cloud and tossing him into the air. "Cloud!" The others called out in worry. As he began to fall towards the Shadow Snowman, who was ready to swing again, Cloud opened his eyes and gave a smirk. He somersaulted and dashed right through the beast. "YAH!" He shouted as he initiated his Finishing Touch technique, spinning rapidly while everything slowed down around him, his spin attack creating a tornado around him, which lifted the snowman up in the air with surprise. And then, Cloud began to glow a blue crystal sky color. "Time to finish this." He said as leaped upwards towards the snowman. "OMNISLASH!" He then slashed the Shadow Snowman four times, dashed through then three more times, followed by five more times, two more, and then... One Final Slash! He sliced through the Shadow Snowman, making a perfect landing while the snowman fell yards behind him to the ground, crumbling up to pieces... of snow, of course. Seeing that amazing display brought joy and cheer for the rest of group, all of them cheering to Cloud's victory. "Way to go, Cloud!" Sora said. "Thanks, and your welcome, by the way." Cloud said as he approached them. "Show off." Leon said with a smirk. "Look who's talking." Cloud responded back as Yuffie, Tifa, and Barret chuckled. Donald glanced forward and saw the Shadowy Snowman crumbled up. "Ha!" Donald shouted at it. "We know snowmen who are much nicer than you!... Well, two anyway." Suddenly, from what was left of the pieces of snow, the spirit of the Shadow King rose up again, letting out a roar. Seeing this, Barret fired his energy cannon, shooting it with multiple energy bullets. They weren't very effective however, as the Shadow King gave a growl of anger. "Shooting this bad boy's gonna piss him off!" Barret said. "Let's Go!" "Sounds good to me." Cloud said. "C'mon!" Tifa said as she, Cloud, Barret and their red feline companion quickly ran for it. "Follow us!" Leon shouted as he and Yuffie followed them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy went on with them, just as the Shadow Pony gave a loud roar and gave pursuit. "Where's the entrance?!" Sora asked. "Over there!" Leon called out. The boy saw two pink pillars standing side by side, with two purple crystals and one dark blue crystal hover between them. He also saw Riku and the others calling out to them, and Aerith and Cid was with them. "Over here!" Riku called out. "Hurry!" Twilight said. "Quick, get in here!" Cid called out. "We're almost there!" Sora said as they kept running, with Goofy looking over his shoulder, seeing the giant black spirit getting closer. "He's right behind us!" Goofy said. The group continued running and running. They passed through the two crystal pillars, making it inside the entrance, while the Shadow spirit however, was bounced off by a mysterious glass barrier around the entrance, showing that a magic shield was preventing him from getting inside. Sora, Donald, and Goofy nearly dropped to the ground with relief, thankful that they made it. "We made it!" Donald said, as Sora turned around. "Look!" Sora said with a smile, pointing at the Shadow King, who was trying so hard to get through the barrier, but with no success! He couldn't get in. So they were safe! "Yahoo!" Goofy said as he cheered, and everyone cheered as well. Sora took a few steps forward, seeing the spirit unable to get inside. "No so tough now, are you!" Sora called out. He, Donald, and Goofy gave a funny face, taunting the Shadow Pony. The Shadow Pony however, quickly surged towards the face of the barrier, letting out a roar, causing the three to jump back with surprise, while Leon readied his Gunblade, Yuffie pulled out her Ninja Star while Stitch looked on with a hiss, Barret aimed his arm cannon, Cloud his Fusion Sword, with Tifa and Red XIII ready to fight. "Whoa..." Sora said by the shadow monster's reply. Then, slowly, the Shadowy Spirit began to take shape, transforming into a dark gray stallion, with a black jet spikey mane and tail, red eyes with deep scarlet pupils, and his horn was curved, smooth, and sharp at the tip, gradient from dark gray to red. He wore silver armor on his legs and neck, a grown with horn-like points on his head, and a red cape over his flank. It was him! The Unicorn King Master Yen Sid told them about. It was him, in the flesh. The girls nearly whimpered while Rainbow Dash stood her ground. Twilight gasped as she saw the dark unicorn, with Spike hiding behind her. "Is that...?" She asked. "King Sombra…" Sora said. On the other side of the shield, the Unicorn King, tapped his hoof on the barrier. "Very impressive." Sombra spoke, his voice sounding sinister and low, like a certain Sith Lord with markings on his face. "But your precious barrier won't protect you forever." He gave a wicked chuckle as he transformed into a black cloud and disappeared back into the snowy blizzard, while the others watched. "What the hell was that thing?" Barret asked. "Definitely not your average pony." Cloud said. "Don't think that will be the last time we