//------------------------------// // Shadow Play (Part 1) // Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria // by Codex92 //------------------------------// The best elements within us can spread light and virtue, and I know ponies who represent them all: strength, bravery, healing, beauty, hope, and sorcery. Myself and these Pillars of Equestria were gathered together by another to maintain and share the light of these powerful ideals. But one other who was supposed to be our ally only wanted that power for himself. Cast out and alone, this power-mad pony turned to darkness to satisfy his thirst. Transformed into a Pony of Shadows, he returned for revenge; to extinguish the Pillars' light and rob the world of hope. To stop him, the pillars and I must make a grave sacrifice. But we shall leave behind a seed in hopes that one day it will grow into a force to stand against the darkness for all time. We must now face the fiend with the only plan we have. I only hope it will be enough. "'...I only hope it will be enough.'" It had been a couple days since Sunburst's visit to Ponyville, and he's already come back to Canterlot, gathering everyone to the castle after realizing he had discovered the journal of Star Swirl the Bearded in his collection of antiques. He read aloud the last entry in the old wizard's journal, which also showed illustrations of the events before the writing ended. There were depictions of Star Swirl and the other five Pillars of Equestria, who just so happened to be Rockhoof, Flash Magnus, Mistmane, Somnambula, and Mage Meadowbrook; five ponies of legend who were known for their greatest feats throughout the kingdom over a thousand years ago. The next few pages showed a young gray unicorn colt with a mane of cerulean and arctic blue, taking the six relics that represented the pillars and their endeavors to himself, then turned away by the Pillars as their trust in him was quickly dashed. This followed by the colt turning to darkness, transforming into a large, ominous stallion of complete darkness with an aura-like mane of dark gray, his yellow eyes piercingly terrifying, with the last image of the Pony of Shadows facing the Pillars in a dangerous battle. "That was the last entry. And maybe Star Swirl's final words before he vanished." Celestia and Luna gasped in horror while the Mane Six and Keyblade wielders stared in aghast after hearing the last of Star Swirl to his unknown disappearance. "I've always wondered what happened to Star Swirl," Celestia said. "This is quite a discovery, Sunburst." "So it's genuine?" Twilight asked, both curiously and excitedly. "You can verify that this journal really belonged to Star Swirl the Bearded!?" "Indeed," Luna said as she and Celestia got a better look at the journal, making the lavender alicorn squeal and lightly bounce up and down with glee. "Simmer down, Twilight," Riku chided. "So, the Pony of Shadows...is real!?" Rainbow exclaimed. "Seems like it if this is the Star Swirl's actual journal," Aqua said. Borrowing the book and looking at the illustration of the Pony of Shadows, she glowered at the nightmarish creature, especially his eyes. "And if this colt submitted to the power of darkness, he turned himself into a Heartless. So, aside from Sombra, that must have meant there were Heartless in Equestria before they appeared more frequently today." "We never met the other Pillars personally," Luna said. "And we were too young to understand the dangers they faced." "Hold on a second now," Applejack interjected. "All those legendary ponies were real, too? AND they went off with Star Swirl to face the Pony of Shadows, and then none of them were ever heard from again?" "And they were crazy enough to face a Heartless without a Keyblade, too," Terra added. "But what happened to them all?" Fluttershy asked. "Did they lose and turn into Heartless?" "They must have defeated the villain, since Equestria is still full of light and hope," Rarity theorized. "...Well, aside from Heartless possibly appearing throughout a thousand years." "The first I've ever heard of Heartless was when I met Yen Sid through that mirror not long after sending Twilight to Ponyville," Celestia said. "Throughout that time, there have been no Heartless until Sora came around." Everyone then looked at Sora, balking in surprise. "H-Hey! I don't bring trouble wherever I go!" "You crashed our Gummi ship into the jungle when you tried to take the wheel thinking Riku and Kairi would be there," Donald mentioned. "Fuddling in other worlds' affairs," Goofy added. "MEDDLING!" Donald corrected. Sora sighed heavily, slumping his head and shoulders. "I swear, I don't mean to ALL the time," he grumbled. "But how did the Pillars defeat the Pony of Shadows?" Starlight asked. "And where did they go?" Celestia took back Star Swirl's journal from Aqua, trying to read the old language the wizard used back then. "My Olde Ponish is a bit rusty, but I wonder if the answers can be found somewhere within the pages of this book." "Well, I just so happen to be an expert in Olde Ponish," Twilight gloated. "I mean, I've practically memorized every ancient text about Star Swirl there is!" "Yeah, we get it, Twilight, you're a prodigal genius," Riku teased, then plugged her ears with the tips of his wings. "Your excess ego from your giant brain is leaking out, though. Better seal that up." Twilight leered at Riku, slapping away his wings with her with a growl, ignoring the cheeky smirk on his face. "We have very fond memories from our old teacher," Celestia said. "If you could discover what happened to him, we would be most grateful." "Solving a thousands-year-old mystery could take forever!" Sunburst exclaimed, albeit a bit too excited than anxious or apprehension. "Think of the research! The re-reading! The re-re-reading!" Pinkie cupped the excited unicorn stallion's ears with her hooves, snapping him out of his anticipated joy. "Keep that ego in your head, Sunburst!" she said with a giggle. Twilight took Star Swirl's journal, eager to get started. "Let's head back to my library and get to work. With all of us researching together, we'll figure it out in no time." Three days had passed since after discovering Star Swirl's journal, and despite the massive number of ponies and one baby dragon, their research came up empty handed. The Keyblade wielders only helped as much as they could when Heartless and Nobodies decided to attack the other worlds, leaving Twilight behind to figure out what Star Swirl and the Pillars of Equestria had done to the Pony of Shadows. It was now late in the evening, everyone exhausted from going through shelves upon shelves of books in Twilight's library, some of them passing out from the hours-long sessions in their research. Spike came by with a new candle for Twilight, looking just as tired as he did his best to help, too. "Figure it out yet, Twilight?" Spike asked. Twilight fiddled with a pencil in her mouth, her eyes glancing through the pages while shaking her head. "Nothing," she sighed in defeat, dropping her pencil as she stretched, running her hooves down her face in exasperation. "I mean, Star Swirl is a genius, obviously. But forget Olde Ponish. There's parts where his hornwriting is like another language!" Twilight then let out a loud groan, startling everyone who was sleeping awake. "Huh!? Did we find it yet!?" Ventus shouted as he shot up from a pile of books he was sleeping under. "I don't think so, Ven," Aqua mumbled, which was followed by a yawn. "We've been referencing and cross-referencing for three days straight. This feels like a hopeless mystery to solve." "Maybe we should all take a little break," Rarity suggested. "This mystery is over a thousand years old, after all. Another day or two won't make a difference." "Two days!? I don't want to waste two seconds!" Twilight exclaimed, not noticing Starlight walking over and looking at the page the alicorn had opened. "I'm so close to the answer. I can feel it!" "'Hearg sylfum se Ponehenge'," Starlight read aloud. Twilight's ears perked up, turning to face Starlight in shock. "What's that mean?" "The Temple of Ponehenge!?" Twilight exclaimed, translating what Starlight said as she looked at the pages, unable to read a word of Star Swirl's writing, but to hers and everyone else's shock, Starlight could. "You can read that!?" "The hornwriting's pretty sloppy, but it's nowhere near as bad as mine," Starlight said with a small chuckle. "If your writing is far more terrible than this chicken scratch Star Swirl makes, I'm surprised I was able to read your spell you made for Sunburst a week ago," Aqua said. Starlight went back to the page and began to read more of the hint Star Swirl gave in Olde Ponish. "'Toward dol grimlic of Fola Firgenbeorg'?" "At the base of Foal Mountain," Sunburst translated, everyone waiting with bated breath as Starlight read the last bit. "'User endemest scield'." Twilight and Sunburst gasped at the final part. "Our last stand," Twilight said somberly, the others letting out small gasps as well. "The Temple of Ponehenge at Foal Mountain was their last stand," Kairi repeated. Everyone quickly gathered to the throne room, looking over the Cutie Map to find the mountain where the Pillars faced the Pony of Shadows. "It's right here," Sunburst pointed out to a mountain range, where there was a circle of what looked like stone pedestals right at the base of the mountain they were looking for. "There's the Temple of Ponehenge." "Let's check it out and see if we can find any clues there," Sora said. The group quickly gathered outside, deciding on taking the wielders' gliders to reach Foal Mountain faster than a train or piling into the Tree of Harmony Gummi ship to lug the massive spaceship across Equestria. Starlight gulped nervously, forced to ride on one of those again, wishing they took the passenger Gummi ship instead. The Keyblade wielders hopped onto their gliders as they made sure their flightless passengers were comfortable: Starlight with Aqua, Applejack and Pinkie riding with Sora and Ventus respectively with the farm mare finding it awkward riding on the board-like glider while Sora helped keep her balance, Spike with Twilight, Donald and Goofy hanging on the other side of Kairi's unique glider, and Rarity and Sunburst riding with Riku and Terra. They soon lifted off and flew off to Foal Mountain, the new flyers nervously hanging onto their drivers while Rainbow and Fluttershy flew along with their own wings. Within minutes, they found the mountain, as well as Ponehenge down where the map's geographical depiction showed. They all touched down, some a little shaky riding something that didn't have safer ground under their feet while up in the air several hundred feet, walking into the area and took in their surroundings. There were six stone pedestals resting in an open field among the overgrown forest near the base of the mountain, vines and roots curling around the natural-looking platforms that all seemed big enough for a pony to stand on, and in the center was a stone dais for something much bigger. Sunburst took a closer look at one of them, writing in the same old language of Equestria on one after clearing away some of the underbrush. "This is incredible," Sunburst said in awe. "I've never seen magical runes like these! Have