//------------------------------// // Chapter 25: Be Prepared // Story: KINGDOM HEARTS: Fractured Friendship // by KHXhero //------------------------------// Chapter 25: Be Prepared If everyone thought that Canterlot looked very lovely, then the Crystal Empire is probably five times more beautiful than the capital of Equestria. The city was sparkling, probably because the city is made entirely of crystals. Actually, everything's made of crystal. The buildings, the streets, even the carts. Also, the crystal ponies themselves were giving crystal effects and details themselves. After all, they are Crystal Ponies. Though, they're not sparkling at all though. They were pretty much confused, and not knowing that was happening... or what happened. But that would have to wait until everything's taken care of. The group soon made their way towards the Crystal Castle, the white sparkling castle that was in the middle of town. "Wow..." Sora said, amazed by the structure of the castle. He has seen many castles before, like Disney Castle, the Beast's Castle, even Elsa's Ice Palace back in Arendelle. But this one right before him, takes the cake. "Whoa..." Ventus said next to him, even more amazed than Sora was. "I feel like it's been years since I've seen anything so beautiful. Oh wait... it has." Sora understood, as Ventus was placed in a comatose state for more than a decade when his heart was shattered due to Xehanort's plan, that is until Sora was able to wake him up. "Well, now you're awake to see even more beautiful things." Sora said, with the boy next to him giving a smile. "Hey Ven!" Terra called out, getting both their attention. "Let's head inside." "C'mon, Ven!" Aqua called. "Coming!" Ventus said as he followed the others into the castle. Leon then approached Sora. "We'll look around and check on the inhabitants." He said. "You go meet with the Princess." "You sure?" Sora asked. "Don't worry, we'll be fine, as long as Yuffie doesn't start a ruckus." Leon said, glancing back at the ninja girl. "Huh?" She asked. "I don't cause a ruckus! Stitch usually causes a ruckus." The little alien on her shoulder gave a smile. "Well, you both do." Leon said. "Remember that ice storage incident?" Yuffie gave a sigh of defeat as Stitch gave a chuckle. "Ok, see you guys soon!" Sora said as he went into the castle with the rest, while the rest of the crew stayed to check on the ponies. "I hope they got somethin' nice to drink around here." Barret said. "Just keep that gun arm to yourself." Cid said as the two went with Leon and the others. Pretty soon, Sora caught up with Riku and the others and headed toward the castle. The doors opened up, revealing what was inside. Making their way inside the Crystal Castle, Sora, Donald, and Goofy could not believe their eyes. The hallways had crystal columns that lined up in the room, with the walls having different crystal shapes adorn on them. Actually, almost everything in the castle was composed of crystals, with the stairs, even the couches having crystal patterns and parts all over them. This is probably the reason why it's called the Crystal Empire. Other than the trio, everyone, even the girls were taken back by the beauty of the whole castle, even if it wasn't sparkling enough. Even Rarity and Spike were taken back, with the former fascinated by the castle design, and Spike admiring the crystals, feeling hungry. "It's gorgeous!" Rarity said. "Absolutely gorgeous! There are no words!" She continued to mumble incoherently. "Focus Rarity." Applejack said. "We're not here to admire the scenery." "But look at this magnificent castle!" Rarity said. "It's just so... breathtaking!" "Eh, I don't see what the big deal is." Rainbow Dash said. "Just looks like another old castle to me." Hearing that made Rarity gasp. "A--p--guh! Another old castle?!" The fashionista shouted leaning forward and touching Rainbow Dash's nose with her own. "Have you lost your mind?!" Just seeing Rarity losing it made Rainbow Dash and Applejack laugh, leaving the fashionista to only shake her head. "Very funny..." She spoke as she continued to follow the group. "I wonder if the got crystal pastries." Spike said. "I'm feeling pretty hungry." Hearing that made Twilight chuckle. Pretty soon, the group walked through the doors, making their way into what sees to be the throne room. On the sides of the room were open windows with transparent curtains, and in the far end was a throne, with a chair at the top and multiple crystal fragments sticking out of it from the back. On the far end facing away glancing at the throne was a familiar cerise alicorn with a violet mane and tail with rose and gold streaks, her eyes were light purple. Her cutie mark of a blue multifaceted crystal heart between gold laces was one everyone recognized. The group approached her. "Princess Cadance." Sora said. Hearing the name made the alicorn turn her head. She glanced forward and smiled. "Sora, Donald, Goofy." She said. "Your majesty." Donald said, as he, the boy, and knight gave a bow, as Riku, Aqua, Terra, and Ventus moved to their side. "Your highness." Riku said. "This is Aqua, Terra, and Ventus, former pupils of Master Eraqus." "Princess Cadenza, such an honor." Aqua said as she and Terra gave a bow, with Ventus quickly bowing as well realizing Cadance was a princess. The Princess of Love gave a giggle. "Thank you." Cadance said. "I'm so glad you all made it. I saw the light in the distance not too long ago." "We're glad to be here too." Sora said, and then he realized. "Oh yeah. Cadance, we have a surprise for you!" The boy then stepped aside, revealing Twilight Sparkle behind him. The alicorn of love gasped, with a smile of joy and relief forming on her face. "Twilight!" Cadance said. "Cadance!" Twilight said with her own smile. The two galloped toward each other. They then spoke a nursery song while doing a happy dance, hand clap and flank shake. Sunshine Sunshine Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves And do the little shake! With the nursery rhyme dance done, the two embraced each other in a warm loving hug giving a happy chuckle. "Oh Twilight, it's so good to see you again in one piece." Cadance said. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" "No, no, I'm fine." Twilight said. "Though I do feel... a little shame though. A lot of stuff happened and I... did some terrible things." Cadance glanced at the unicorn, and eyes widened a bit. With her being the princess of love, she sensed a bit of pain in Twilight's heart. But it wasn't abandonment. It was guilt. "I know, Twilight." Cadance said. "I sensed the darkness in your heart when we arrived, and I was beginning to worry. We all did." "I let my own anger and hatred blind me, and I almost lost sight of everything I believed in." Twilight said. "I'm so sorry..." "Oh Twilight, it's ok..." Cadance said as she pulled the lavender unicorn in a comforting hug. Twilight was very relieved to have had Cadance as a foalsitter, and now as an older sister figure. "Um... Princess Cadenza?" Rarity asked as she and the other four mares approached the two. Cadance however, only gave a bit of a glare to the five, still feeling uneasy for their betrayal against Twilight. "It's ok, Cadance." Twilight said. "Me and the girls are on good terms now." The alicorn looked back at Twilight. "Are you sure?" Cadance asked. "Yes." Twilight said. "They traveled far and back to make things right with me. Plus, they saved my life, so we're pretty much even now. You don't need to be stern with them." Cadance looked back at the girls, who were a bit nervous. The alicorn gave a warm smile. "Ok." She said. "If you've forgiven them, then I can too. But I'm still not making them my bridesmaids should I ever get married." "That's perfectly ok with us, Princess." Applejack said. "Just havin' Twilight as our friend is all we need." "Eh, being a bridesmaid was too girly anyway." Rainbow Dash said. Donald and Goofy looked around, noticing that there wasn't a certain mouse nearby. "Hey! Where's the King?" Donald asked. "I'm over here." A familiar voice said in the room. Turning around, they saw King Mickey making his way into the room. "Your majesty!