see him." Goofy said. "Yeah." Sora said with a sigh. He then turned to Leon and the others, happy to see them. "Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, it's good to see you guys again." Sora said. "Good to see you too, Sora." Leon said "Well, ain't you boys in top shape." Cid said. "You have some nerve leaving us out of your last adventure, mister!" Yuffie said sternly, but playfully. Hearing that made Sora blush and give a nervous smile. "Sorry, we had a lot of people to save." Sora said. "Just relax, Yuffie." Aerith said as she patted the ninja's shoulder, while Stitch gave a happy chuckle. "Alright, I'm cool." Yuffie said. "Better seeing you late than never." Seeing these new people were surprising to Twilight, Spike, and the girls. The lavender unicorn approached Sora. "Um, Sora?" Twilight asked, as the other girls approached them too. "Mind introducing your friends?" "Oh, right!" Sora said. "Guys, this is Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid, the Restoration Committee of Radiant Garden." "His real name is actually Squall." Yuffie whispered, pointing to Leon. "It's Leon." He corrected. "Ahem." Tifa spoke, getting their attention. "Oh, and this is Cloud and Tifa." Sora said. "Great to see you as well, Sora." She answered as Cloud gave a nod. "I take it you found who you were looking for?" "Sure have." He answered. "So, where were you guys?" "We had stuff to take care of back at Midgar… or whatever's left of it actually." Cloud said. "Midgar?" Sora asked, as Donald and Goofy looked at each other confused. A sudden voice got their attention, making them turn to Barret. "Oh, we haven't been introduced." Sora said. "You must be-" "Barret." He said. "Hello, Barret." Sora said. "I'm Sora, and this is Donald and Goofy." "Howdy there." Goofy said. "So you're the funny wisecrackers Tifa told me about." Barret said with a cocky grin. "I can see why." The three tilted their heads. Wisecrackers? "What does that mean?" Donald asked. "It's a compliment." Tifa said. "A true compliment." Yuffie said into the royal wizard's ear, making him sigh. "And who's this fella right here?" Goofy asked, looking straight at the red lion creature. "That is a good question, now is it?" It spoke... Wait, What?! The feline just talked, making Sora and Donald gasp with surprise. "Whoa, he talked?" Sora asked. "Yes, I talk." The feline creature spoke. "Red XIII is the name that was given to me. And I am what you see before you. Nothing more." "Amazing!" Twilight spoke as she popped from behind the trio. "You're a talking feline creature? How fascinating!" She quickly took a pencil and a clipboard, ready to write down things about him. "And there she goes again." Spike said. "Tell me, where are you from, and what species are you?" Twilight asked with excitement. "Not much is known about my species, and I am the only one of my kind left." Red XIII answered. Hearing that made Twilight surprised. "Oh." She said, with Spike stepping in between them. "Sorry, she can get like this when she sees something new." Spike said. "Well, it's good to see all of you again." Sora said. "Thanks for helping us." Goofy said. "You'll be thanking us a lot more." Leon said as he pointed forward. "Look at that." Seeing to what he was pointing towards, the trio gasped with surprise. "Wow!" Sora said with amazement. Just beyond the plains of grass stood a huge kingdom, sparkling with sparkles due to it's shiny and crystal appearance. There were red and blue crystal-like buildings that lined up in different heights, but the kicker was the massive crystal palace that stood in the center of the town! This was it! The Crystal Empire! THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE "No way..." Ventus said with a smile. "Fascinating." Terra said. "It's beautiful." Aqua said. "The Crystal Empire!" Donald said. "We made it!" Everyone was taking this moment to see the view. "Now that sure is a beauty." Cid said. As Fluttershy looked with awe, Discord glanced from under her scarf, amazed by the Empire's beauty. "Wow... that is certainly breathtaking." He said as Fluttershy gave a giggle hearing that. "We better head to the castle." Riku said. "Mickey and the others should be expecting us." "You mean King Mickey." Donald said a bit annoyed. "Donald, if Riku wants to call the King by his first name, let him." Sora said. "They're friends, you know." "But still." Donald said. "Just lighten up, wizard boy." Rainbow Dash said as she flipped the duck's hat forward, making him grumble. The large group began to make their way to the city. As they went on, Twilight, while amazed by the Crystal Empire, still had a lot on her mind. Cadance was here, so that meant Shining Armor was here. Her brother. She still remembered how he talked her down and left her for some bride that was horrible to her friends. Of course, she probably deserved it since she acted like a jealous little sister. But it still hurt, and she still resented him for that. That was the worse thing he had ever done. "You ok?" Twilight