you, Twilight?" Twilight shook her head, looking through Star Swirl's journal and all the details her idol wrote about this place. "Has no one else ever explored this place?" Ventus asked. "I never ventured farther than the town I wound up in when I first got here," Terra said. Everyone cleared away the roots, looking over the other runes written on the other stones while finding any hints on the Pillars' whereabouts. "Well, so far, nothing," Riku said. "Seemed like they all really left no trace of themselves in the aftermath against the Pony of Shadows." "I suppose it was a long shot," Twilight sighed, her excitement dwindling as their only clue left them no other trails. She placed Star Swirl's book on one of the stone pedestals in the circle, turning back to everyone, not noticing a magical reaction coming from the old journal as the mark of the cover began glowing blue. "I guess I hoped we'd get here and the mystery would just magically-" "Twilight, get back!" Aqua quickly warned when she noticed the book start lighting up. Twilight turned around, quickly leaping back as everyone kept their distance. Watching carefully, the magic from the book began swirling out as it fluttered open, the magic aura spiraling in place and created an ethereal image of Star Swirl the Bearded. Everyone gasped when the unicorn wizard landed on the pedestal and stared at the center dais. "Star Swirl!?" Twilight exclaimed, enamored meeting her idol face to face. "I-I've wanted to meet you my whole life! I can't believe you're here!" Star Swirl didn't seem to notice Twilight, or anyone else standing in his line of sight. She was a bit hurt when the elder wizard didn't acknowledge any of them, but Sora approached him, waving his hoof through the stallion's image. "I don't think he's really here," he said. Looking back, he noticed the other pedestals had swirling magic appear, and standing before them in a flash were the rest of the Pillars. "Or them." Everyone else looked around, shocked to see the other ponies of legend: Mage Meadowbrook wearing her medicine mask, Flash Magnus with the Netitus, Mistmane with her flower, Rockhoof and his trusty shovel, and Somnambula with her blindfold. "Sweet Celestia. They're all here," Applejack said, dumbfounded as she stared at Rockhoof, glad to not bring Apple Bloom since she would have had a field day meeting him face to face. "It's...some sort of magical recording," Aqua noted. "Which means...this is where we'll find out what happened to them and the Pony of Shadows." Star Swirl lowered his head, his horn shining a brilliantly bright white, aiming a beam at the dais in the center of the ruins. The dais glowed before it disappeared, where a sphere of darkness began to form and grow, the wizard forcibly summoning the Pony of Shadows to them. Limbs sprouted from the orb as it took the shape of a unicorn stallion, waving ethereal dark gray mane, long, curved horn, sharp fangs, and a pair of glowing yellow eyes as the creature of darkness cackled as he was called to the Pillars. The mares quickly hid behind the stone pedestals while the others summoned their respective weapons out of instinct, forgetting this was just a visual memory of the Pillars' last stand. "You summon me at your peril, Star Swirl!" the Pony of Shadows mocked. "Once I defeat all of you, this realm will embrace the darkness as I did so long ago!" A pair of wings shot out from the Heartless' sides, shooting vines of darkness toward the pillars, wrapping themselves around the ponies and struggled to tie them down. The Pillars struggled back, keeping their positions as they refused to let the dark stallion win. "Drawing me here only makes me stronger! You will never defeat me!" "We did not come here to defeat you," Star Swirl grunted. Suddenly, bright flashes of light slashed through the tendrils, startling the Pony of Shadows as he roared out in pain while freeing the pillars. Star Swirl stood back up, along with the other ponies as the wizard levitated his journal, casting a spell that shot a beam of light from his journal to the Pillars' personal items, each of them connecting around the stone platforms and trapping the Pony of Shadows. "We came...to contain you!" "WHAT!?" the stallion of darkness shrieked in shock. He tried to breach through Star Swirl's spell, but behind him, a mass of chains made out of light shot out and wrapped themselves around him. The Pony of Shadows roared, getting tangled in the golden ethereal chains as the light burned his body. "No escaping it, Pony of Shadows," said a voice outside of the circle of stones. Confused by this seventh pony, everyone from the memory and in the present turned to face where the chains came from. A swirl of magic slowly began to form the owner of the voice as he stepped into the stone circle, a Keyblade in his hoof while concealed in a black cloak worn by the Organization, where gasps rang out loudly from Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Sora, and Twilight. It wasn't the mysterious figure they were shocked to see; it was his Keyblade that alarmed them. A black guard in the shape of demon wings, the base of the blade with a goat's head, the shaft formed with two black, barbed blades with white etchings resembling a bramble of thorns, the teeth shaped like a demon wing as well, and the chain at the end of the pommel is made of small gray links, and entangled talisman of the same color at the end, the talisman and tip of the blade bearing a blue cat-like eye. This very Keyblade was the same one Xehanort wields, and if this event took place a thousand years ago, that Keyblade had been around for centuries, even though the voice under the hood didn't sound like a younger Xehanort. "You fell right into our trap." "NO! WHO ARE YOU!?" the Heartless questioned, struggling to break out and attack this new stallion that ambushed him and was responsible for freeing the Pillars from his tendrils. "You won't find out," he said. "Ready, old timer!?" "Yes! Do it, M!" Star Swirl said. The stallion known as M nodded. With a flick of his blade, he sent the chains wrapped around the Pony of Shadows toward the Pillars of Equestria, connecting them along the hexagon of light Star Swirl created to bind all seven of them together. The Heartless roared as they all began floating up in the air, a blinding light forming around them. M followed the floating group with his Keyblade, then snapped the chain connecting from his blade, giving it a twirl before aiming it back at them, releasing a beam of light toward them. A keyhole formed at the chains around the Pony of Shadows as the light entered, the lights glowing brilliantly, engulfing the Pillars and Heartless pony as they disappeared, leaving behind the six items that left marks on their legendary status among Equestria as they fell to the stone pedestals where they last stood. "W-What the hell!?" Aqua exclaimed, staring at M's Keyblade, the memory still playing as the mysterious Keyblade wielder stepped onto the dais. "T-That Keyblade...It's exactly like Xehanort's," Twilight said, recalling meeting their enemy in the Sombra timeline and the Keyblade he wielded. "What is going on? Who is this guy?" Sunburst questioned. M looked around, letting out a small cough to get everyone's attention. "Hope you guys enjoyed that little show," he said, confusing the ponies in the present as it seemed like M had an audience. "...What is he talking about?" Rainbow asked aloud. "Why, I'm glad you asked, Rainbow Dash," M said, looking directly at the prismatic-maned pegasus. Everyone gasped and stepped back in pure shock, horrifying them more as he spun around and waved his hoof. "Oh yes. I know who all of you are: Princess Twilight Sparkle, Spike the Dragon, Pinkamena Diane Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Sunburst, Starlight Glimmer, Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and..." He stopped and looked at Sora, a wide smirk growing on his veiled face. "...Sora." "He...He knows our names!?" Pinkie shrieked. "And he called me by my full name! I only go by-!" "Pinkie Pie, and you, by far, are my favorite little pony just from your bubbliness!" M said, hopping off the dais and approached the party pony. The fact that he was avoiding everyone as if he was there startled the group, and when he was beside Pinkie, he tried running his hoof through her hair. "Oh, I wish your hair was made of cotton candy. I could just eat it all up, and it would grow right back like a delicious, sugary weed!" "What is happening here!?" Donald squawked. "Isn't this supposed to be a memory!? How does this guy know who we all are and where we'd be standing when he called our names!?" "...Can someone get the voicebox out of quackers over there? I swear, all I hear is WAK WAK WAK WAAAAAAKKKKKK!" Donald squawked angrily as M mocked his voice. The stallion laughed, thinking he was being funny when he was actually scaring and confusing everyone. "But to answer your question...Let's just say, I have a very special talent in seeing the future. This memory's still playing out because I have some things to leave you while also answering any questions you might have. Also, yes, this really did happen, and it's not a theatrical play to entertain the masses." "Why do you have that Keyblade!?" Aqua spoke up first, pointing at M's Keyblade while leering at the stallion. "And just who are you!? Are you Xehanort!?" "Ah...Very good one," M said, then hummed while tapping the blunt side of his Keblade against his head in a thinking manner. "Oh! Maybe because...it's my Keyblade? Duh. I have my name written on it." M began to twist and turn his weapon around, trying to find where he "wrote" his name down. "...Uhh, it's somewhere on here. But, rest assured, I'm not this Xehanort guy. And if he has it now...well, I guess that means my Keyblade had been passed down to the current wielder today." "Passed down?" Twilight asked. "But I thought Keyblade wielders earn their own Keyblades after the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony, or if a master allows a future apprentice to touch theirs." "Yeah, well, this one is special," M answered, being vague about why his was handed down. "Have you been helping the Pillars of Equestria?" Sunburst asked. "And, if you have, how come there's no mention about you or your powers?" "Hmm...Oh yes. That is an interesting thought," M answered sarcastically. "I mean, with my might, I could single-handle just about any villain that threatens this world, and have my name plastered in all the histori-" He then gasped in feign astonishment, cupping his cheeks with his hooves, then quickly dashed right up in Sunburst's face, causing the unicorn stallion to yelp and fall on his back. "Oh! Right! I'd be breaking the world order! As much as I love this world, only a select few will know of my endeavors, and I plan to keep my identity, alias or no, out of any recorded bit of parchment to protect everyone from the threats of darkness. Sure, I may have meddled a little bit, and I'm being a bit of a hypocrite, but I have my reasons for doing so while remaining anonymous." "O-O-O-Ok," Sunburst stammered. "J-Just asking a q-question..." M sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, sorry for snapping. I'm kind of under quite a lot of pressure," he apologized, walking