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy called out with joy. Mickey gave a smile and a wave, but the three noticed that he wasn't looking too good. He looked tired, as if he was drained or something. "Mickey." Riku said as he approached him. "Are you ok?" "Yeah, I'm good." Mickey said, though Riku, Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked a bit worried. "Are you sure?" Sora asked. "You don't look so good." "Garsh, you look almost like Donald when he was seasick when we went fishing last month." Goofy said. "You'll have to forgive him." Cadance said. "The King casted a powerful barrier around the castle so that those who serve the darkness doesn't get inside. But it's took quite a bit out of him." "It's ok, Princess." Mickey said after taking a deep breath. "I'm fine." The King however felt a bit woozy and almost dropped to his knees, making Donald and Goofy anxious and more worried. "Your majesty!" They both said as they helped him up. "I'm ok." Mickey said. "No, you're not ok, Mickey." Riku said as he knelt down. "I'm not sure if you can go on like this forever." "He's right." Aqua said. "The shield may last for a long, long time, but casting it again might take more out of you." "But... the shield." Mickey said. "Somebody has to keep it up until this blows.. over..." "I'll do it." Aqua said. "I'm experienced with magic, so I'll recast it when the time comes." "But Aqua." Ventus said. "It could a while for you to recover too." Terra said. "It'll be ok." Aqua said. "This land needs to be protected until all of this is done." "Yeah." Sora said as he turned to the King. "You should probably get some rest. We all should. It's been a long day for us." "Two long days actually." Goofy said. "Cadance?" Another voice said, getting everyone to turn to the front doors. Making his way into the room was Shining Armor, without his combat gear. "Shining Armor?" Sora asked, with Twilight's ears perking up as she glanced at the stallion. "Is everything ok?" Shining asked. "I could've sworn I heard-" He gasped just as he stopped in his tracks, staring at the lavender unicorn who was staring back at him with surprise. "Shining..." Twilight spoke. "T...t...Twily..." Shining said, his voice trembling a bit. Everyone stood there in the room, all of them silent, as Twilight and Shining stared at each other, with the former feeling a bit conflicted, while the latter was feeling surprised, but terrified at the same time. As she stared right at him, she could only think of the horrible things he said to her. In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't bother coming to the wedding at all! Those words of spite echoed in her head a bit, but she tried to shake it out. But it was still there, the anger and the pain, and no doubt that she was still furious with him the most. As for Shining however, he was a bit terrified from his head to his hooves. "Uh... um... hi." Shining said as he waved his hoof with a nervous smile. "Hi." Twilight said, sounding a bit unamused. "Awkward..." Ventus whispered. "You're... you're back!" Shining said as he approached. "Yes, I'm back." Twilight said, feeling a bit hostile. Another moment of silence. "So... um... hehe... how's it going?" Shining asked. "Ok... until you showed up." Twilight said annoyed. Oh boy, he thought. She was still angry with him. Maybe it was best that he leave the room. "Um... Oh, I forgot something." Shining said as he walked backwards nervously. "I'll be right back." He turned away for a moment, only for his face to hit what seemed to be a magical wall, conjured up by Twilight's magic. "Shining, don't leave." Twilight said, her voice sounding aggressively. "We're not done." "Ok..." Shining said as he was magically turned around to face the unicorn, with his face still against the magical wall. He looked and saw his little sister approach closer to him. "We have some things we need to discuss." Twilight said. "Ok..." Shining answered again. "Can you please let me breathe though? The wall's blocking my airway." Twilight then realized that she was pressing the wall hard on him. "Oh, sorry." Twilight said as she evaporated the wall, allowing the stallion to breathe. "This probably isn't going to end well." Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack. "Just give them time." Applejack whispered back. "Sooo... how have you been, kiddo?" Shining asked. "When did you and the others get here?" "Oooh, just about five minutes ago, actually." Twilight said. "After I traveled all over Equestria and nearly awakened an evil monster from the depths of hell and was mind controlled by Nightmare Moon and nearly brought the end of the world as we know it." Her words were calm at the start but started to show a bit of anger as she continued talking, with everyone feeling a bit worried in the room. Shining was actually at a loss of words hearing Twilight's little adventure by herself. "Wow... that's... scary." Shining said. "Yeah, it was." Twilight said, trying her best to calm down. "Oh boy, I better talk." Sora said as he was about to step forward, but Riku placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, let them." Riku said. "They need to sort this out on their own." Sora looked at his friend reluctantly, but knew he was right. The boy only gave a nod. "Wish he would listen to us like he does with Riku..." Donald whispered to Goofy. "And it all started with you not taking my claim against the fake bride." Twilight said. Shining stood there a bit startled, but he did his best to talk. "Well, the only reason why I didn't listen to your claim is because you were acting like a jealous little sister." Shining said. "But I was gonna-" "Yes, I do take partial blame for that, given my own tendencies." Twilight agreed, but stood her own ground, preventing Shining from finishing his sentence. "But what choice did I have? Nobody else was willing to listen, and you went to go check on your bride and left me in the dust!" "But why are you ganging up on me about it?" Shining asked. "I admit, I made a horrible mistake, and for that I'm really, really sorry." "Are you?" Twilight asked. "Because you obviously didn't bother to tell me yourself!" "Well, I wasn't the only one who left you alone in that hall!" Hearing that made the rest of the Mane Six gasp. And he gasped himself, realizing that he made a big mistake saying that. "Dang it, not the best choice of words." He thought. "Why you little!" Rainbow Dash said as she ferociously flapped her wings, ready to pound him, but she was stopped by Twilight. "But at least my friends chose me over a silly wedding!" Twilight said. "They may have left me, but in the end, they did choose me. They cared about my own safety! They searched all over for me and tried to finish what I was trying to do, while you didn't bother go searching for me, or even apologized to me!" Hearing that made Shining gasp. "What you said to me before all that was the worse thing you have ever said to me." Twilight continued. "Choosing some fake bride over your own sister. You know what the worse part was? That Changeling Queen told me when she hid me under the caverns, that no pony would look for me! And she was right! You didn't bother to look for me! The only ones I can excuse are my friends since they had their memories tempered with, but no. You chose to continue the wedding didn't even knowing that I was gone!" "But Twily… I did go s-" Shining tried to explain, but the lavender unicorn didn't listen. "I could've died down there!" She went on. "I could've starved to death in pain! Would you even bother to even care if I was slowly dying!? No, you wouldn't have, because you cared about some stupid wedding over me!!!" She shouted towards the end, as her horn began to light up with intense magic, and her eyes began to glow with white, as if she was going to attack. The stallion before her gasped in fear, while everyone gasped too. "Twilight, Don't!" Sora shouted as he reached out. Twilight quickly gasped, hearing the boy's voice. She blinked, and glanced forward, seeing Shining looking at her with fear. She then glanced around, seeing everyone else startled as well, even Spike looked afraid. The lavender unicorn then glanced down and backed away. "No... not again... I just can't..." She said. She began to head for the door. "Twilight, wait!" Cadance called out. "I'm sorry, but it still hurts too much!" Twilight said as she galloped out of the room, leaving everyone there. Sora couldn't take anymore of this. Seeing Twilight sad. He had to do something. "Twilight, wait!" Sora called out as he ran after her. "Sora!" Riku said, but he was stopped by Aqua. "No, Riku." She said. "Let him." She was right. Knowing Sora can calm Twilight down, he gave a nod. The girls were also a bit worried. "C'mon y'all." Applejack said. "We better go check on her too." Nodding in agreement, the five ponies, and Spike headed out the door to follow Twilight, leaving the others and Cadance in the room. "Awwww..." Donald said. "Garsh, she's probably still hurtin' inside." Goofy said. Shining only looked away, and lowered his head in shame. Dang it, he thought. He screwed up again. "Shining..." Cadance said as she approached him. "I screwed up, Cadance." Shining said. "I don't think she'll ever forgive me." The pink alicorn turned his head towards her. "It's ok." Cadance said. "She can't be mad at you forever. She just needs time." "HEY, Fellas!" Cid called out as he burst from the doorway with surprise and confusion. "Cid?" Donald and Goofy asked. "Those crystal ponies make hotdogs, with crystals on it!" Cid said as he held up a hotdog, which was covered with small crystals. "Who does that?!" Everyone only glanced at him with confusion, and he looked at them knowing there was something going on before he came in. "What?" Cid asked. "What did I miss?" Twilight continued galloping up the stairs to the upper floor. She couldn't do it. She couldn't face him. Not because she was still angry. Well, she was still angry, but the pain was still there. The pain of his hurtful worlds continued to play in her ear. She couldn't get it out. Pretty soon, she found herself up on the balcony. Making it to the edge, she rested her hooves on the railing that prevented anypony from falling off. She glanced down at the streets, and then up at the sky. She couldn't help but cry. Pretty soon, Sora made it up the stairs and to the door to the balcony. Looking ahead, he saw Twilight crying. The boy knew right away. She couldn't face her brother. She couldn't. He then made his way toward her. "Twilight?" Sora asked. "I couldn't do it." Twilight said. "I couldn't face him." The boy only sighed, and moved next to her. "How much does it hurt?" Sora asked. "A lot." Twilight said. The boy couldn't help but feel sorry her. "I'm