lifted her head up to see Sora looking at her. Looking around, she saw that she wasn't moving. She was just standing there, thinking. "Yeah." Twilight said, though she looked a bit conflicted. Sora had a good idea what it could be. "It's about your brother, is it?" Sora asked. "How'd you know?" Twilight asked. "Oh right, you were told." The boy tilted his head. "You're a bit hesitant to speak with him, are you." Sora said. "Yes, I am." Twilight said. "It's still there. My anger." "It's ok to feel angry, Twilight." Sora said. "But you don't need to hold a grudge." "I know, but I still feel the sting." Twilight said. "Out of all the ponies involved, Shining Armor was the one who hurt me the most. What he said to me hurt. It really hurt." "I know." Sora said. "But you can't avoid him forever." "True." Twilight said as she glanced at the ground. She knew that she was going to have to talk with him sooner or later. So might as well let it be sooner. "Well, I guess I'll have to talk to him." Twilight said. "Though I'm not sure if I'll like it though." "Just don't go overboard, ok?" Sora asked. "Try and be nice to him." "I can't promise you that, Sora." Twilight said. "But I'll try." "Ok." Sora said with a nod. "Sora!" Donald called out, getting their attention. "C'mon, let's get to the castle!" Goofy called out. The boy and the lavender unicorn gave each other a nod and went towards town, ready to enter the Crystal Empire. Outside the barrier, Pete was examining the massive sky colored, yet invisible dome, and began poking at it. Moving his head sideways, then upways, he then walked back, and turned, facing the dome, while Maleficent, Neighsay, King Sombra, and D watched. "Alright, here goes nuttin'!" Pete said, and then he gave a quick charge toward the dome. -BAM- He slammed head first into the barrier, making a funny face as his head impacted the dome. He then fell backwards into the snow, and shook his head as he lifted himself up. "He keeps doing that, he's gonna smash his head." D said. "Darn, it won't open!" Pete said as he got up to his feet. "This thing is as hard as metal." "I thought you all were experts at this sort of stuff." Neighsay said, annoyed by Pete's inability to break the barrier. Maleficent took another look at the barrier, sensing it's magic. "It seems to be powered by King Mickey's magic." Maleficent said. "Still, The barrier will weaken in time. Nothing will not save these little ponies when it collapses." "Don't be so sure, Maleficent." D said. "If Friendship was able to lighten Twilight Sparkle's heart, then Friendship could do the same for them." "It won't matter." Pete said. "This whole empire is going to be ours, one way or another!" "No... it won't." Sombra's response caught the two off guard. "What?" Maleficent asked. "Excuse me?" Neighsay asked. "Huh?" D asked. "The Crystal Empire will be nothing but ruins once I'm done with it." Sombra hissed as he turned around. "They won't keep the barrier up forever. I think it's time that I call my family." "Family?" Pete asked. "The Umbrum." Sombra spoke. Maleficent's eyes widened, as if a strong force of fear had taken over. "WHAT?!" She asked. "No, you will do no such thing!" Her brutal lackey turned to him in confusion while Sombra turned his head. "I beg your pardon?" Sombra asked. "We had a deal." Maleficent said vigorously. "You said that if we helped you conquer the Crystal Empire, you would help us conquer Equestria!" "And Equestria will be yours." Sombra said. "But not when the Umbrum are released!" Maleficent said. "Wait, what are these Umbrum you speak of?" Neighsay asked. "They're demons." Maleficent said. "They are wicked beings of unspeakable darkness who want nothing but to destroy everything in their path. If you release them, they will burn the entire world to the ground!" Hearing that made the Chancellor's eyes widen. "What?" Neighsay asked. Pete stood there a mere second to think about it, then had a good idea what she meant by burning the world to the ground." "You don't say." Pete said. The Shadow king only gave a cold glare to the witch. "So you defy me?" Sombra asked. "If you recall, I agreed to help you take over Equestria should you release me and help me conquer the Crystal Empire, and now you're going against our deal?" "Wait, there wasn't anything about burning the world down." Neighsay said. "Our goal is to conquer it, not burn it." "SILENCE!" Sombra shouted as Neighsay backed away, and Pete hid behind the witch. "As I said, I promised to help you take over Equestria if you allow me to do what I wish with the Empire, and burning it down is fitting enough for me." "But releasing the Umbrum was not part of the deal!" Maleficent said. "And I say we don't unleash the Umbrum. They'll destroy everything in their path without care!" "And come to think of it mister black and bad, we got you out of your icy cage." Pete said to the Shadow King. "I remember that you said that you'll do what we say. So I say we don't use these... Umbrum thingies you were talking