by everyone as he began to gather the Pillars of Equestria's personal items. "Lots of things to do, so many things to look forward to, but so very little time for it all. But you gotta make the most of what you have, right?" "This guy is weird," Riku muttered. "I've lost my sanity years ago. You have no idea what I define as weird, emo kid." Riku blanched, growling at M for the remark about his look. "I mean, if anyone saw me right now, they'll think I'm crazy if they see me talking to myself when I'm really talking to all of you." M continued gathering the Pillars' items in silence, no one able to ask anything else due to how bizarre this stallion in the past was able to see and talk to them through this very memory. "Since you're still trying to process all this, I guess now's high time I take these and bring them back to where their legends began." M went to grab Star Swirl's journal last, but as he turned around to make his leave, he sighed sadly. "Hey, if you guys see Celly and Lulu, tell them...I'm sorry." M began walking off to take the Pillars' possessions away, confusing everyone with his request. The mystery wielder headed toward Sora, the memory still playing. He stopped beside the pegasus, Sora eyeing him cautiously as he leaned over to his ear. Whatever M whispered to Sora made his ears perk up, giving a confused mumble as he watched M move away, smirking at the young wielder before turning away and leaving before the past memory ended in a flash of light, Star Swirl's book in the present closing on its own. Everyone stood in silence. They at least understood what had happened to Star Swirl, the other five Pillars, and the Pony of Shadows now, but they were still shocked to know there was a seventh protector, and it just so happened to be a Keyblade wielder from the past, but his identity and why the Keyblade he held still exists and had been passed down to Xehanort only added more questions about M, what else he's done in Equestria, and his vague responses that were followed by his inane, overzealous personality. "Sora? What is it?" Donald asked. "Did he say something to you?" "...Uhh...Just...nothing all that important," Sora said, though he looked back at where M stood before the memory ended. "...Aqua, Terra, Ven? Where there...names of former Keyblade wielders written in history when the Land of Departure was still around?" Kairi asked. "No," Aqua said. "There were no names. Just a few different Keyblades in illustrations, and there was definitely no records on who that guy was." Gritting her teeth, she still couldn't get over the fact that M's Keyblade had been passed down through generations, and was being wielded by the man who ruined all of their lives. "Why does Xehanort have it???" "What did M mean when he said to apologize to a Celly and Lulu for him?" Rainbow asked. "That was from a thousand years ago, right? There's no way they would be around today." "Hmmm...It sounds like M knows that we know these two ponies he wants to give his message to," Goofy pondered aloud. "But who do we know with those names?" "And lived long enough to know...who he...is...?" The realization soon began to dawn on everyone as Spike trailed off. Two ponies with the nicknames Celly and Lulu, who M seemed to know from how morose he sounded when he mentioned them and requested his message be sent, and the only two ponies who had existed for over a thousand years were two alicorns who were tasked to rule over Equestria. ".......No way. Does...Does he mean...Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?" "But it couldn't be them!" Twilight exclaimed in shock. "Princess Celestia learned about the existence of Keyblade wielders and Heartless months before I left for Ponyville to learn about friendship!" "Did she lie to us?" Fluttershy asked. "Of course she wouldn't lie to us!" Twilight quickly shouted, glancing around nervously. "...R-Right?" "Only one way to find out," Aqua said. "Everyone, head back to Ponyville and find out what Star Swirl cast to send the Pony of Shadows and the Pillars to. I'll head to Canterlot and ask the princesses some very important questions." Everyone nodded, and as everyone gathered around Starlight, Twilight, and Kairi to teleport everyone back home, Terra stayed with Aqua. "I'm coming with you," he said. "You're still a little agitated after witnessing M and that Keyblade of his. I don't want you trying to pick a fight with the princesses if you get a bit too hot-headed." "...R-Right," Aqua said, silently admitting she was still a bit peeved. The teleporting group disappeared in a bright flash while Aqua and Terra summoned their Keyblade gliders and flew off to Canterlot. Celestia paced anxiously in her room as she waited for her former pupil and her friends to uncover what had happened to hers and Luna's mentor. While waiting, she glanced at her shelf of books. Using her magic, she pushed aside a few, revealing a small compartment that held a special kind of book inside. As she was about to read it to herself, Luna opened the door to her bedroom to check in on her. "You're still awake, sister?" Luna asked. "I couldn't sleep. I want to know what had happened to Star Swirl the Bearded after all this time," she said. "As do I, but Star Swirl's writing was still hard to read after a millennia has passed," Luna said. She tilted her head when she noticed the book her older sister held. "What's that?" "My old diary from when we were foals," Celestia said. Opening the pages, she looked through an entry, which brought a smile to her lips as she recalled the event, even after so long. "'Today, Lulu and I met a strange pony. We didn't know what he looked like underneath this black cloak of his, but he was really funny and played with us.'" Luna's eyes widened, moving closer to read what Celestia wrote in the thousand-year-old diary. "Oh my goodness. I almost completely forgot about him!" "I know," Celestia agreed. "Do you remember all the stories he told us?" "Verily: his travels, other ponies, mighty beasts he's felled with his bare hooves." Both princesses laughed as the nostalgic memories came back to them. However, their joy had quickly turned to sadness. "...He had disappeared not long after Star Swirl had, didn't he?" "...Yes..." Celestia turned to the next page, which had a crude drawing she made many years ago. She drew herself and Luna when they were fillies, and between them was the black-hooded stallion they once looked up to, all three of them standing in front of a castle looming over a lush forest. Celestia sighed, closing up the diary and held it close to her heart. "He was like the uncle we never had..." "But why did he not say goodbye to us if we would never see him again?" Luna asked. "He...did promise he'd come back..." "He probably would not have lived as long as we have. We never even knew what type of pony he was, or even his face..." The two princesses were snapped out of their mourning by a knock on Celestia's door. She quickly hid her old diary back in the compartment as she and Luna faced the door. "Yes?" A guard entered, bowing to them before standing at attention. "Your Highnesses, Aqua and Terra request your presence at once," the stallion said. "Thank you. We'll meet with them shortly," Celestia said. The guard bowed again and made his leave, the princesses soon leaving after Celestia covered the compartment behind her many books. "They must have discovered something." "I hope it is good news," Luna mumbled anxiously. The sisters made their way through the halls to the throne room, where Aqua and Terra waited for them. "Aqua. Terra. Any luck with Star Swirl's journal and his final words?" Celestia asked. "Oh, I believe we found plenty of useful information," Aqua remarked snidely. Terra nudged Aqua, subtly warning her to control her temper and let him do the talking. "What Aqua means is that our research came up with almost nothing deciphering Star Swirl's writing, mostly due to the fact it was hard to read like a five-year-old was trying to scribble out their first sentence." "Yes, we know what you mean," Celestia said as she and Luna giggled. "We always had to ask him what he wrote since he loved to speed-write while lecturing us on different subjects." "Luckily, Starlight had just as much poor writing skills as Star Swirl and managed to translate the writing while Twilight and Sunburst translated the Olde Ponish," Terra continued. "The Pillars faced the Pony of Shadows in their final stand at the Temple of Ponehenge." "Ponehenge?" Luna balked. "And there was no trace of their disappearance?" "Thankfully, we brought Star Swirl's journal with us, and it had a memory of their final stand when it was placed on one of the stone pillars that made Ponehenge," Terra said, surprising the alicorns. "We're not sure what exactly they did to the Pony of Shadows. The others are looking into what spell Star Swirl cast, but whatever it was, the Pillars seemed to sacrifice themselves to send the Pony of Shadows somewhere with them." "That explains how they disappeared without a trace," Celestia uttered. "No, they did leave a trace," Aqua interjected. "The items that each Pillar had that seemed important to the stories of their legends were left behind on the stone pillars they stood on when they sealed away the Pony of Shadows. And if Star Swirl's journal was found in an antique store, that meant all six of those objects had to have been moved by someone if no one ever possibly visited Ponehenge in the last one thousand years." "...That...is true. But if so, then who took them?" Luna asked. "Funny you should ask, because there was someone else there who helped the Pillars of Equestria face the Pony of Shadows," Aqua said. "Somepony else???" Celestia questioned. "But, in Star Swirl's journal, he only mentioned himself and the other Pillars." "Who else was present during the final clash with the Pony of Shadows?" Luna asked, both princesses confused by the added inclusion to what Star Swirl withheld in his final entry. Terra was about to take over again, but Aqua stepped toward the alicorns, giving them a skeptical leer. "No idea. We couldn't see what he looked like under a black coat; the very same one Organization XIII wears." Celestia and Luna's eyes grew wide, confusion turning to shock. "He didn't give us a real name, but he goes by M." The princesses' jaws began to drop, making Aqua all the more suspicious by their reactions. "And, he left us a message for two ponies he expected US specifically to give, despite the memory playing an event over a thousand years ago. He mentioned the names 'Celly' and 'Lulu'." Celestia's and Luna's shock intensified with a gasp, making Aqua's suspicions one hundred percent accurate. The alicorns both looked at each other, stunned speechless, neither one able to ask what the stallion's last message to them was. "No way," Terra uttered, their reactions speaking clear as day as the ponies M spoke of where in fact Celestia and Luna. "He was...talking about you two?" After a few seconds trying to find their voice, Celestia was able to speak up. "Y-Yes...We know who he is," she said. "M was like our uncle when we were foals, and he was there with us to give us words of encouragement, tell us stories, play with us..." "We looked up to him as much as Star Swirl the Bearded," Luna