sorry, Sora." Twilight said. "Don't be." Sora said. "It's ok to feel like this. I know it hurts, Twilight. But you can't stay angry at him forever." "I know, but what he said still hurt." Twilight said. "We were raised together, we played together, he was there for me when I didn't have a friend. I know that he was mind controlled, but he was himself when he said pushed me away." She buried her face into her hooves, still crying. The boy rested his hand on her shoulder. "Twilight, you're not the only one who's gone through this." Sora said. "Oh really?" Twilight asked. "How can you know? How can you understand how to have someone you grew up with and played with your whole life betray you? You don't know or understand how much it hurts." The boy glanced back at her. "Actually, I do." Sora said. "I know what it's like to be betrayed by someone who's family." He then sat down next to her. "I, too, know betrayal." Sora said. "How?" Twilight asked, still sounding sad and bitter. "Who betrayed you?" Sora glanced away for a moment, knowing that this was something he needed to get off his chest. "I was betrayed... by my best friend." Sora said, getting the mare's attention. "Wh...What?" She asked. "Me and Riku… when we lost our world, I was separated from him and Kairi. While I went looking for them, Riku came into contact with Maleficent." Twilight gasped, remembering the witch from earlier. "The witch?" Twilight asked. "Yeah." Sora said. "Riku ended up helping Maleficent retrieve the Princesses of Heart, and he began to embrace the darkness." The boy remembered two years ago encountering Riku back at inside Monstro, who kidnapped Pinnochio believing it possessed Kairi's heart, and Sora knew that he wasn't on the right side. He remembered ready to face him. "What?" Riku asked. "You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet who shouldn't have a heart?" "Heart or no heart, at least he has a conscious." Sora said back. "Conscious?" Riku asked. "You might not hear it, but it's loud and clear." Sora said, summoning his keyblade. "And it's telling me you're on the wrong side!" Riku only glared with disappointment. "Then you leave me no choice..." Riku said, summoning his Soul Eater, only to leave while a giant Heartless arrived to deal with them. A little time later after that, Sora and his friends were captured by Captain Hook, the sworn enemy of Peter Pan. He encountered Riku there, who was commanding the Heartless. That moment he was surrounded by the heartless, who obeyed Riku's command was pretty scary. "Riku, why are you siding with the Heartless?" Sora asked. "The heartless obey me now, Sora." Riku said. "Now I have nothing to fear." The spikey haired boy only gritted his teeth. "You're insane!" Sora said. "Sooner or later, they'll swallow your heart!" "Not a chance." Riku said. "I even picked up a few new tricks as well, like this for instance." With a wave of his hand, Sora glanced down at his own shadow, seeing it emerge from the ground with haunting yellow eyes. Sometime after that, when they made it Hollow Bastion, which used to be Radiant Garden, Sora came face to face with Riku again, only for his keyblade to be taken away from him. "Maleficent was right." Riku said, holding Sora's keyblade in his hand. "You don't have what it takes to save Kairi after all." "But... that's impossible!" Sora said, surprised and powerless. "How did this happen? I'm the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!" "Sorry, but your part's over." Riku said. "You were just the delivery boy..." At that moment, Sora dropped to his knees, and hung his head low in defeat. "He took everything from me, and just left me alone." Sora said, continuing his story to Twilight, who was surprised and sad hearing it. "I'm so sorry." Twilight said. "But after all that, you forgave him? Why did you forgive him?" "Because... it was mostly my fault." Sora said. "What do you mean?" Twilight asked. The boy lowered his head in shame. "I made him think I abandoned him." Sora said. "I met Donald and Goofy around that time, and Riku thought that I replaced him with them. I made him believe that I valued them more than I valued him. He never pushed me away. I pushed him away, without even knowing it." The boy only glanced away with guilt. "I promised that I would be there for him when he needed me most, and I wasn't." Sora said. "And because of that, he lost himself in the darkness, and eventually possessed by Ansem… the Heartless of Master Xehanort." Twilight gasped. "Oh my..." Twilight said. "Because of that... I only blamed myself for not being there." Sora said. "I lost my best friend, but I wasn't going to fail him. After defeating Ansem, I went looking for Riku, to be there for him. Despite everything that he did in the past, he's still my friend. And no matter what would happen, I would be there for him. It took almost a whole year to do so. But I did find him. You wouldn't believe how worried I was. But luckily, the King was there to keep him company until we reunited. After so, Together, we were able to defeat Xemnas, the leader of the Original Organization XIII, and we made it home together." Twilight was amazed. Despite everything that happened between them, Sora was still willing to forgive his friend. "Gosh..." Twilight said. "Riku may have done some bad stuff, but I wasn't there for him, and I made him think I replaced him." Sora said. "You see, you shouldn't hold a grudge against someone if they made a mistake. I mean, think about it. You didn't do a good job making your case about the fake bride." Twilight glanced forward to think. Sora was right. When she tried to expose the bride, Twilight didn't act very mature during the whole thing. She did act like a jealous little sister. "Ok, you got a strong point on that." Twilight said. "But he still didn't bother looking for me, and continued on with the wedding." The boy glanced back at her with a surprise. "Actually, he did went looking for you." Sora said. "Huh?" Twilight asked. "W... what do you mean?" Then, Sora reached into his pocket, and pulled out the memory stone, the one Naminé gave him. "Is that?" Twilight asked. "Here." Sora said. "Take a look." A little surprised, Twilight placed her hoof on the stone, and it gave a magical flash, as more strips of magical film flowed into her head, making her gasp. In her mind, she saw Shining, feeling guilty for what he said to Twilight shortly after the rehearsal. He went back to the hall to apologize, only to see her being taken below the castle by the imposter. He tried to save her but couldn't. He demanded the fake bride to bring his sister back, but she mind controlled him and made him forget what he saw, and to continue on with the wedding. As the scenes came to an end, Twilight gasped at what she saw. Everything that she just saw, was the truth! Shining didn't abandon her and continued the wedding. He went to talk to her to give her another chance. The lavender unicorn leaned still against the balcony, going over everything she just saw. "Twilight, are you ok?" Sora asked. She glanced forward. "He... he did care about me..." She said. She couldn't believe it, but it was true! Shining did go to find her and apologize. Looking back at her own argument with him just five minutes ago, she couldn't help but begin to form tears. "Wh... what have I done?" Twilight asked. "Uh oh..." Sora said, seeing Twilight being consumed by guilt once again. With a distressful cry, she clung onto Sora, and began to cry again. She buried herself into his chest and just continued to weep, while the boy hugged her closely. "How could I be so foolish..." Twilight said. "How could I... I..." She continued to cry as the boy held her close, stroking her mane. "It's ok, Twilight." Sora said. "It's ok to feel all these kinds of emotions. You shouldn't feel bad about it. Everyone goes through these kinds of feelings. I've gone through them too." Pretty soon, the lavender unicorn wiped away her tears and managed to calm down. "How do you deal with it?" Twilight asked. Sora was about to speak, but then he looked away, unable to get an answer. "Well, I don't have an answer for that." Sora said. "But I do know this. You don't have to deal with all this pain alone. You can always turn to a friend close to you." He then glanced back at the doorway, and so did Twilight. They saw the other girls, and Spike, watching them, but they gave reassuring smiles, showing that they're here. Seeing them here made Twilight smile. "Thank you, Sora." Twilight said, glancing back at the boy. "I know I'm gonna have to talk to Shining, but..." "But what?" Sora asked. The lavender unicorn glanced down. "I now know that he went to look for me, but what he said to me still hurts." Twilight said. "I... I just don't know what to do." The boy rested his hand on the unicorn's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll know eventually." Sora said. "If you want, you can wait to apologize to him. But don't wait too long, ok? Promise me that you'll give him a chance?" "I'll try." Twilight said. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep that promise, but I'll try." "Ok." Sora said, but then he remembered something. "Oh! I almost forgot!" He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace with the yellow crystal star. "My necklace!" Twilight said. "The one you gave to me." "Yeah, I found this when... well, when you were posing as Mare Do Well and all that." Sora said as he handed it to her. Twilight remembered, where she done the mask of Mare Do Well and stole the artifacts. A face of shame came to her face. She extended her hoof, and pushed Sora's hand with the necklace away. "Thank you, but..." Twilight said. "I don't deserve it. Not after everything I did." The boy tilted his head, but he smiled. Unlatching the necklace, he wrapped it around Twilight's neck, and connected the latch again so it would stay on. "It's a gift from a friend." Sora said. "And you'll always be my friend." Hearing that made Twilight smile. Without hesitating, she gave him a warm hug. It was surprising, but the boy accepted it happily. As the two disconnected the hug, the girls were still watching. "Well, looks like Sora did the thing." The baby dragon said. "But, I don't think Twilight's ready to see her brother again." "Gosh, I just hope Twilight and her brother eventually make up." Fluttershy said. "Maybe I can throw them a get together party!" Pinkie Pie said. "That always works with every brother and sister that I helped make amends." "Well, we can't rush them to forgive each other." Applejack said. "They need to take their time." "Besides, we gotta save this Empire from being taken again." Rainbow Dash said. "Twilight's gonna need our help." As the girls continued on with what to do, Rarity couldn't help but glance at Sora and Twilight, and giving a smile. "Rarity?" Pinkie Pie asked, popping in front of her, and startling her. "Pinkie Pie, don't do that when a lady is observing." Rarity said. "Observing at what?" Pinkie Pie asked. "At this romantic scene." Rarity said, pointing at Sora and Twilight. "Rares, you know Twilight's a unicorn and Sora's a... well, a human, right?" Applejack asked. "Well, Sora does make a good candidate for someone special to Twilight." Rarity said. "She definitely looks like she could use a boyfriend or something." "Excuse me?" a voice asked behind the girls. They turned to see a gamboge Pegasus with different tones a blue coloring in his mane and tail, which was styled with a cool look. He wore armor of the royal guards, except it was a gold yellow and he had a blue star in the middle. His cutie mark was a two-toned blue shield behind a yellow lightning bolt. "Is, uh, Is Twilight with you girls?" He asked. "I could've sworn I heard her a while ago." The five ponies looked with surprise and disbelief. "And... you are?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I'm Flash Sentry." The Pegasus said. "I'm Twilight's... uh... friend." The blush on his face said otherwise, making the girls look at him with even more surprise. They recalled Twilight saying that she would leave to go see a friend. And this is her friend? They all pointed to the direction she went without saying anything. "Thank you." He replied and went towards the balcony. The girls looked at him with more surprise. "Twilight has a... coltfriend?" Rainbow Dash asked. "She didn't tell us she was seeing somepony." Applejack said. "Ooooh, sign me up for the next war." Rarity said. The Pegasus, Flash Sentry, saw Twilight and Sora. A smile formed on his face. "Twilight!" He called out as he approached them, getting the lavender unicorn's attention. As she turned around, however, the two ponies bumped into each other, causing her to fall forwards, but the young stallion in armor caught her with his hooves. Looking up at the fine Pegasus, her eyes widened with surprise, and a smile formed on her face, while Sora looked confused. "Oh!" Twilight said, approaching the rookie guard. "Hello, Flash Sentry." "Hello to you too, Twilight Sparkle." The Rookie Soldier said. "I'm glad that you're back. I mean, I'm thrilled, I mean... uh... you get the idea." "Thank you." Twilight said, giving a blush. "I... I wouldn't leave Equestria hanging... you know?" She gave a nervous smile, while the stallion gave a smile and a slight blush too. "Ummm… Twilight?" Sora asked, getting her attention. "Who's this?" "Oh, right, introductions." Twilight said. "Flash, this is Sora. Sora, this is Flash Sentry, the newest member of the Royal Guard. We met a few months ago." "Hello, sir!" Flash Sentry said as he gave a salute with his hoof. The boy tilted his head, but then he remembered. He remembers seeing this stallion when he was looking through the past to learn how to save Twilight. He saw this stallion and Twilight talking. A smile formed on his face. "Oh... so that was you." He said. "Huh?" Flash asked. "Oh, nothing." Sora said. Twilight turned back towards the Pegasus. "It's really good to see you again, Flash." Twilight said. "Good to see you too, Twilight." Flash said. "I... uh... I hope I wasn't interrupting something." "Oh, no." Twilight said. "It's perfectly fine." She then glanced around, seeing her friends staring at her with a bit of surprise, but they were smiling, well, except for Spike, who was looking straight at Flash with suspicion. She then just realized that everyone was staring at them. "Um, girls." She spoke. "Do you mind?" "Oh, sorry Twilight!" Rarity said "We don't want to intrude the both of you." She then used her magic to pick up Spike, much to his surprise. "Wait, put me down!" Spike said. "Now Spike, we should give them some space." Rarity said. "If it's ok with you, Twilight." Twilight glanced at the fashionista and back at Flash. "Um... sure." Twilight said. "Alright, just let us know if you need anything, Twi." Applejack said. "And we'll be there in ten seconds flat, no, one second flat!" Rainbow Dash said. Hearing that made Twilight giggle. "Ok." Twilight said, glancing back at Flash, who gave a smile as well. "WHAT?!" Spike asked as he was pulled by Rarity's magic, and the two left the balcony, as the girls followed. "You two have fun!" Pinkie Pie called back before disappearing in a second. Twilight gave a happy giggle, but then she noticed Sora was still her. "Um... Sora?" Twilight asked. "Huh?" He asked. He then glanced back at Twilight, then at Flash, then at Twilight, then at Flash. Then, it sparked in his head. "Oooohhh… now I get it." Sora said smiling, having a good idea that Twilight and Flash seem to be more than just friends. "Don't worry. I'll leave you two be." He then made his way back inside the castle. "Good night!" Sora called back with a wave as he headed back inside. "Your friends are pretty nice." Flash said. "Thanks." Twilight said. Just as he went into the castle, Sora glanced back at the balcony, seeing Twilight with Flash. He couldn't help but smile. "Hello, Sora." Cadance spoke as she and Shining came from down the hall. "Hello, Princess." Sora said. "Is Twily ok?" Shining asked. "Yeah, she's ok now." Sora said. "She probably doesn't want to talk to me." Shining said, feeling guilty. "Well, I asked her to give you a chance." Sora said. "And she said that she'll try to." He took one last look at the balcony, where Twilight and Flash were talking. "I didn't know Twilight had a boyfriend." He said. "She WHAT?!" Shining asked, with Sora covering his mouth. The captain of the Royal Guard glanced at the balcony with shock, seeing his sister talking with the new guy. "She's dating the newbie?" He asked, and then a happy smile formed on his face. "I like him!" "You do?" Sora and Cadance asked surprised. They were expecting Shining to be a brother-hawk whenever the subject of boys comes up when it involves Twilight. But he's cool with it? "Well, who doesn't?" Shining asked. "I like him too." Rarity said as she and the rest of the mane six and Spike approached the three. "He definitely has that cool guy, nice guy vibe." "I'll say." Rainbow Dash said, with Spike giving a grunt of distaste. "I can't believe it." Spike said. "We're just gonna let Twilight be alone with that slick." Spike said. "Spike, language." Rarity said. "Sorry, I just don't like him." Spike said. "Don't like him?" Pinkie Pie asked. "But he's so cool looking, even if he doesn't have a personality." "Well, still." Spike said, glancing back at the balcony. "What does Twilight see in him anyway?" "What do you see in him?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Him?" Spike asked. "He's brilliant. He's cool, he's nice, he's supportive, he can even play guitar with his wings." "You just called him a slick just a second ago." Applejack said. "Yeah, but I don't feel comfortable whenever he's around Twilight." Spike said. "Your scared that he's gonna take her away from you?" Fluttershy asked. "Wha… No!" Spike said, though his looked away for a second and sighed. "M....Maybe..." "Oh, Spike, darling." Rarity said. "You shouldn't be afraid about Twilight leaving you. She's been a part of your life since the day you were born." "Yeah, I guess you're right about that." Spike said. "But still..." "Don't worry, Spike." Sora said. "Twilight will be fine. She's in good hands." "Hooves, darling." Rarity said. "Same thing." Sora said, with the rest of the ponies laughing. Sora took one last look at Twilight and Flash, giving a happy smile. He was glad to see Twilight having someone special to spend time with. Seeing them both together reminded him when he and Kairi were together. As he blinked, he then saw himself and Kairi, sitting on the pier on Destiny Islands. The memory of them together a couple years ago, the day before their world was swallowed by the darkness, where they were sitting on the pier together, watching the sunset. "You know, Riku has changed." Kairi said. "What do you mean?" Sora asked. "Well... hmm..." The girl spoke, as she began to think. "You ok?" Sora asked. "Sora, let's