about." The shadow king only smirked with an evil smile. "Well if anything, I was never promising you anything." Sombra said as he leaped back. "I am a King!... no, I am an Emperor! And I shall make you do what I say!" His horn then lit up, charging up with all the dark magic he could. Maleficent was readying her staff, preparing to counter with her own magic, as Pete only hid behind her. "Uhhh... my dear, I think we should run." Pete said. Maleficent only smiled. "He is no match for me..." The witch spoke, lifting her staff into the sky. "Thunder and Lightning, head my call, teach him a lesson, once and for all!!!" Then, a black greenish cloud hovered above her head, as she swirled her staff a couple times and fired a powerful lightning attack. "DARK THUNDAGA!" She shouted as her staff fired a dark and green bolt of lightning at the Unicorn King, who did not look worried at all. The thunderbolt hit, creating a mighty dust cloud. The witch smiled, seeing her work done. But as the smoke cleared, Sombra was still standing, completely unharmed. "HUH!?" Pete asked. "He's still ok?!" "Foolis witch." King Sombra said. "I am an Umbrum. Your magic is no match for me." With that said, the Shadow King's eyes began to glow green, with purplish smoke coming out of his eyes. His horn began to charge up with purple and green energy. Then with all the magic he could, he fired straight at the witch. To their surprise, D leaped in and held his arms up, shielding the two from the blast. "What are you doing?!" Neighsay asked. "Stand back." D said as he held his arms up as the dark magical bullet struck him. As it made impact, there was an explosion that consumed him. "Yes..." He said. But then suddenly, the explosion stopped spreading and was sucked back into the hooded man's hand, who was completely unharmed. Neighsay gasped at what he saw, while the shadow king's eyes widened. "What?" Sombra asked. "Oooh... that tickled..." He said, his hand conjuring up an electric sphere. "ULTIMA!" He then pushed his hand out, firing the sphere at the Shadow king, which exploded upon impact, hurling Sombra straight into the barrier. Luckily, the barrier didn't burn him, but it bounced him into the snow, and he felt severe pain from the attack. That attack hurted him? How was that possible? Pete's mouth dropped as he saw what just happened. Their accomplice just defeated the Shadow King and survived what could've killed him. "Impossible..." Neighsay said, surprised himself. "Whoa..." Pete said. "Facinating..." Maleficent said, also amazed. "Why do I feel like I've seen this power before?" The hooded man began brushing dust off his chest and chuckle. "You really should've conserved your energy." He said, approaching the shadow king. "I can pretty much do anything... anything that you cannot imagine." Sombra lifted himself up and charged straight forward to stab this figure with his horn. But the man disappeared in a flash, surprising the shadow king. The man suddenly appeared next to him. "Missed." D said, who then grabbed Sombra by his horn. As he squeezed it Sombra felt pain soaring through his body, causing his legs to be locked and make him kneel to the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry, does it hurt so much?" The mysterious foe asked. "Well it should. It shows not even kings are as strong as they say." The shadow king tried to retaliate, but he couldn't. Who was this man? And how is it that he is holding him in place. The man smiled as he glanced at the unicorn, reading his mind. "Ahhhh, now I see." He said. "You were once a normal unicorn who lived in the Crystal Empire, bullied by others because you were different. I can see so much pain inside you. Loss, fear, and... love... for a pony... who is as radiant as all hoped could be..." "Enough!" The man turned to glance at the witch. "Let him go." Maleficent said. "Are you sure?" D asked. "Yes." The witch assured him. "We are finished here." Pete on the other hand looked at his mistress with surprise. "Huh?" He asked. "After all the trouble of letting him out? I actually don't see any harm of letting these Umbrum out of their ca-" "I said, we are done here!" Maleficent said. The shadow king raised an eyebrow, just as the man released him. Sombra only panted as he tried to gather his strength, while the witch only approached a couple feet to him. "Unlike you, I can be merciful." She said. "The Crystal Empire is yours to do as you wish. Just don't interfere with our plans." The shadow king only glared at the wicked witch, but sighed. He then gave a hateful glare at the hooded figure. "Fine..." He said. "As long as you let me be..." The witch gave a smile and departed, with the hooded man, and Neighsay following suit. Pete took one look at the shadow king and left with them, shaking his head in disappointment. Not in Sombra's skills, but in how much time was wasted letting him out. The shadow king only grunted in his own disappointment, and glanced back at the Crystal Empire. "More work for me then." He said. "I must release