added. "He, too, disappeared not long after Star Swirl and the Pillars had." "So you knew all along," Aqua growled. "You two knew about the Keyblade and the Heartless all this time!" Celestia and Luna balked, staring at the mare as if she spouted out nonsensical dialect in a foreign tongue far outside of Equestria. "...I beg your pardon???" Luna questioned. "Your 'uncle' helped the Pillars defeat the Pony of Shadows, and he has the exact same Keyblade that Xehanort wields, which was passed down through apprentices for eons!" Aqua exclaimed. "It would be easy keeping his anonymity as rulers of Equestria, because despite him admitting he's helped your world well enough to treat you like his own family, you erased every bit of his life to keep him from ever 'existing' while he's been saving your world from falling to darkness!" "What are you talking about?" Celestia asked. "M wasn't a Keyblade wielder!" "What proof do you have to accuse our non-related uncle as somepony who defends the light, and scold us for hiding information we never had to keep!?" Luna argued back. "You knew for a thousand years, and neglected to tell us, or even Master Yen Sid that you KNEW a wielder who may have existed before the Keyblade War!" Aqua glared at Celestia and Luna, which made Luna step forward aggressively. "YOU'RE INSANE IF YOU BELIEVE SUCH TRIPE!!!!!" Luna yelled in her Royal Canterlot Voice. "Luna, calm down!" Celestia said, trying to calm her sister as she held her back while Terra did the same to Aqua. "Aqua, relax!" Terra scolded. Aqua shoved Terra back far across the throne room with her magic, making him stumble as he fell on his back, then pulled out a memory ornament she held on her. "You want your proof!? Then we'll show you what we saw in that memory at Ponehenge!" Blasting a beam into the ornament, she played back what they all saw and enhanced it large enough for the princesses to get a clear view at what she thought they were hiding from them. Celestia and Luna watched the memory of Star Swirl and the Pillars confronting the Pony of Shadows, looking like they were about to lose until the tendrils were hacked away with slashes of light. When M made his entrance after Star Swirl began to cast his spell, both princesses stared in disbelief, even as they recognized the mysterious stallion's voice, his mannerisms, and the outfit he always wore to hide every feature of his. In his hoof was a Keyblade, and he helped seal the Pony of Shadows by binding the chains of light to the Pillars to ensure he didn't escape. They didn't want to believe this was true, but he even admitted the Keyblade he held was his very own. "He...He really was a...?" Celestia stammered, sitting on her haunches as the truth settled in, watching M interact with everyone, not even bothering to question how he could do that through a vision of the past. "He wasn't...from this world at all?" Luna questioned, feeling lost and uncertain. Aqua ended the memory before they got to the part where M was about to relay his message to his nieces. "Believe me now? Is that enough proof for you, 'Celly' and 'Lulu'!?" Terra had enough, seeing the distraught looks on the alicorns' faces to see they were in shock, quickly getting back up and stomped over to the incessant accusations Aqua keeps spouting. "Aqua, that's enough!" "Terra, M told those two everything-!" Terra interrupted her, snatching her hoof as she pointed at Celestia and Luna, slamming it back down on the floor as he nearly headbutted her. "Can't you see they're just as shocked as we were when we discovered there was a Keyblade wielder a millennia ago who came to this world, and that person was someone they looked up to!?" he exclaimed. "I get that you're mad, but this is directed toward that Keyblade, not M or the princesses! You pushed this too far, Aqua, all because whoever that guy was, he's untrustworthy because of the coat he wears, or he has the very same Keyblade that Xehanort has!" Aqua tried to argue back, but Terra clasped a hoof over her muzzle, no longer taking her side on the matter. The look on his face made her anger quell to guilt from the disappointment in his eyes, overreacting again and refused to stop until she was satisfied with being one hundred percent right. Seeing her calm down enough to listen, Terra sighed, letting go of her muzzle, then gently grasped her shoulders. "Go back to Ponyville and help Twilight discover where the Pillars took the Pony of Shadows. I should have just come here myself to tell Celestia and Luna, knowing you were already getting irritated from glancing at that Keyblade." Without another word, Aqua lowered her head in shame. She backed away, lighting up her horn, and teleported back to Ponyville, avoiding her gaze to Terra and the princesses. Terra let out a heavy sigh, running a hoof through his hair as he faced the princesses again. Celestia and Luna were slowly recovering from their own ordeal, but it still shook them knowing that, at some point in their youth, Heartless must have appeared around Equestria, and their uncle was more than what he seemed to be. "...Why...I mean, I think...we understand why after meeting all of you, but..." Luna mumbled, beginning to wonder if his stories facing dangerous beasts really were true, and those beasts happened to be Heartless. "All this time..." "I apologize for Aqua acting out like that," Terra said. "I know she's still suffering from her PTSD, even when she tries not to show it all the time." "I have spent a thousand years banished on the moon," Luna stated bitterly. "Just in solitude," Terra mentioned. "Aqua may have spent barely a fraction of that time in the Realm of Darkness, but with that solitude, she also had to survive against an endless onslaught of Heartless that thrive there, live with the guilt she feels fully responsible for by failing to save me and Ven while dragging Sora, Riku, and Kairi into their roles as Keyblade wielders, and even though she's safer in the Realm of Light, her whole personality has changed her from a confident, strategic wielder to a short-tempered, stressed, and terrified warrior with a fear of failing everyone she struggles her hardest to protect." Luna bit her lip, part of her wanting to argue more, but while trapped in the moon, she had lived only by herself, doing nothing while watching the world pass by. Her time given in to the darkness only felt like days had passed while Aqua had lived in their domain for years, an amazing feat to stay alive without succumbing to her despair when she couldn't bear it after being ignored by her subjects and her love abandoned her in her time of need as a means of protecting her from himself when he was turned into a Heartless. "...I...I understand," Luna uttered, lowering her head apologetically. "I do not believe I have that kind of strength to keep fighting if I were in her place." "No one can," Terra said. "But, with what you two just saw, you two never really knew M was a Keyblade wielder." "Terra, I swear this is all new to us," Celestia reassured. "I learned about the Keyblade and the Heartless from your master, Yen Sid, months before I decided on sending Twilight to Ponyville to make friends and save my sister. The first Keyblade I ever saw was Sora's when I first met him." "And I discovered everything upon my return while I was Nightmare Moon," Luna added. "I know. And even if you did know something else that we didn't, I'm sure you would have informed us if it was important." Celestia and Luna both nodded, affirming Terra's statement. "I'm sure there's...quite a lot for you two to think over about all this. We'll let you know if we find anything else." Terra walked past the princesses, suddenly stopping when Luna flared her wing out in his path. "Wait, please?" Luna said. "...Aqua said...M wanted to tell us something...What was it?" "...He said...he was sorry," Terra said, the vague message only making the alicorns wonder what M wanted to apologize to them for. "...That was all? Just...an apology?" Celestia asked, baffled while also slightly hurt that the message was so short, wishing there was more. "What was he sorry about?" "I don't know. He didn't mention why, and I doubt the memory would have gone on for much longer," Terra said, giving the alicorns a sympathetic gaze. "Whatever it was, he cared a lot about you two. That was the only time during that moment where he seemed genuinely upset out of his energetic personality." Luna was still unsatisfied, but since that was all they knew at the time, she let Terra go. He continued on his way to regroup with the others, leaving the princesses with more questions and doubts about the stallion whom they adored for so long. "Why would he apologize to us?" Luna questioned aloud. "He would never do anything to hurt us." "He did have a right to keep the world order from falling into chaos," Celestia said. "Discord would have had a field day if he found M." "If only Star Swirl never banished the Pony of Shadows with the Pillars," Luna pouted bitterly. "Being such close friends, he must have been the one to learn about the Heartless and the-" Luna paused when she looked up. Glancing at the crescent ring on her horn, her pupils shrunk as she let out a small gasp of horror. "...Sombra..." "Luna?" Celestia asked, slowly beginning to worry when she looked like she had seen a ghost. "...Sombra wrote in his journal...about somepony he met who turned him into the Heartless tyrant who took control of his heart," she said. "And...if M was the only Keyblade wielder who's been in Equestria a thousand years ago..." She didn't finish that thought, dread weighing heavily in her heart and praying to the heavens that she was wrong. "...I need to talk to him." Celestia wasn't quick enough to reach her as the Princess of the Night transported herself to the sleeping realm. Beginning to hyperventilate in fear, Luna flew through dream doors, searching everywhere for Sombra, completely forgetting she was able to summon him. "Sombra! Sombra!" Sensing her distress through the many dreams Luna was going in and out of, Sombra appeared in a flash of light in the starry pathway, quickly catching her before she flew into another dream and disturb a pony from their slumber. "Luna, I'm here! What is troubling you, my dearest?" Luna panted, trying to control her breathing, only for her voice to shut down a few times before she could try to speak. "Calm down, love. Slow, deep breaths." She followed his calming advice, taking deep breaths, but it didn't help quell that dreadful anxiety of finding out more truths she didn't want to discover. "Good. Now, slowly, tell me what has you so stressed." Luna told Sombra about M, delaying the inevitable as she spoke about her surrogate uncle, trying to remain ignorant of the horrible thought racing through her mind. Sombra listened to her, patiently letting her talk, vent, even yell out in frustration if she got more heated in her tales of woe. He was intrigued by this mystery stallion who doted Luna and Celestia as if they were his own foals, never asking much about her family since he thought Celestia was her only family at the time. Luna was lucky to have someone as supportive as Sombra, but that dread came back as she summoned whatever resolve she had left. "...Tia and I recently learned of what happened to Star Swirl the Bearded, and the others looked into his whereabouts when he and the Pillars of Equestria stopped the Pony of Shadows." Sombra silently nodded, waiting for her to continue, giving her as much time as she needed. "...M was there to assist them...and, we also found out that...he, too, was a Keyblade wielder." "...Really now?" Sombra asked in surprise. "...He would have been a valuable ally in stopping me when I lost my heart to the darkness that fiend had unleashed from me. It was a shame he had disappeared as well." Luna felt a lump in her throat, her breathing shaky as she dared to ask her lover the next question. "S-Sombra...Do you...recall how you...lost your heart?" "Indeed. 