take the raft and go! Just the two of us!" She spoke. "Huh?" Sora asked surprised. "Hehe, just kidding!" Kairi laughed. Sora couldn't help but smile. "What's gotten into you?" He asked. "You're the one who's changed, Kairi." "Maybe..." She said. "You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go, or what I see, I can always come back here. Right? "Yeah, of course." Sora agreed with a nod. "That's good." Kairi said, glancing at the water, looking straight to the sunset. "Sora, don't ever change." She said. "Huh?" He asked as she got up, seeing the sun reaching the horizon. "I just can't wait once we set sail." Kairi said. "It'll be great." "This time, I'll keep you safe." "Huh?" He spoke, blinking his eyes again, seeing Twilight and Flash back on the balcony. Did he just hear Kairi's voice? The ponies around him glanced at him. "Are you alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Oh, yeah." Sora said. "I was just... remembering a good memory." He glanced down, realizing he was just imagining things again. But he did hear her voice though. He heard Kairi's voice. "Come on, everyone." Cadance said. "We better get ready for bed. The shield will last for at least 24 hours. We got a big day ahead of us." "Gotcha." Sora said. Pretty soon, the group began making their way down the hall, leaving Twilight and Flash alone on the balcony together. "I'm really glad that you're safe." Flash said. "I was really worried when I heard that you disappeared. I wanted to go look for you, but I was assigned to help escort Princess Cadance and Captain Armor all the way here." "It's ok." Twilight said. "It's part of being a royal guard. And besides, it was probably best that you didn't look for me." "Why?" Flash asked, as the lavender unicorn glanced down at the city below them. "I've done a lot of bad things." Twilight said. "Horrible things. I turned my back on Equestria and everything. I almost killed my best friend..." She closed her eyes, trying to shake the horrible memories of her wrong doings. But then she felt the warmth of Flash's wing around her, giving her comfort. "It's ok, Twilight." Flash said. "You were not in your right mind. I overheard your brother and the princess talking about what happened. I'm sorry that I wasn't there." "It's alright." Twilight said. "Speaking of which, where were you during all that? I didn't see you at all on that day." "Oh, well, I had other things to attend to." Flash said, a bit nervously. "Family business and what not. Plus, I'm not one for weddings." Twilight tilted her head, seeing that Flash was sounding a bit nervous when he was speaking. Regardless, she gave a smile. "Oh, well if was family buisness, it was probably important." Twilight said. "Yeah..." Flash said as he looked away, looking a bit sad, much to her notice. "What's wrong?" Twilight asked. "It's just... my family doesn't know about what I do." Flash said. "They don't like the idea of me being a royal guard. They would probably kill me should they find out. "Oh, don't worry, Flash." Twilight said. "I'm sure they'll accept it eventually. Besides, you must really love being a royal guard." "Yeah, but not as much as I love you." Flash said, glancing back at her with a warm smile. "What?" Twilight asked, hearing that. Suddenly, Flash gasped and blushed as he realized what he just said. "No wait, I mean... uh... um... well... I..." The stallion said, though he began to blush even more as he began to stumble on his words, unable to figure out what to say. However, Twilight began to smile affectionately, giving a blush of her own. All of a sudden, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The kiss surprised him as he blushed even more, but a smile formed on his face. "Thanks." Twilight said. Both of them smiled as they stared in each other's eyes. Pretty soon, Twilight glanced up at the sky, seeing multiple colors forming in the sky. The Aurora Lights... otherwise known as the Northern Lights, are a natural light display in the sky, predominantly seen in the high-latitude regions. The lights were indeed magnificent. "It's a beautiful night." Twilight said as the stallion glanced at her with a loving smile. "Yeah... it sure is." Flash said as he and Twilight continued watching the sky's light performance. Little did the lavender unicorn know of the Pegasus's shadow took the silhouette of a strange pony creature with insectoid wings and baring sharp fangs. Back at the entrance of the castle, while Twilight and Flash were talking. Sora was glancing up at the stars. They say that the stars up in the sky are the other worlds, and the world's light shines down like a billion lanterns. Seeing the peaceful sky were some things that would help Sora ease his mind, and it always works like a charm. But yet, his thoughts were still on Kairi. Seeing Twilight and Flash together reminded him so much of her. He was just hoping that she's alright. With the magic working again, she's probably alright. But seeing her hurt after what happened was a dreadful sight to be seen. He then remembered something. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out star-shaped trinket made out of Thalassa Shells. It was the Thalassa charm, or most commonly known as a Wayfinder. It's a special charm based on the paopu fruits, which are said to tie friends or loved ones together, allowing them to become a part of each other's lives, no matter what. Kairi gave this to him when he went looking for Riku, and when they returned to the islands, Sora gave it back to her. But when Sora had to leave to save those connected to him, she gave it back to him for luck. He never had the chance to return it to her. He kept it close to his heart and glanced up at the sky. "Kairi, I'll be home soon." Sora said. "I promise." Pretty soon, Riku came outside to join him. "Sora?" He asked, getting his attention. "Hey, Riku." Sora said. "So, how did go?" Riku asked. "Well, Twilight still needs time." Sora said. "I was able to tell her that Shining wasn't truly at fault." "How'd you do that?" Riku asked. "I told her a bit from my own personal experience." Sora said. "And while looking for Twilight, someone... gave me something to help jog her memory." Riku knew who he was talking about. He couldn't help but smile. "Well, that's another thing we need to thank Naminé for." Riku said. "Yeah." Sora said, but he couldn't help but show a frown. Thinking back on his conversation with Twilight, he couldn't help but feel a bit worried about her and Shining. "I really hope Twilight and Shining Armor make up soon." Sora said. "I really don't like seeing two siblings fight. "Don't worry." Riku said. "She'll forgive him." "Yeah..." Sora said. "So, what was the personal experience you told her about?" Riku asked. The boy looked down at the ground. "About you and me." He answered. "Ooh..." Riku said, knowing what he was referring to, how they ended up having to fight each other during the course of their first adventure. "Sorry." Sora said. "No, it's ok." Riku said. "It doesn't really bother me anymore." "You know, I never did blame you." Sora said. "For what?" Riku asked. "When you helped Maleficent and... gave into the darkness." Sora said. "Really?" Riku said a bit surprised. "Yeah..." Sora said. The silver-haired boy leaned against the wall, thinking back on the bad things he had done in the past. Even everything that happened between him and Sora, the latter forgave him. But that was the question, was it. Why? "You know, everything we've been through, and everything that I've done, you were willing to forgive me." Riku said. "I know this sounds pretty stupid to ask, but why? Why did you forgive me?" "Aw, c'mon Riku." Sora said. "You're my best friend. Friends don't abandon each other, even if one of them did wrong to the other. And besides, if anything, I blamed myself, for making you feel left out." "Oh yeah, when I thought you replaced me with Donald and Goofy." Riku said. "Yeah." Sora said. "I never meant to make you feel like that. I'm sorry if I did." "It's ok." Riku said. "You just love making friends. At least you didn't give into the darkness." "Yeah, but I still wasn't there for you." Sora said. "That's why I went looking for you, so I can be there for you. Because that's what friends do. Even after what happened, I'm still willing to call you my best friend. And I wouldn't trade you and the others for the world." Hearing that brought a smile on the older boy's face. "Thank you, Sora." Riku said. "And looking back, it was actually nice that you met Donald and Goofy, seeing that they do a good job looking out for you when I wasn't able to. But, no offense, those two aren't really the brightest friends you picked." "Can't argue with that." Sora said. "I actually stopped counting on Donald to heal me when I run out of magic. And I won't lie, a lot of stupid stuff does come out of that beak of his." "HEY!" A quacky shout got their attention, seeing Donald just at the entrance looking a bit angry. Yes, he probably heard that part. "I'm right here!" "Well it's true!" Sora called back. "Your loud mouth would always get us into trouble!" "Well, at least I'm not reckless like you are!" Donald called out, just as Mickey and Goofy came outside. "Well, you can be a bit steamed, Donald." Mickey said, getting the royal wizard's attention. "Remember that time when you nearly broke Ansem's Computer with your feet." "Yeah, we got sucked into Cyberspace because of that." Goofy said. "I didn't start