//------------------------------// // My Little Pony Movie (Part 3) // Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria // by Codex92 //------------------------------// "Hey. Sora." Sora grunted as he was being forced to wake up, but the voice didn't come from the mares, Spike, or even Jiminy. He squinted his eyes open, expecting to find himself stowing away behind a ship's stash of crates. However, he was on top of a tall tower overlooking a familiar town, the sun setting over the water as the sound of a train's bell ringing as it chugged along the tracks on an arched bridge hovering a few stories over the buildings down below. While distracted by the familiar scenery of Twilight Town, a hand soon came into his vision, making him look up to see Roxas standing beside him. "...Roxas?" Sora uttered. He took his Nobody's hand as he was helped on his feet. They stood near the top of the clock tower connected to the train station, Roxas's usual hangout. Sora looked around in confusion, then glanced at Roxas. "...Am I dreaming?" "Well, you did zonk out not too long ago, so take that as a maybe," Roxas said. Sora giggled sheepishly as he rubbed his head. "I didn't think you'd get that exhausted going against Xigbar." "It wasn't him. It was that Formchange with the Keyblade of Laughter," Sora explained. "If that was how Pinkie Pie functioned, I don't know how she doesn't crash that hard after what felt like the most intense sugar rush of my life." "We could see that," Roxas said with a smirk. "You at least had some fun, though. But, 'I love the smell of vanilla in the afternoon?' Since when do you spout one-liners like that to taunt your opponents?" "Again, it's like Pinkie's mentality in that Keyblade," Sora stated a bit irritably. Roxas laughed, which made Sora grumble. After letting out a sigh, Sora looked out at Twilight Town, a recreated version of the town from within his heart through Roxas'. "Where's Xion? She's not...hiding, is she?" "I went to get us ice cream." Sora turned around, surprised to see Xion standing right behind him. She held out three sticks of sea-salt ice cream in her hands. "You looked like you could use a small breather after everything that happened today." "Uhh...I guess, but...how did you 'get' that ice cream?" Sora questioned. "This is my - er, OUR heart, so...you could just make it appear out of thin air." "Even though anything can be possible in YOUR heart, Sora, I want some semblance of reality while I still exist," she said, looking down slightly in sadness. Blanching, Sora bit his lower lip, never intending to upset Xion after her own troubles in the only year where she felt like she existed as a person. "Sorry...Hopefully Ienzo will find a way to get you and Roxas your own bodies soon." "I am a bit curious to see what Xion would look like in Equestria," Roxas pondered aloud with a grin. "Would she be a unicorn like Kairi was, but with black hair? Or maybe a pegasus like us?" Xion giggled and shook her head. "I'd rather be a pegasus than a unicorn." "It would make sense if she's a part of me, too," Sora added. Xion gave Roxas and Sora their ice cream, then sat on the edge of the railing to watch the sunset and the town go about their daily lives, even if it wasn't the real Twilight Town. The trio sat in silence, the peaceful setting a perfect sight that could last forever. Sora heard Roxas and Xion bite into their ice cream, making him curious as he took one from his own stick. There was a crunch, but the piece he ate seemed to dissolve into air and left no taste. He knew it wasn't going to be real, but he figured the two of them must have longed to experience this in the real Twilight Town as they had to make due with a simulation of sorts from within his own heart. His thoughts began to drift back to Kairi, which didn't go unnoticed to both Nobodies. "You're still worried about her," Xion said, snapping Sora out of his daze and look at her. "It's kinda obvious that you feel like you're responsible for not being able to save everyone in Canterlot." Sora sighed, looking down at the entrance to the train station. "It does, though," he said. "I could have done more, but...I ran away." "You weren't given much of a choice," Roxas said. "Those orbs were really dangerous. Besides, there were far too many ponies who could have gotten hurt if you did try to save all of them." "Every pony who came to the festival are held prisoner by now; the CMC, Trixie and Starlight, Zecora, the Apples, everyone," Sora uttered. He looked up at the sky, hoping no one was seriously harmed by the Storm King's army, or worse, the Nobodies Xigbar had assisting them did much more. "Just what does the Storm King want with capturing the alicorn princesses? His influence spread to Kludgetown. So...does he want to take over Equestria?" "Sounds like it, but Tempest has already caught the co-rulers of the whole kingdom and the ruler of the Crystal Empire," Roxas said. "I'm just glad Flurry Heart wasn't there," Xion said. "She would have been so devastated if she saw her mom and Riku get turned to stone." "And if they found out about her, who knows what the Storm King would do to her," Roxas added. "Then why does Tempest need to catch Twilight?" Sora questioned. "Why did she need all the alicorns and keep them imprisoned as a stone statue? I can't put my finger on it, but I think the Storm King's looking for more than world domination if alicorns are a top priority for most of the villains in this world." "Yeah. Like Tirek when he absorbed all the magic from every single pony in Equestria," Xion said. "We have to keep Twilight safe until we find the Queen of the Hippogriffs." "Right." Sora ate the rest of his ice cream, forgetting for a moment that it had no flavor, placing the stick down on the ledge the trio sat on. "I just hope she'll be able to help us. Xigbar and the Nobodies will be an issue, but if I can keep them focused on me, we just might take back Equestria." Looking at both Roxas and Xion, he sighed a