'Twas the happiest moment in my life when I found that lovely gem for your ring, but the worst when I trusted the stranger outside the borders of the empire to aid you in your sorrows," Sombra said, growling slightly at the mention of the one who cursed him to his darkness. "I will never forget that blade so long as I exist." Luna whimpered slightly, her horn glowing as she created an image of M's Keyblade, slowly hovering it in front of Sombra. "...D-Did...it look like...this?" she asked, pleading him not to say yes. When Sombra got a look at the Keyblade, his jaw dropped, recognizing it straight away. "Yes! This is the very same weapon that rogue used on me!" he exclaimed as he pointed at the Keyblade. Just as Sombra faced Luna to ask him how she knew how it looked, he froze when she had a distant look in her eyes, the illusion she created fizzling out. "...Luna?" "...N-No," she uttered. Her body began to shake, the response she got from Sombra exactly what she feared. "...H-He...He was...W-Why...?" It slowly dawned on Sombra as he watched Luna utter to herself, tears beginning to flow down her cheeks as her heart seemed to break. "...No," he said. "...That stallion...Your uncle...He was the one...who did that to me?" Luna broke down and bawled, grief-stricken, confused, and greatly upset that the one responsible for turning Sombra into a monster was the pony who she and her sister trusted as fillies. Sombra was fuming, in disbelief by such a nice stallion who would do something like this if he ever knew about his relationship with Luna. All he could do was comfort Luna as she cried, curled up on the ground with her hooves over her muzzle, feeling more hurt now than being completely ignored by her subjects and Celestia. The next morning, Twilight gathered everyone to the throne room of her castle, having spent the whole evening looking into Star Swirl's spell he cast on the Pony of Shadows. Needless to say, she was way too excited, as well as a little sleep deprived, bringing in a plethora of spellbooks and different topics of magical incantations and the like as she hovered around the room and began her nerdy rant. "I know I finished one of Star Swirl's spells before, but this one was on a whole different level!" Twilight practically shrieked. "Was it an explosion of magical feedback? An evocation? A kind of incantation? It's Star Swirl, so the possibilities are endless! And once Starlight set me on the right track with his crazy hornwriting-" She laughed gleefully, and to everyone's surprise, she let out a dorky snort. Riku didn't know she had a snort laugh, only hearing it from Pinkie on occasion, but he got some more teasing fodder to embarrass her later. "-I mean, he was a genius, so I guess we can forgive a little messiness. So I went through the journal again, and it's amazing!" "Twilight, for the love of Kingdom Hearts, calm down for a second!" Sora exclaimed. "What is it that's so amazing that you're trying to tell us that you're geeking out about?" "Only how Star Swirl, the Pillars, and M sent the Pony of Shadows to limbo!" Twilight finally said. Her response was left with a lot of confusion. Still manically ecstatic, the lavender alicorn placed a diorama of the Temple of Ponehenge that was made out of cardboard, and hastily put together from the rushed drawings and messy glue splatter to keep it together, then used her magic to simulate the same spell Star Swirl used with a sphere of magic growing in the center of the example. "They used their magic to open a portal between both worlds - not to the Realm of Darkness, but to limbo - and pulled the Pony of Shadows inside!" Twilight's magic sphere grew too large, taking the cardboard Ponehenge with it as it poofed out of existence. "Darling, your diorama!" Rarity exclaimed. "I made more!" Twilight reassured, pointing to a stack of similar dioramas on the side, which all crumbled from the weight. "Of course she would do something like that," Ventus mumbled blankly. "Star Swirl thought that the only way to trap the Pony of Shadows in limbo was for the Pillars to take him there," Twilight added. "Which means they're stuck there, too!" Applejack said. "I guess that explains why M connected them all with those chains," Kairi said. "But he was a Keyblade wielder. Couldn't he have destroyed the Pony of Shadows on his own if he was that powerful?" "That Heartless was probably incredibly powerful, so that might be possible why he resorted to sealing it away," Riku theorized. "Although, if he's weirder than Sora, I doubt he's not as competent as him in a fight." Sora glowered at Riku, puffing his cheeks out angrily. "I could take him if he were here," Sora grumbled. "But here's the best part," Twilight interjected. "I think there's a way we can get them out of limbo." Everyone gasped, all but Aqua, who had been quiet and sat in her throne miserably, still feeling terrible after last night. "Are you serious?" Sunburst asked. "You can save the most legendary ponies of all time?" "I don't know," Starlight nervously said, feeling wary of messing around with powerful magic like this. "Opening portals between worlds didn't work out well for me. Are you sure that's safe?" "First of all, you opened portals through time," Twilight corrected. "And second of all, Star Swirl wrote the spell you used to do it. If he'd been here, he could have stopped it. Equestria would be a lot safer with him in it. We have to save them." "But we'd be savin' ALL the Pillars, right?" Applejack asked. "They disappeared ages ago." "That's the thing about limbo. It isn't one place or another. It's in between, so time stands still," Twilight explained. "If we can pull them out, it'll be like they never left. I actually built another model to demonstrate-" "Whoa, whoa, ok, thank you, Twilight!" Terra quickly interrupted with a nervous chuckle. "I think you've made enough models to make a school science fair jealous. If it's possible to bring them out of limbo, we'll take your word for it." "So what can we do to help them come back?" Spike asked. "If I'm right, we need to find the items connected to the Pillars," Twilight said. "You mean that stuff they had when they trapped the Pony of Shadows in limbo?" Rainbow asked. "But how do we know where to look for them?" Fluttershy wondered aloud. "Luckily, Star Swirl took a lot of notes," Twilight happily said, going through the pages to find what important notes were written about the Pillars and their well-known relics. While glancing at the book to find them, five lights suddenly appeared above everyone, snapping Aqua out of her depressed daze when she looked up. "Uhh, Twilight? What are you doing?" Aqua asked. "Doing what?" Twilight looked up with the others, where five spheres of light holding the other Pillars' mystical items floated down toward the Cutie Map. Each one floated in an orbit around the circumference around the map table, separating to different locations throughout Equestria; the same locations where the Pillars' hometowns or legends depicted their greatest feats. "...Uhh...That...wasn't me..." "Seems like the map wants to help us save the Pillars," Goofy said. "Gawrsh. And they're all over the place." "Luckily, there's plenty of us here to split up and search for them," Starlight said. "Yay! Time to go on an epic quest with a buddy!" Pinkie cheered. "Who's going with whom!?" After deciding on who would partner up to search for the Pillars' mystical items, everyone split up across Equestria to find them while Donald, Goofy, Twilight, Spike, Sunburst, Starlight, and Aqua went back to Ponehenge. Applejack and Sora flew across the seas to the island home Rockhoof grew up in on his glider. The volcano was thankfully dormant after all these years, though whatever remained of the strong stallion's home was left in ruin. Homes left with nothing but emptiness or crumbled to pieces, the forest around the island grew over what must have been the perimeter of the village, and there were already archaeologists excavating the area for any bits of history that remained of Rockhoof's home. The two touched down at the tip of the peninsula and approached the camp the ponies up ahead made, where they saw some experienced archaeologists with some foals with a future career dig up a buried helmet once worn by the Mighty Helm. "Professor! It's a Mighty Helm headpiece!" a filly called out to the mare in charge of the expedition, her coat a dirty gray with two shades of forest green hair, wearing a brown vest with a blue bandanna around her neck, and her cutie mark was a pickax tapping into a rock. "Maybe it belonged to Rockhoof himself!" The mare came over to inspect the helmet, straightening her glasses as she got a closer look. "Legends don't wear helmets. This belonged to a REAL pony," she stated. "Well, you'd be surprised just how real some legends in Equestria can be," Sora said, startling the professor and the foals who uncovered the helmet. "And we can guarantee that Rockhoof was as real as you or me," Applejack added. The mare chuckled, finding the surprise newcomers theory hard to believe. "And I suppose that ravine was dug with his trusty shovel to save the village from an erupting volcano." "It's possible," Sora said with a shrug. "I love old legends as much as anypony. But a pony strong enough to save a village from rushing lava with a shovel is...preposterous," the professor reasoned logically. "Try facing monsters with a giant key." Sora summoned his Keyblade, giving it a twirl before placing it over his shoulder, giving the mare a toothy grin. "It makes less sense than Rockhoof single-handedly digging a trench before the lava reached the village all the way into the ocean." Before the mare could ask how a sword like that is able to slay beasts, they were interrupted by a mysterious quake, followed by a low bellow coming from the top of the hill overlooking the old village. Everyone at the sight looked in that direction, the archaeology team screaming in terror as a large Heartless made its presence. This Heartless was a fifth the size of the mountain, hulking with muscle as it wore what looked like stone armor and carried a huge battle ax, which had a usual Heartless face on the blunt metal. Its head was on its chest, like it was hunched, the pauldrons and the top end of its weapon fitted with sharp spikes, metal chains linked around its wrists and neck. "...Ya know, Sora, maybe ya do bring trouble with ya after all," Applejack uttered. "I think I'm beginning to accept that," Sora said. The Heartless leapt down from the hill, causing the nearby ponies to flee before it crushed them or chopped them