it!" Donald shouted. "The little blue guy did!" Suddenly, Stitch appeared behind Donald, giving a chuckle, making the duck jump in surprise until he fell on his face. Seeing that resulted with the King, Goofy, Riku, and Sora laughing at the duck's misfortune. Suddenly, the boy noticed something in the sky, and to his surprise, it was the Aurora Lights forming in the sky. "Whoa..." Sora said. "The Northern Lights." Mickey said. "They give off a beautiful display." "Yeah." Sora said, fascinated by the lights sparking and swirling. "Do you think they'll make up?" He asked. "Twilight and Shining?" "I'm sure they will." Riku said. "Twilight will forgive Captain Armor eventually, maybe sooner than you think." "But what can we do about it?" Sora asked. "We can't rush them to forgive, Sora." Mickey said. "Besides, you helped her learn the truth, and you helped her make amends with her friends." "We did our part for her, so now we just have to let them figure it out themselves." Goofy said. "That's right." Donald said. "Plus, the Crystal Empire needs saving after all." "There's enough time for their hearts to reconnect." Riku said. "And you know that more than anyone." The spikey haired boy glanced forward, seeing Twilight and Flash giggling and laughing. A smile formed on his face. They were right. They can't rush Twilight and Shining to forgive each other. They're gonna have to figure it out for themselves for a while. Besides, Sora has done all he could, and he pointed Twilight in the right direction. She's gonna give him a chance. She will. Like Riku had said, and a certain Pirate Captain said before him, there is always enough time for hearts to say what's true, and to reconnect. It only takes a moment to reconnect with the ones you care about, with your hearties. "You're right, there's always enough time." Sora said, who then glanced at the sky, seeing the stars twinkle above them. "They'll make amends eventually. But for now, we have an empire to save." Meanwhile... back at the Mysterious Tower... "So, they've managed to succeed?" A high sweet voice asked. Back in the Mysterious Tower, Master Yen Sid was speaking with a Queen and her maiden of honor. The queen was a mouse, like Mickey, with two big round ears. She wore an elegant gown with short puffy sleeves, and the top of the gown was pink with red lining. The dress sported a flower-pattern inside circles that line the bottom. She wore white gloves, and a gold tiara with a ruby Hidden Mickey symbol set in the middle. It was Minnie Mouse, the Queen of Disney Castle. She helps look after the kingdom whenever Mickey is away. Her maid in honor, Daisy Duck, was a duck like Donald, but with long eyelashes. She sported a gold tiara with a sapphire set in the front. Her attire consisted of a ornate, sleeveless, violet ball gown with a high collar and a white column of buttons going down the front. The dress was an amethyst color with the bottom being periwinkle with a white wavy pattern. Daisy Duck is the duchess, and Minnie's best friend. It's her job to help Minnie, and to keep Donald in line. The two came to the Mysterious Tower after learning that the magic was working one again, and Yen Sid was giving them the updates. "Yes, the King and the others managed to succeed so far." Yen Sid continued. "King Mickey and Riku have made it to the Crystal Empire. Sora and the others have managed to restore the Magic, and saved young Twilight Sparkle." "Oh, that's good!" Minnie said. "I'm just glad that Mickey and the rest are ok." "I don't know about you, but I just hope Donald isn't causing too much trouble." Daisy said. "With the magic fixed, then all that remains is stopping the Shadow King from taking the Crystal Empire." Minnie said. "Yes... but that's not what troubles me though." Yen Sid said. "From what Sora has stated, Maleficent seems to be in Equestria as well. No doubt that she seeks to conquer it as her own." "And I bet you that trouble-making Pete is helping her." Daisy said showing distaste. "Now, now, Daisy." Minnie assured her. "Sora was able to stop them before, so I'm sure he and the rest will succeed." "Perhaps." Yen Sid said. "But the presence of the man in the black hood is what troubles me even more. Xehanort and his Dark Seekers are no more, but how is it that one who wears their cloak happens to be wondering about?" "Well, what if it isn't someone from this Organization XIII?" Minnie asked. "What if it's somebody who is actually... someone else?" The older sorcerer let out a sigh, but that was showing that he was thinking. "There are only two other people who wear the black coat." He said. "Two who happen to be keyblade wielders like Sora and the others. These two keyblade wielders are those who once lived in the ancient past before the Keyblade War even began. One was a Master, the Master of All Masters, and his trusted apprentice, Luxu. The Master, however, disappeared from existence shortly before the War began, and passed on his trusted keyblade to Luxu, the same keyblade that Master Xehanort had wielded." Minnie and Daisy gasped. "But why would this Master of Master be doing all of this?" Minnie asked. "I thought he was a good person... wasn't he?" "Or it could be someone who found his keyblade, and stole his robe." Daisy said. The sorcerer began to think some more, and a thought came to his mind. "There is one other possibility..." He began, but then brushed it off. "No, it's not possible. It's been centuries..." The Queen and the duchess noticed Yen Sid's uncertainty. "Master Yen Sid?" Minnie asked. "Um, excuse me?" Another voice asked, getting their attention. To Minnie and Daisy's surprise, it was actually Axel... or Lea, to be precise. "Oh, was I interrupting something?" He asked. "No, not at all." Yen Sid said. "You've arrived on time. Did you bring our guests?" "Yeah, I did." Lea said. "They even said they wanted to help, but why did you need them?" As Lea stood aside, Minnie and Daisy gasped in surprise. "Wait... is that?" Minnie asked. "The boy who helped us more than a Decade ago?" Daisy asked. "Not exactly." Yen Sid said. "He only looks like him. Lea and Sora have told me that he too is a keyblade wielder. I'm glad that you decided to come... Roxas." Yes, standing in the doorway was indeed Roxas, the former nobody of Sora, and Ventus's look-a-like. "Sure." He answered. "I'm here to help." Far, Far, Far into the Badlands Almost a thousand years ago... give or take a couple of years A lone squirrel was making it's way along a tree branch, and came across what appeared to be an acorn. But as he picked it up, he smelled a terrible smell, and he realized it was from the acorn. Looking upon it, he saw that it was old and contaminated with what appeared to be larva inside of it. Giving a disgusted squeak and tossed the acorn away, letting it drop down from the tree and into a small hole, which led to an underground chasm where a pool of dark green goo-like water resided. It fell into the contaminated water. After a period of time, the acorn, now nurtured with the toxic water, grew into a plant, a very carnivorous plant that acted like a fly eating plant, and it would eat insects, and any innocent ponies that came across it, including the bones. Shortly after Nightmare Moon's banishment, Starswirl heard from several ponies about this plant and went into the chasm to fight it. He was victorious, and slayed the plant. After seeing how horrible the place was, he couldn't help but look away in disgust. "This place is horrible." Starswirl said to himself as he examined the area. Looking down at the toxic goo before he, he noticed some dead bones of ponies in the water, sinking slowly into it. This water must be polluted with some deadly magic, or some mixture that had gone wrong. But how it was able to mutate a plant into a creature eating machine was still unknown. He knew that he could not let anyone see this place. "Ponies should stay away from this place." He said. Taking a wooden board, he nailed it into a nearby tree, detailing it with the words DANGER: STAY AWAY! With his work done, he left quickly back to Canterlot. But little did he know that the tree he placed the sign on, was also part of the acorn that sank into the water. The nail from the sign began to grow a bigger crack, causing it to spread quickly all over the tree. Suddenly, there were sounds coming from the tree, and the crack where the sign hung burst open, causing the sign to fall onto the ground, and showing a big hole in the tree, glowing with green energy. Then, emerging from the tree itself were pony silhouettes, crawling out of the hole. They were not ponies however... they were bug-like ponies, with their chitins being a sea-greenish black, their carapaces being dark blue, and their crusty fin and tails colored in dark arctic bluish gray. Their eyes were all moderate arctic blue, and they had fangs, sharp white fangs. They were all hissing, all buzzing with their blue insectoid wings, and they were immuned to the toxic water. These bug-like ponies were Changelings, creatures that can shapeshift into anything and anyone around them. While some can use magic, their power allows them to feast on the love and emotions of other ponies, even having the power to suck the life-force and energy from their victims, and, with enough power and under certain circumstances, even drain ponies of their magic in the most horrible way possible. They're also known for eating ponies, but that's most likely a rumor. After multiple changelings came out of the tree, one more was beginning to emerge from the hole, showing moderate harlequin eyes with grayish opal pupils, giving a hiss with her long tongue. Present Time... "Your majesty?" The voice of one of her commanders got her attention. The Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, tall as Princess Celestia, her entire chitin skin colored in a very dark gray, with her carapace being gradient from dark arctic blue to moderate green. Her mane and tail was dark cerulean, and like her hooves, there were holes in them. She had very deep opal eyeshadow and her eyes were moderate harlequin with dark grayish opal pupils. She turned her head to see one of her commanders, Commander Shell, who was wearing green armor, and leader of the Hornet Squad, approaching her. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked. The Changeling Queen turned back to see the desert. "No, I am not alright." Chrysalis spoke. "I'm very angry." "I believe it's because our invasion upon Canterlot failed, is it." Shell said. "Of course it is, your fool!" Chrysalis shouted. "We were so close to taking over the castle! We were so close! But we tripped right at the finish line because the royal happy couple sent out a blast to blast us away! All of those months of planning is now wasted!" She only growled and shook her head in disappointment. "If you're quite finished, I have some news." Shell said. "We've managed to restore the castle for you." Chrysalis glanced back at the commander with a grumpy face and sighed. "Fine, let me see it." Chrysalis said. With that said, the two made their way towards their new fort for the time being, a huge black colored castle covered in green slime, with the small village below next door was also covered in changeling goo. It used to be the home of adorable catlike residents until the Changelings decided to feast on the cuddly creatures love and reducing them and their home into dust. Again, it's horrible. The two made their way towards the entrance and opened the doors. "Any report?" Chrysalis asked. "The good news is that the castle is in good shape." Commander Shell said. "Our squads were able to recover their strength by feeding on the love of the cat creature in the old town. But there isn't much any left." "Hey guys!" Someone called out to them. They turned to see the Changeling Soldier and Shell's right hand changeling, Locus, the Changeling wearing blue armor. "I found another cat we can feed on!" Locus said as he held up an adorable kitten, which was smiling just like him. The two only glared at him with annoyance. "What? Too soon?" "Anything else?" Chrysalis asked as she and Shell continued their way to the Throne room, while Locus followed them quickly as he tossed the kitty away. "There has been some strange reports going on in Equestria from some of our scouts." Shell said. "There was several robberies going on in several cities, some strange vines growing from the Everfree Forest, and dark clouds appeared near Foal Mountain, but all of those ceased shortly after they started." "Oh, did you tell her that we're missing a changeling?" Locus asked. "Thorax is nowhere to be found." "Shhhh!!!" Shell hissed at the soldier. "Thorax?" Chrysalis asked as she turned her head. "Isn't that the changeling who acts different than all of us?" "Yes, your highness." Shell said. The Changeling Queen only scuffed. "Wherever he is, let him be." Chrysalis said as she sat on the crumbled up throne, only to fall a bit through the broken seat, which made her hiss in a bit of anger. "He was always a good one in the bunch anyway. Just tell me how long will it take for us to recover?" "I can't give you much details on that I'm afraid." Shell said. "We may need to come up with another plan to take over Equestria, and it might take a while." "A while?" Chrysalis asked. "A While?! That's all you can say?!" "Well, your majesty, what else do you propose?" Shell asked. "I have grown tired of waiting for results." Chrysalis said. "We are all starving and hungry for more love, and Equestria is the perfect place for all the love we can feast on!" "That's what you said about Timbucktu." Locus said. "And Trot. We're all freakin' starving here too, you know!" Shell only facehoofed his forehead with a shake, while Chrysalis approached the soldier. "Let me let you in on something very simple..." Chrysalis said. "I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU! The priority right now is to try again and come up with another plan to invade Equestria, and take down Celestia and her big flank once and for all!" The shout at the beginning was enough for Locus to hid behind Shell, but the latter was keeping his cool. "But how?" Shell asked. "We're low on changeling power and we haven't recovered much yet." "Yeah, it's not like a miracle is gonna be coming through the front door." Locus said. "Your majesty!" A changeling scout called out just at the entrance of the throne room, getting their attention. "What?!" Chrysalis asked. "We... we have a visitor." The scout said. The Changeling Queen raised an eyebrow with a bit of surprise. A visitor? Who would be visiting her kingdom? Maybe this is what they need, some love to feast on. "Let him in." She said. The scout gave a salute and opened the door, letting a man in a black coat make his way in... and that someone was the same mysterious man who's helping Pete and Maleficent. "Hello there!" He said with a wave as he went inside. "I take it this is the... temporary home of the Changelings?" The queen, commander and soldier looked a bit confused and surprised. This wasn't a creature from Equestria. This was an outsider! An outsider here in Equestria? "And who are you?" Chrysalis asked. "Oh me?" D asked. "Oh sorry, where are my manners? D is the name, though it's just more of a syllable." The Changeling Queen only gave a glare. Was this some kind of a jokester or something? She gave a nod to her commander. "CHANGELINGS!" Shell called out. "DINNER TIME!" All at once, the Changelings began to show hissing and their sharp fangs, licking them with their teeth. They all charged in to attack, but then, D waved his hand. -BOOM- The Changelings were then stopped and pushed away by a strange invisible force, sending them to the ground, some to the wall, and some out the window, leaving echoing screams and the soft sounds of them crashing into the ground outside. "I'm ok!" One of them said outside. "My leg!" Another said that was not so fortunate. Shell, Locus, and even the Queen stood there completely shocked as how their Changelings just got blown away by a single outsider, who just brushed his hands. "Well, that takes care of the unnecessary pests." D said, and he began to approach the three, with Shell putting Locus in front of him for protection. "Alright, what do you want?" Chrysalis asked. "Your majesty, please, no need to feel alarmed." D said as he gave a bow. "I'm just here today to give you an opportunity of a lifetime." "An opportunity?" Chrysalis asked as she used her magic to push Locus and Shell aside, much to their surprise. "For what? To do a little magic show?" "Oh no, not at all." D said. "Let's just say that you, and I, and some of my co-conspirators, have a common goal." "A common goal?" Chrysalis asked. "As you can see, me and some of my dear friends have our eyes set on this land." D said as he approached her closely. "And given that you have your eyes on feasting the love off of this little world, we would love to have you and your changelings as part of the team." The Changeling Queen raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You want me and my swarm to be part of this team?" Chrysalis asked. "Why?" "Because you want to take Equestria, we want to take Equestria, so why don't we all do it together?" D explained. "And besides, we have a little saying; The enemy of our enemy is our friend." Chrysalis glanced carefully at the hooded man. She could tell there was something wicked about him. Something nasty... more nasty than she is. She then began to think. She and her swarm were very hungry for love, and they want to take Equestria. He and his associates want to take Equestria and want her in on the fun. Maybe this can work to her advantage. "If I say yes, will you help me in getting my revenge on Princess Celestia?" She asked. "Of course... but she's not the one you want." D said as he pulled out a rolled up poster from his coat. "She's not?" Chrysalis asked. "But she's the rule of all of Equestria! She is a big threat." "True, but she's not your biggest threat." D said as he twirled the scroll in his hand. "Not by a long shot." "Then who?" Chrysalis asked. The man in the coat approached her and revealed the poster he had in his hand. "She is..." D answered as Chrysalis scanned the poster, and her eyes widened. "This is..." She spoke. "Celestia's Attack Dog." He said, revealing it to be a poster of Twilight Sparkle, with the words MISSING on top. "Miss Twilight Sparkle. You remember her, right?" Chrysalis took the poster from him and glanced at it. "That's right." She answered. "This was the little pony that exposed me and saved the real bride." "Correct." D said. "It was because of her that you were exposed at the wedding. It was because of her your plan to invade Canterlot failed, and because of her you were blasting off again into the sky wee, wee, wee, wee all the way here." Chrysalis began to think, and come to think of it, he was right. Twilight Sparkle revealed the