the Umbrum." He then began to walk beside the massive barrier on his way, taking a glance back at the shield, seeing his reflection. However, his reflection then disappeared, and displayed a unicorn with artic blue eyes. Her mane was pale light grayish crystal blue, and her coat was grayish heliotrope. Her cutie mark represented a long staff with wings at the top and two snakes surrounding it. "You're not a monster Sombra... I know you're not..." She spoke. Sombra's eyes widened as he saw her. He shook his head, only to see his own reflection again. He turned away, thinking it was just a fantasy. "I can't believe it!" Pete complained, as he, Maleficent, Neighsay and the hooded man made their way to the train station. "All that carving and ice breaking for nothing!" "Excuse me, I did the carving and breaking." D said. "But you did it without trouble." Pete said. "He can have the Crystal Empire." Maleficent said. "So long as he does not pose any threat against us." She then turned her attention toward the hooded man. "I'm quite impressed with your skills. You seem to be much more than you take on. Did you learn those moves from... a friend of mine?" "I have no relations to Xehanort." The man said. "And no, I didn't. That was just the warm up of what you saw. I've had my own fair shares of magic, one that is years beyond what you and your people are capable of." "You know, you never did say why you are helping us." Maleficent said. "For what reason is it that you're interested in this world?" "Oh don't worry, you'll know soon enough." D said. "But all of it lies somewhere in Canterlot. And that is why we need a great army to take it." "And this army is your little rag team of evil doers?" Maleficent asked. "Yep." The cloaked man said. "They're gonna help us big time, but we're still gonna need an army to take over Canterlot, a bigger army." "But there is only one flaw with your plan, sir." Neighsay said. "We don't have a big army." "Yeah!" Pete said. "We can't conquer Equestria since Shadow King isn't going to help us! So what are we going to do?" "Oh, will you stop gawking?" Maleficent said. "We just need a proper replacement, that's all." As she and the buffoon were arguing, The man began thinking, and an idea came to her head. "There is one..." He said. "One what?" Pete asked. "Someone who can help us and give us the army we need to take over Equestria." D said. "Who?" Neighsay asked. "You know who, Chancellor." D said glancing back at him. Neighsay gasped, knowing full well who he was talking about. "No, we're not asking her." Neighsay said. "Last time I helped her, it didn't work!" "But it will this time." D said, as Maleficent and Pete glanced at each other, knowing little who they were talking about. "How is this any different than last time?" Neighsay asked. "We got friends, and we're going to make her our friend too." D said. "We all want one thing. World Domination. Isn't that right?" "I honestly don't think this is a good idea." Neighsay said. "She might still be angry with me if she finds out I was just using her." "Now Chancellor." D said as he approached the stallion. "Don't be going back on your word, now. You promised me that you'll be able to get me into the Vault if I helped you get rid of the Princesses for your Unicorn Movement. And besides, I was the one who got you out of those chains back at the old castle and I can just lock you back up in there." The man's voice sounded a little more threatening as he spoke the rest of his sentence, and his hand began to spark with dark misty magic, making Neighsay gasp. "Is that what you want?" D asked. "Is it?" The Chancellor stood there, knowing well that D isn't a fool. Actually, he doesn't even know D well at all, or who he truly is. But Neighsay knew if he went against his word, D will not think twice about going against his own word either. "No." The Chancellor said. "Not at all..." "Excellent." D said with a smile, as he patted the stallion's head. "Now you go and spy on the Princesses for us, ok? "Of course." Neighsay said, feeling a little uncomfortable by the man's shifting moods. But he ignited his horn and summoned a magical portal. He then went on in, leaving D with Maleficent and Pete. "What just happened?" Pete asked. "A lot, to be precise." Maleficent said. "Now, I'm going to go pick her up." D said as he took his own leave. "I just hope she and her forces were hurtled all the way to the south." "She?" Maleficent asked. "You'll see." D said as he waved his hand and summoned a dark corridor. "I'll be back soon." He then went inside and disappeared along with the corridor, while Maleficent and Pete watched with confusion. "Is it just me or does he not tell us everything?" Pete asked. "Just who is this guy?" The witch however didn't listen to the last part. She was more focused on how that man was able to conjure up Ultima, one of the most powerful spell attacks every known. "There's something very ancient about him." Maleficent said. "Somehow he's not who exactly I thought he was..."