with its monstrous ax. Swinging its ax, it cleaved through a massive bit of earth, picking up a body-sized chunk, then flung it straight at the head professor and the foals in the dig site. They screamed and cowered in the marked pit, but Applejack and Sora quickly got in front of the rock's trajectory. Together, they pushed their hind legs out, skidding forward slightly with a grunt as they stopped it from crushing the mare and foals. "E-Everypony...Stay back!" Applejack advised. "Sora's...gonna take care of that Heartless!" "First time...facing something like that...but I've taken on enough giants," Sora said cockily. "Applejack, on three, we're launching this rock in the air!" Applejack nodded and waited for his signal, hearing and feeling the Heartless, whom Sora will nickname the Rock Troll, stomping toward them. "One! Two! Three!" With an exerted grunt, Applejack and Sora kicked the rock high up into the air. Sora shot up into the air after it, switching to the Keyblade of Honesty. Just as the stone reached the peak of its ascension, he gave a few swift slashes through the stone, Formchanging the Keyblade into its hammer form, then gave his transformed blade a mighty swing. Smashing it against the stone, the sliced stone went flying down on the Rock Troll into several sharp pieces. It was too slow to protect its face with its ax, getting struck a few times before the rest were deflected off its weapon. Sora dove down, flipping rapidly to gain some momentum and increase his swing's power. He let out a yell as he slammed the hammer down on the Rock Troll's back, managing to stagger the Heartless back as part of its armor seemed to crack from the impact. Sora flipped back, lunging toward the Heartless as he landed with his hammer held in both hooves. The Rock Troll swung its ax as Sora went to swing his giant hammer, both heavy weapons clashing as they struggled for dominance. Unfortunately for the stallion, the Heartless still had a free hand, balling it into a fist and tried to punch Sora. He flapped his wings, leaping away from the sucker punch, then dodged away from the Heartless's downward swing, which slammed into the ground and caused a shockwave of the ground to shoot up to send him straight up in the air. Sora was about to charge in again, only to pause when he watched the Rock Troll move the ax over its face. To his and everyone else's surprise, it firmly attached to his head, acting like a mask or an armored helmet. After putting it on, the Heartless let out a bellow, a red aura glowing around the armored Heartless, going berserk as it ran toward Sora. "Whoa nelly, that don't look good," Applejack uttered nervously. "Alright, then. We'll fight like men." Sora tossed his hammer in the air, backflipping away from the double hammer arm slam from the Heartless. The hammer split itself in its next change, the gauntlets shooting down toward the pegasus. As Sora vaulted during his flip, the apple-shaped gauntlets attached themselves to his hind legs, then his forelegs as he stood up with his limbs thrust into the air, standing in his hoof-to-hoof stance in this form. The Rock Troll charged again, thrusting its arms toward Sora, which he quickly caught with his hooves. Upon contact, the air shook from the intense strength that came from the enraged Heartless. Everyone worried Sora was going to get flung or pushed back, but he didn't budge an inch, keeping his ground. The professor stared in awe, her glasses slanting slightly in bewilderment as she watched this young stallion match the strength of a monster none of which any pony has ever seen before. Sora grit his teeth, straining to push the Heartless back, which slowly turned into a smirk. With a shout, he gripped the Rock Troll's fists and pulled hard, causing it to stumble toward him. Sora then performed a powerful backflip kick, an explosion of red sparks in the shape of apples sending the Heartless staggering backward, nearly falling over as it struggled to regain its balance. He wouldn't let it recover, pushing off against the ground as he landed, then began to pummel the Rock Troll's armored face with quick, painful punches. The mask began to crack with each blow, the Heartless staggering back with each hit until it was stuck against the wall, helplessly beaten to a pulp. With one final punch, the face on the ax shattered, dislodging itself from the Rock Troll's head as it fell to the ground with a heavy clang. While it was dazed, Sora grabbed one of its arms, flipping the Heartless from the wall and onto the ground, causing a small quake as it crashed on its back. Before it could get up, Sora pounded his hooves together, letting it spark red, then punched the ground with both hooves, creating the ethereal apple tree in this form's finishing blow to shoot the Heartless up in the air, crashing down again under the magical leaves. It stood up, only to be pinned the tree, Sora punching and kicking his gauntlets at it while it painted a target on its face. Sora then took a running start, made a leap halfway through, then began to spin rapidly to add more oomph to the killing blow. His spinning began to slow down as he got closer to the Rock Troll, and just as he was about to stop, Sora delivered a powerfully hard side kick into his target, shaking the tree of its ethereal apples as he nearly caved the Rock Troll's head into its body. The apples exploded around the Heartless, inflicting more pain aside from its scrunched face, unable to escape the onslaught of magic apple bombs. Once the magical smoke cleared, the tree and gauntlet target disappeared, the Heartless letting out one last groan as it fell backward and disappeared as well, the heart inside it floating up into the sky. Sora's clothes changed back to normal, the Keyblade of Honesty returning to his hoof as he looked at his audience, giving everyone a toothy grin while rubbing his free hoof against his nose cheekily. "That was amazing!" the filly who discovered the Mighty Helm headpiece cheered. "They saved us!" "Unbelievable," the professor uttered in surprise. "Bet'cha if you told someone about what you just saw, it might sound-" Sora let out a sarcastic gasp, then mimicked the mare's tone while dramatically placing his foreleg against his forehead. "-'preposterous'." "Ok, Sora, don't get too cocky if there's another one around," Applejack warned. "Let's find Rockhoof's shovel and meet with the others." "It was a piece of cake," Sora gloated. The duo looked around the dig site, being pointed out by one of the archaeologists toward a building nearby that held Rockhoof's shovel on display, a stone carving on the wall depicting the strongest member of the Mighty Helm. Applejack took the shovel in her muzzle, which began to glow as she touched it. "Whoa. Is it gonna do something?" The glowing stopped after a few seconds, confusing the duo, but they at least got what they needed and saved these ponies from a Heartless that would have crushed them. Terra and Rarity arrived in the region where Mistmane's hometown was located. When they reached the gates of the village, it wasn't as vibrant and beautiful as Rarity expected. Even the gate was in poor condition, the metal bars rusted to where they looked like they could turn to dust with the lightest touch. The inside, however, was much worse. All the flora inside were unkempt and growing wildly around the village, some of the plants were withered or turning brown from lack of care, almost like it could be another Everfree Forest without the dangerous animals that roam the shrubbery to hunt for its prey. "What the heck happened here?" Terra asked, pushing through the overgrown bushes. "Rarity, you mentioned this village Mistmane grew up in was supposed to be beautiful. It's like an enclosed jungle in here." "I don't know. This isn't what I imagined my favorite legend's home to look like," Rarity said. They found what appeared to be the center of town, where they found the only plant sitting on a large, round pedestal that was beautiful and kept with great care: Mistmane's flower. Rarity reached out to take it, only for a spade to fly over to her hoof and smack it away. "Ow!" Terra summoned his Keyblade and faced where the spade came from, only to relax his stance when it came from an elderly unicorn mare, holding the gardening tool in a pale blue aura, her horn at the end slightly curved up as a unique feature of the unicorns within the region. "Keep your hooves to yourselves!" the mare scolded. "This place has been in my family for generations, and I'm not about to let some whippersnappers take the last good piece of it! Not even if you're soldiers threatening to scare me for any debts I don't owe!" Terra blinked, looked at his Keyblade, dismissing it as he looked back at the owner. "Sorry to intrude, ma'am," he apologized while Rarity nursed her smacked hoof. "We are here to take Mistmane's flower, but we're not going to just take it from you with any sort of aggression." "That flower is the only worthwhile thing left of this village," the mare said somberly. "Ponies used to come far and wide to see these gardens, but if that's taken, my family lineage would be ruined." "Then maybe the rest of the garden should be just as beautiful as this flower," Rarity suggested. She and Terra looked at each other, giving a slight nod, then got to work sprucing up the garden. Rarity grabbed some gardening tools around the side of the owner's house with her magic, handing some of the equipment to Terra, then split up to trim, mow, and prune the entire village. The mare watched the two strangers work on the plants, making it far nicer than she or her family was able to in an entire day. Rarity didn't even mind that she was dirty, only focused on generously fixing her favorite legend's home to look as wonderful as the stories described. "Perhaps it just seemed like your gardens were worthless," Rarity said to the mare, who was dumbfounded now that the overgrown mess had changed back to a beautiful garden. "But a little pruning can work wonders." "You'll have to dedicate your time and care to the whole garden instead of just one flower, but it's worth it when you make the time," Terra added, wiping the sweat off his brow and smearing some dirt on his face. "You've given me back my family's legacy," the mare said, finally finding the words to speak. Grateful for their help, she lifted Mistmane's flower off the pedestal with her magic, handing it to the duo with a smile. "The flower you wanted seems like a fair trade for this." Rarity graciously accepted, the whole plant and pot beginning to shine for a moment before fading as her aura grasped it. Riku and Rainbow Dash flew off toward the Dragon Lands, where Flash Magnus's Netitus was located. "You sure we couldn't have brought Spike with us?" Rainbow asked nervously. "It would have helped to have our dragon ambassador keep the other dragons from hurting us." "I'll handle them if they want to roughhouse," Riku assured. "As long as we don't run into Garble or his buddies. They can listen to reason as much as they love to learn." "But why is the shield here?" Rainbow asked out of curiosity. "Shouldn't it have been in a museum, an armory, somewhere besides out here?" "M did mention before he left that he was returning the Pillars' mystical objects back to where