real bride and exposed the queen, and because of her, she was cast out to the Badlands and her plan failed. She began to form a scowl, a face that was slowly shifting to rage and hatred. "Your majesty?" Shell asked as he and Locus approached her. "Are you sure we can trust this guy? How is he gonna help us take over Equestria and destroy Princess Celestia?" "Screw Celestia..." Chrysalis said. "She isn't my target anymore..." "Huh?" Locus asked. "Then who's the lucky pony you want dead?" She turned her head and showed a dark twinkle in her eye. "I want Celestia's pet; Twilight Sparkle!" Chrysalis hissed. "Twilight Sparkle?" Shell asked. "You mean that pony that tried to use the Elements of Peace and stuff?" "Yes..." The Changeling Queen answered. "Perfect little Twilight. Clever little Twilight. Brilliant little Twilight. I! Want! HER!" With her magic, she conjured up a life sized plushie of Twilight Sparkle, looking all stupid and happy. In a fit of rage, the Changeling Queen began to pounce on it, and began to rip it apart piece by piece, bit by bit by bit, with the two Changelings watching with a bit of surprise, as D stood by their side. "She has tremendous anger issues, doesn't she." He said. "Yes, unfortunately." Shell said. "Total bitch if you ask me." Locus said, with Commander Shell giving Locus a kick to the side with his rear hoof, causing him to fall to the ground and wince in pain. Pretty soon, Chrysalis finally ceased her fit, but her eyes were still showing anger and hatred. She lifted the head of the Twilight Plushie. "This was all her fault!" Chrysalis shouted. "Our plan failed because of her! She's the reason why we aren't making Canterlot our newest conquest!" She tossed the plushie head onto the floor and then stomped on it with her hoof. "Well, I'll get her... and her little dog too." Chrysalis said. "Uh... dragon, actually." Locus said, only for the Changeling Queen to whack him with a pan on the head. "Ow! Why is everyone hitting me?" "Whatever!" Chrysalis shouted. "I'm going to find that little purple little menace and I'm going to make her pay for ruining my plans." "You're not gonna be able to stop her on your own, though." D said, with the Changeling Queen looking at the former Organization member. "And why is that?" She asked. "Because as I recall, you were defeated by Princess Celestia a long time ago, and she'll still be able to defeat you before you get to Twilight." D said. "Unlike last time, you don't have that little groom to give you power. If you want Twilight Sparkle, you'll have to do away with the Princess first." "Oh, right." Chrysalis said. "Well that's going to take a while to deal with." "True... unless you have help." D said, with the queen's ear twitching hearing that. "What are you getting at?" She asked. "I already told you." D said. "I'm assembling a rag team of baddies and evil doers that want's vengeance on Twilight and her little friends." D explained. "Together we shall invade Canterlot and take down the Monarch and her Tyranny of Harmony. I also have some friends on the inside who despise their Princess who are helping out too. And now, we need you." "Me?" Chrysalis asked. "Yes." D said. "You and your swarm are what we need to invade Canterlot. And with the Princess and her sister out of commission, Twilight Sparkle will come to you, and she will be all yours. All that I ask is your cooperation, your friendship, and together we will rid this land of those goodie ponies, and all the love will be yours and your swarm's." As his promises began to enlighten her, she then paused and raised an eyebrow. Out of all, why her and her swarm? Why would this man be asking for their help? "But why us?" Chrysalis asked. "Why are you in need of me and my swarm?" "Well, it's simple." D said as he walked away for a moment, just as music began to play in a tribal sinister way. And as he sang, his voice was somehow different, much more different. I never thought changelings essential They're crude and unspeakably plain But maybe they've a glimmer of potential If allied to my vision and brain "Huh?" Chrysalis asked, and then he jumped onto the broken pillars, making his way to the ground in synch with the drums that played. As he landed onto the floor, green smoke began to puff from the cracks of the ground. Standing up, he began to walk forward, as the Changelings watched, as the song was more chanting, with elements of metal to it. I know that your powers of retention Are as wet as a warthog's backside But thick as you are, pay attention My words are a matter of pride He examines some of the Changelings, one was dazed, one was emotionless, and the other seemingly distracted by a little butterfly. He snapped his fingers to get it's attention. It's clear from your vacant expressions The lights are not all on upstairs But we're talking kings and successions Even you can't be caught unawares Two changeling drones yelped as he got into their faces, causing them to fall onto the ground, with it beginning to crack underneath them. Suddenly gushes of steam burst out, causing the Changelings to fly up into the sky and fall to the ground as D continued to sing. So prepare for a chance of a lifetime Be prepared for sensational news A shining new era Is tiptoeing nearer "And where do we feature?" Chrysalis asked. "Hey, listen to your teacher!" The man said, squeezing Chrysalis's cheeks a bit. I know it sounds sordid But you'll be rewarded When at last we'll be given our dues And injustice deliciously squared Be prepared! "Be prepared?" Locus asked. "Prepared for what?" "For the conquering of Equestria." D explained. "When all of us will bringing the Royal Monarch down to ashes." "And the Princess?" Shell asked. "We'll do away with her, and her sister too." D said. "And we'll remove the bearers of Harmony from existence and the land will be yours." "And how is that?" Chrysalis asked. "Yeah, we're not fully prepared!" Shell said. "And that's where you're wrong." D explained. "We must cooperate with others, unite with baddies under a single banner. Together, we shall reduce Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle down to ashes. All I ask is that you stick with me, and Equestria will be yours. And you'll never go hungry again!" Hearing him speak with such inspiration, with such determination made Chrysalis smile, while the Changelings chant with joy. "I don't know about you, but I like this guy!" Locus said. "Yes..." Chrysalis said agreeing. "Perhaps I was wrong. Outsiders are fun after all..." She watched from the balcony, imagining her rule over Equestria as her army of Changelings begin to march in synch with the song that kept playing. It's great that we'll soon be connected With a king who'll be all-time adored Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected To take certain duties on board The future is littered with prizes And though I'm the main addressee The point that I must emphasize is You won't get a sniff without me! With a strum of an electric guitar, the ground began to shake, allowing a pillar to rise up from the ground, with D standing on it, still singing,, as the Changelings began to chant along with the song, and Chrysalis, by his side, watched with amazement. So prepare for the coup of the century Be prepared for the murkiest scam Meticulous planning Tenacity spanning Decades of denial Is simply why we'll Be lords undisputed Respected, saluted And seen for the wonder we are Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared Be prepared! Suddenly, the song stopped quickly, with a drum roll happening silently in the background with sinister music playing. "So, your majesty." D said. "Do we have a deal?" The changeling queen, impressed by his motives, his promises for her and her swarm, extended her hoof out. "Under one condition." Chrysalis said. "You want love?" D asked. "Don't worry, when Equestria falls, It'll be all yours." "My love will be for my swarm, but I only want one thing only..." Chrysalis said. "And that is?" D asked. Chrysalis levitated the poster of Twilight Sparkle and showed it to him. "I... want... her!" Chrysalis said. "I want her in chains. Before my hooves and my wrath. Helpless. Alone. Starving. I want her as my personal slave. My personal host of essence. I want her to bare my hatchlings for years! I'll sign any contract! I'll make a deal with the devil! I'll go to the deepest pit of hell, just to have her to do with as I please!" "Consider it done." D said as he shook her hoof, both of them smiling. She then turned to her Changelings and spoke. "Changelings!" Chrysalis said. "Today, Equestria will not only belong to us, but to our friends as well! Soon, All will fall before us, and Equestria's love will be ours forever!" With that said, the Changelings began to cheer, with their Queen and D singing together in various unisons. So prepare for the coup of the century Be prepared for the murkiest scam Meticulous planning Tenacity spanning Decades of denial Is simply why we'll Be lords undisputed Respected, saluted And seen for the wonder we are Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared Be prepared! Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared Be prepared! As the song ended, the changelings began to cheer and salute to Chrysalis and her new companion, both of them laughing evil as the moon shined down onto the castle, knowing so little about his own plans. Whatever this D was up to, it was only the beginning. The start of the Revolution...