their legends began," Riku recited. "So, if Flash Magnus faced the dragons with that shield, it could have been brought back here and hidden away for safekeeping." As they reached a lava gorge, the two pegasi spotted several dragon teens hanging out around there, snapping off slabs of obsidian and using them as boards to lava surf down to the bottom. They touched down at the bottom, keeping a fair distance from the dragons as they slalomed and splashed lava as they skid to a stop. "Or, if our luck has it, it's probably being used as a chew toy for a baby dragon." The other dragons noticed the two pegasi, part of them wanting to run them out of their land, but they couldn't thanks to Dragon Lord Ember's ruling. "Dragon Lord Ember may have commanded us to make peace with ponies, but if doesn't mean you can surf in our spot," one of them rudely said. "Well, that sure doesn't sound peaceful," Riku commented. "She didn't say we have to be nice." Stepping past his buddies was none other than the red teenage menace, Garble. And in his hand, to Riku and Rainbow's shock, was the Netitus, scorched and scuffed, but thankfully still kept in perfect form thanks to its heat-resistant metal. "Just not to burn you to a crisp or claw you to shreds." "Hey! That's an ancient pony artifact!" Rainbow exclaimed, then made a lunge for the shield, only for Garble to shove her back. "Hooves off my gorge board!" Garble said. "I found it out in the desert, and finders keepers." "That doesn't belong to you, Garble," Riku said. "Hand it over, or you're going to get humiliated by me again." The other dragons laughed at the stallion's claim, but Garble seemed confused. "Wait...Your voice sounds familiar," Garble muttered. He smacked a couple of his friends to get them to shut up, then approached Riku with the Netitus held tightly under his arm. "What did you mean by 'humiliate me again'? I never met a pony like you." "Oh, so you recognize my voice," Riku said, feigning shock. "Well, maybe it'll jog your memory if you recall meeting a black dragon who had spines on his head similar to my hairstyle, curved horns, and tried to kill you when you were about to attack my girlfriend and Rarity in that flame-cano." It took a long moment for Garble to process what Riku described, but at the mention of the falme-cano, the dragon approached the stallion, his scent matching the same smell the dragon who was protecting his pony mate from him a long while again. "...Y-You're a pony!?" "More than that, and I see you DO have a brain in that thick skull of yours after all," Riku taunted, then summoned his Keyblade. "Now, last warning; hand over the shield, or I'll really get the chance to pummel you without those Wyverns around to save your sorry tail." Garble growled, clutching his "board" tightly. "It's mine! But if you want it, you'll have to beat me in a race!" "Too afraid to fight me now that I'm a pony?" Riku taunted again. "Urgh! I can't hurt you ponies because of Dragon Lord Ember's stupid rules!" Garble exclaimed. "It won't even be fair!" "And you play fair?" Riku questioned. After a few seconds of staring each other down, Riku sighed, dismissing his Keyblade. "Fine. We'll race for the shield." "Gorge board," Garble corrected. "Whatever," Riku grumbled with a roll of his eyes. Rainbow watched as Garble lead Riku up to the top of the gorge, a lava surf race to the bottom to claim the Netitus. Many of the dragons cheered on Garble, and while the red dragon teen began making fun of Riku, the stallion calmly stood by the edge of the lava river with an obsidian board standing beside him. Before the race started, Riku made sure to put on some fire resistant accessories to avoid getting severely burned, knowing Garble was going to find a way to splash some lava at him as they surfed: a pair of Fira Bangles around his hooves, and a Fire Chain around his neck. "Ha! What kind of sissy pony jewelry is that!?" Garble laughed as he continued mocking Riku, his friends joining in with insulting his "jewelry". "Just a safety charm in case you try to knock me off my board," Riku said, ignoring Garble and his friends' heckling. "Let's just do this." One of Garble's friends flew up and counted the two racers down, their starting gun a belch of flames. Riku and Garble leapt forward and began surfing on their boards, picking up speed as they fought for first place. Like Riku expected, Garble tried to "accidentally" burn him by sloshing magma at him, but even with his protective gear to lessen the amount of damage the lava would have normally done, he didn't want to risk it and shifted away from the cheating dragon. He wasn't going to let Garble win with cheap tactics, though. While Garble laughed, Riku sped up, aiming for a ramp of obsidian sticking up from the lava flow. Jumping high, Riku performed a few flips, soaring over Garble. As gravity sent him back down, Riku increased his decent by diving down. He landed with a massive splash, startling Garble as he wobbled on the smaller "board" and got drenched in lava, only to crash into a spire in center of the river of lava. Riku could hear the dragon's friends groan, feeling his pain from that comedic faceplant, but he ignored it as he slalomed to the bottom of the gorge, where Rainbow cheered as he won the race. "That was awesome boarding, Riku!" Rainbow complimented as the stallion kickflipped onto safer ground, both pegasi giving each other a hoof bump. "Not like surfing on the ocean, but it wasn't all that tough." While Riku gloated in his glory, his ears twitched when he heard Garble grunt, but it wasn't in pain; it was a grunt of exertion. Rainbow gasped and pointed behind Riku, but he reacted quickly, his cockiness turning to anger as he quickly turned, smacking away a sizable rock Garble threw at him with his board. Being the sore loser that he was, Garble roared and dove down at Riku, raising the Netitus above his head to slam it down on the pegasus. Tossing the rock board aside, Riku summoned his Keyblade, blocking the shield before Garble used it as a deadly weapon. "I thought you said you weren't allowed to harm ponies." "Well you aren't one if you can turn into a dragon, too!" Garble growled. "Wow. I'm shocked to hear you say something intelligent," Riku remarked sarcastically. "However-" Riku pushed the shield back, zipped past him while tripping Garble up, then pinned the dragon on his stomach, stomping a hoof down on the back of his head. "-your stance makes you easy to trip up. Now, I won the race, so give me the Netitus." Forgetting about Garble's tail, Riku grunted as he got smacked hard with the dragon's tough tail, flipping away as Garble stood back up, placing the shield on his back. "You made me wipe out! I don't care if you beat me or not! I'm not giving you my board!" "Don't make me rip it out of your claws! Quit acting like a baby and own up to the fact you lost the race!" Riku exclaimed, getting fed up with this unruly dragon. "Then how about another race with me?" Rainbow suggested. "Will that sound fair to you?" "Pth! As if a prissy pony like you can beat me in a race," Garble said to Rainbow Dash. "Try me," the mare goaded. "Fine! I'll race you to the top," Garble said, frustrating Riku as their time was being wasted and the others could have found the other Pillars' heirlooms. "If you win, you can keep your pony junk. But if I win, I keep it forever while you two leave the Dragon Lands forever!" "Fine with me," Rainbow said with a smirk as Garble began stretching to warm himself up. "I'm pretty sure I can beat you anyway. But with that heavy hunk of metal on your back, it'll be a snap." "Huh? Oh, yeah. Thanks for the tip." Like the biggest sucker in the world, Garble took the Netitus off his back, dropped it in front of Rainbow and Riku, then took off before either of them started the second race. Riku just stared dumbly at the brainless dragon teen, facehooving with a groan. "What an idiot," he grumbled. "Brains over brawn," Rainbow chuckled, grabbing the shield, which glowed for a moment in her hooves, then took to the air with Riku to return to Ponehenge. Garble reached the top, unaware of his friends watching the pegasi head in the other direction. "Hah! I win!" "Uhh, Garble?" One of his friends turned him around, showing him the ponies leaving with his heat-resistant board. "H-Hey! That's mine!" Garble exclaimed. "Finders keepers, remember!?" Rainbow mocked, then sped off, while Riku just shook his head at how dumb and gullible Garble was as he followed Rainbow Dash. "Wow. That dragon's far more gullible than Sora, and with less brain cells," Riku uttered in disbelief. Down at Hayseed Swamp, Fluttershy and Kairi visited Cattail to ask for the mask, although the animal caretaker had heard the plight of some of the swamp creatures in some trouble. In an unfortunate circumstance, the territorial flash bees had their hive moved closer to the ground, their presence scaring the cute crocodiles and snakes from entering the water. Taking the mask, which had glowed as she touched it, she wondered why it did that for a moment before wearing it, then guided the flash bees away from their nest. As soon as they were far enough away, distracted by the "other queen", Kairi grabbed the hive and moved it up on a higher branch. Giving Fluttershy the signal as she safely moved away, Fluttershy quickly dove into a bush, making the flash bees snap to their senses and fly back to their hive, barely noticing its location had been forcefully moved. With the grounded swamp critters free to enter the water without fearing the aggressive flash bees, the two mares returned to Cattail's home to let him know their little mission was a success. "The swamp critters are free to safely swim in the swamp now," Fluttershy announced. "Well, that's good, but ya could have just asked for the mask," Cattail said. "Ah would have given it to ya after mentionin' Meadowbrook comin' back." "Yeah, but Fluttershy insisted on making sure every creature lived in a safer environment," Kairi said, making her and Fluttershy giggle. "But that was strange with the mask glowing. It didn't glow like that when you wore it last time to get the flash bees' honey to cure Riku's Swamp Fever." "Maybe it feels that it'll help bring back its true owner," Fluttershy guessed. While Kairi hummed in thought, as she looked around the walls, her eyes grew wide when she saw a peculiar mask she knew wasn't hung up the last time they were here. The Shadow mask caught her curiosity, levitating it down from the wall and looked at it closely, a perfect copy of the actual Heartless's face. "...Cattail? Did you make this?" Kairi questioned, hearing Fluttershy gasp in surprise when she noticed the mask. "Ah actually found that hidden under one of the floorboards when Ah was cleanin' the house," Cattail said. "It was in Meadowbrook's room. Not sure what kinda creature that is, but it's a strange healer's mask. Looks more like a cursed one." "This is a Heartless mask," Kairi said. "You haven't seen any in the swamp, have you?" Cattail shook his head in response. Kairi flipped the mask around, finding some writing inscribed on the inside at the bottom. "'Property of Master of Masters'?" "A master of apothecary masters???" Fluttershy pondered aloud. "It's a mystery to me," Cattail said with a shrug. "Cattail, do you mind if we take this mask, too?" Kairi asked. "Go ahead. That thing usually gives me nightmares with those yellow eyes," the stallion said with a shudder. "Almost worse than the flash bees." "Thanks. We'll visit soon if we can bring your ancestor and the other Pillars back." The two mares said their farewells, taking both Meadowbrook's medicine mask and the Shadow mask, wondering just who this pony was who named themselves a master of masters." Ventus and Pinkie went to find Somnambula's blindfold in the region of Southern Equestria. Daring Do was still around the area, volunteering to help Pinkie after learning why they came back to the town of Somnambula. They asked around for where they could acquire the Pillar's blindfold, but no one seemed to know where it was if it was still around. Pinkie suddenly had a Pinkie Sense, pointing her to the pyramid where both Somnambula's story and Rainbow's kidnapping took place, some of the inhabitants coming along to join them. "...You can't be serious," Ventus said, glancing at Pinkie, who was now wearing a deep-sea diver's suit. "You think it's somewhere in this green goop." "I've got a good feeling about this, Venny!" Pinkie said, closing the helmet and prepared to jump in, tossing the Keyblade wielder the air pump to fuel her oxygen. "NOW GET TO PUMPING!" Pinkie whooped and dove into the green ooze, leaving Ventus no choice as he sighed, slowly pumping air into the mare's helmet. "Why do I get dragged along with Pinkie's shenanigans?" "Is she really going to find anything down there?" one of the villagers asked. "I wouldn't give up hope just yet," Daring Do said. "Pinkie doesn't have any hope to lose," Ventus mumbled. After several minutes of waiting, Ventus nearly lost the air pump when the hose suddenly went taut, quickly snatching it before he lost it in the ooze. Suddenly, the ooze began to drain out like the plug of a tub being pulled out to empty out the water. Ironically, there was a hole that acted as a drain to the bottom of the pit, which wasn't as deep as the stories told. Pinkie soon popped out of the hole, opening her helmet and pulled out an ooze-soaked piece of cloth. "This old blindfold was stuck in the drain," Pinkie said. Ventus dropped the air pump and facehooved. "We were looking for a blindfold, Pinkie!" he shouted. "...Oh yeah!" Pinkie dove out of her suit, somehow able to leave it in the same position she was in before with her usual Pinkie ways. She then grabbed the disgusting blindfold in her mouth, which glowed more from a bright light that came from it, though it was hard to tell with the glowing slime, which was thankfully not toxic when Pinkie got a mouthful of it from the drenched piece of cloth. At the Temple of Ponehenge, Twilight and Sunburst were busy talking about meeting the greatest pony wizard of all time while Spike, Donald, Goofy, and Starlight took care of the rest of the vines covering the stone pillars. Aqua was off by herself, sitting on a hill overlooking the circle of stones. She began questioning her role as a Keyblade wielder now with her mental state being so poor. Her emotions are all over the place, anger taking most of her control when there's something she finds unacceptable or dangerous that no one else sees, then lashing out without taking the time to rationally respond. And once again, her actions trying to protect the ones she cares about most result in being skeptical of those who had lied to her or her friends when she discovered proof about something or wanted to deliver swift justice to those who deserved it for all the trouble and pain they caused to everyone else. "Aqua?" Snapping out of her daze, she looked behind her, finding Terra and Rarity coming back from Mistmane's home with her flower in tow. Rarity went on ahead, where the others were already coming back, having found the other Pillars' belongings in record time, leaving the couple alone. "You ok?" "...I can't change back to who I used to be," she said, looking away from Terra. "Who I was is long gone...I've turned into a schizophrenic, untrustworthy, and highly aggressive person. I shouldn't have acted out like that to the princesses when they seemed to trust M with all their hearts." "The Pillars seemed to trust him, but he is incredibly suspicious after speaking to us from a thousand years in the past and with that Keyblade he wields being passed down through generations of apprentices," Terra said. He pulled Aqua into a gentle hug. "We all know it's still difficult for you to go back to how you were back then. It's going to take a lot more time than just a few short years. But before you go that far trying to prove yourself right, you need to take a deep breath and calm down before jumping to all sorts of irrational conclusions." "...You're right. I'll need to apologize to them," Aqua mumbled. "I doubt Luna will accept it after seeing how much she seemed devoted to him..." Terra held her tighter, giving her a light peck on the cheek. "Let's give them a couple days to let all this information sink in, then we'll go back to talk with them." Aqua gave him a small nod, then was helped up onto her hooves as Terra guided her down the hill. "Let's go save us some heroes of legend." When they returned to the group, the Mane Six began placing the Pillars' artifacts on the stone pillars. "I can't believe this is going to happen," Twilight said, her wings fluttering eagerly as she laid Star Swirl's journal down on its pillar. "And I'm really going to see THE Star Swirl the Bearded! In the flesh!" "Twilight, are you sure this is a good idea?" Starlight asked, seeming more concerned about bringing the Pillars back. "Why?" Sunburst asked. "We'll be saving the most legendary ponies from a thousands-year-old prison." "I get that, but maybe they knew what they were doing and we shouldn't mess with it," Starlight said. "Well, magic has come a long way since back then thanks to their efforts in the past," Sunburst reasoned. "But M was there, and he used those very same chains Sora used on that tower of Heartless when I messed around with time," Starlight stated. "That pony seemed to have plenty of power in him to stop the Pony of Shadows by himself." "Well, maybe there were skills and magic spells Keyblade wielders might not have known that could have stopped something like that today," Twilight said, adding her own theories from her own knowledge to the mix. "Maybe, but something's off about that guy, like he knows far more than he claims he does," Starlight said nervously. "Star Swirl seems to know M pretty well if he and the other Pillars trusted him. When we bring him back, we can ask him any questions if he was informed about the Keyblade." Starlight still seemed unsure, believing there was still something that could go wrong after what they've witnessed. "This is a risk I'm willing to take, and it's a risk Equestria will definitely take to bring back the greatest wizard who ever lived." Starlight just sighed, unable to persuade Twilight as her excitement meeting her idol face to face won over any future repercussions that could come from bringing them back. "Ok. Everything's all set. Let's do this!" Starlight let out a sigh, herself, Twilight, and Sunburst aiming their horns at Star Swirl's journal with a beam of magic, casting a reverse spell to bring the Pillars back from limbo. Like before when Star Swirl cast the spell, a trail of light connected the stone pillars of Ponehenge, reacting to the shovel, shield, flower, blindfold, and mask as they began glowing. Once they were all connected, the items began floating up in the air, around the same height their owners had, lighting up the sky in a bright light. A keyhole appeared in the center of the hexagon of light, Twilight summoning her Keyblade and took aim, unleashing a beam of light to unlock the seal M placed on Star Swirl's spell. The keyhole flashed as the light pierced through it, releasing a blinding flash for a few seconds. When the light faded as quickly as it appeared, the Pillars of Equestria had returned, falling back to the ground and landing painfully on the platforms they stood on with their possessions back with them. Star Swirl's spell back then had also taken huge chunks of their pillars back then, falling after them and threatening to injure them more than their fall. Everyone quickly grabbed a pony and pulled them away in the nick of time, the pieces crashing to smaller bits upon impact. The Pillars groaned, recovering from the timeless sleep they succumbed to while in limbo. "Ugh...What...What has happened?" Star Swirl groaned. Twilight beamed proudly, fighting through her nerves and approached the wizard while trying not to squee like a fangirl. "It worked! We brought you back!" "To where?" Star Swirl asked, rubbing his head as he stood up. "You and the others have been trapped in limbo for over a thousand years." As Twilight explained to her idol how long they've been gone, Star Swirl snapped out of his daze, eyes wide as he looked around in horror, then back to the alicorn who saved them. "But we figured out how to bring you back! Or rather, I did, because I'm such a-" "WHAT!? No, no, no, no! That's impossible!" Star Swirl exclaimed with worry. "How can you break through M's-!?" He paused when he noticed Twilight's Keyblade, his jaw dropping in surprise, only making him panic more. "You must undo what you've done!" "Huh?" Everyone looked at each other, baffled by their claim as the other Pillars were shocked by their return when they fully woke up. "Why does he need us to undo our saving them?" Sora questioned aloud. "I-I don't think I can," Twilight said nervously like she was being scolded by Celestia herself, which was ironic since Star Swirl was her mentor's teacher. "You cannot bring us back!" Star Swirl exclaimed. "We brought all of you back," Riku said. "Maybe you should be a bit grateful we saved you from an eternity in a realm where time itself stops around you." "You don't understand! You cannot bring ONLY the Pillars back!" Star Swirl reiterated, growing anxious as he grabbed Twilight's shoulders. "What does he mean by that?" Donald asked. Aqua noticed the sky was getting darker, which made her realize the big mistake they made. "...The chains," she uttered. Terra glanced at her as everyone else looked up at the darkening sky. "...M didn't seal the Pony of Shadows with them to keep it from escaping from Star Swirl's spell. It was meant to bind them as they went into limbo AND when they were freed!" Lightning began to strike around Ponehenge as a maniacal laugh rang out in the air. Appearing over the center dais was a sphere of darkness that grew to a massive size. The darkness began to form a large stallion body, dark wings sprouting from its back, an ethereal mane and tail of darkness waving in an invisible breeze, a curved horn growing out of the forehead of the cackling face that appeared, and when it opened its eyes, it stared at everyone with an eerie yellow gaze. The Pony of Shadows towered over the twenty ponies, griffon mage, diamond dog defender, and baby dragon, freed from limbo with the Pillars of Equestria and back to shroud the world into eternal darkness once again. Twilight thought she did an amazing rescue, only to bring back the threat that almost tried to destroy Equestria a millennia ago.