little. "Maybe if you guys were out there with us sooner, we could handle them on our own." "Then you're just gonna rely on us as support for the time being," Roxas said. Sora chuckled slightly, giving Roxas a small nod. "Sora?" Sora then looked at Xion, who gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure everyone will be ok. Especially Kairi. She has a lot of faith in you, you know?" Of course, Sora knew that after he and Kairi were forced to separate after defeating Ansem and saving the worlds that were lost to darkness. He really did thank his lucky stars to have friends to lift him up; first Twilight and the other mares he had grown to cherish for the last several years since he first crashed into Equestria, and now Roxas and Xion, his other half and a creation of his memories given their own life respectively. Sora smiled back and nodded to her in response. The air around Sora seemed to warp a little, making him look around along with the two Nobodies. "Looks like nap time's over for you, Sora." "Kinda wished I could rest a little more," Sora said, complaining slightly. "Good luck, Sora," Roxas said, finishing up his ice cream as he and Xion watched Sora disappear as he began to wake up. "Even if the Queen of the Hippogriffs can't help, I believe you have all the strength you'll need to save everyone," Xion added before Sora completely faded away. "...ra? Sora?" Twilight gently shook Sora's shoulder, rousing the stallion from his brief nap. Slowly opening his eyes, Sora grunted slightly, then stretched his sore back. "We almost there?" he asked, keeping his voice down so the crew of the ship he and his friends snuck on didn't hear them. "I don't know. I think we might be going off course, but I can't get a better look with the crew wandering around the ship." Sora quietly stood up and peeked through the crates, Rainbow and Applejack already peeking through another crack between the cargo to get a better look. The crew, to Sora's surprise, were a group of anthropomorphic parrots, each of them wearing dark grayish-blue uniforms with the Storm King's symbol on the sleeves. "Huh. There seems to be a lot more creatures in this world outside of Equestria," he uttered to himself. He, Rainbow, and Applejack watched the parrots moving around some of their cargo, only four from their concealed vantage point. One was female, who was stout and a chubby with pink feathers, while the other three males with green feathers: one quite muscular with a bronze-looking stump, clearly having lost that part in some accident, one skinnier with an eye patch over his right eye, and the last one walked about in a ditsy manner, feathers plucked or fallen out, and eyes looking about in different directions, even rolling around with every shake of their head. One of the green parrots blocked their view, let out a disgusting belch, then scratch his rear, to the spies disgust. "Ok, didn't need to see that." "Twilight, what do ya think?" Applejack asked. "Should we just...ask them to take us?" "Last time we trusted somepony, they tried to sell us," Twilight stated, reminding them of what Capper planned to do with them. "Maybe they're more friendly?" Pinkie asked. "They're wearing the Storm King's creepy eyes...or horn sigil thing on their clothes," Sora mentioned. "I doubt they'll be willing to help a princess the Storm King's after, or appreciate seven ponies, a baby dragon, and a talking cricket stowing away on their ship." "That we don't!" Suddenly, one of the crates were lifted away from their hiding place, the stowaways immediately caught by the parrot crew. Sora quickly got in front of the girls to protect them as the parrots barred their passage, the muscular male hefting the crate over his shoulder with a smirk. "Ain't this a surprise?" "A pack of pony stowaways with a giant purple lizard," the skinnier male parrot said. Spike let out a frustrated groan, being called a lizard once more. "I'm a dragon! Dra-gon! Not lizard! I don't do that tongue thing," Spike said, then stuck his tongue out at them, failing to accent his point across. Twilight quickly pulled Spike away before the parrots could try to grab him like the Kludgetowners. "What are we supposed to do with them?" the female asked, followed by the dopey male to pop his head out, eyeing them, and let out a squawk. "I say we tie them up!" the muscular parrot suggested, startling Applejack. "How about we clip their wings?" the female asked, making Rainbow flinch and growl in response. "Nah. We scar 'em," the skinny parrot said, making Rarity yelp in fear. "...emotionally," he added, which made Fluttershy whimper and hide behind the others. "You come near me or my friends, and you'll regret it," Sora warned. "Big talk from a little pony," the skinny parrot scoffed, then turned around, hearing someone approach them. "What say the book, Captain Celaeno?" The parrots stepped aside for their fifth member, their captain. Another female parrot, her feathers white with light green feathers as her hair, two fringes curled over her forehead, and two different shades of emerald green for her tail. She wore the same kind of uniform her crew wore, a scabbard with a cutlass holstered in it, a bandanna keeping her hair feathers down, and her right leg gone, replaced with a wooden peg leg. Celaeno had a book in her hands, the Storm King's sigil marking the cover of the book as she read through the long rule book on what the Storm King expects them to do in certain situations. "Storm King's rule book says, 'Throw them overboard,'" she stated, slamming the book shut before placing it down on a nearby barrel. The mares and Spike backed away as the parrots got closer, one of them setting up a gangplank off the side for them to all walk off and plummet to their deaths. Despite there being three pegasi and one alicorn, Sora magically grounded but can survive falling from a great height, their idea of throwing them over wouldn't do much. Not willing to let their chance to reach Mount Aris faster be taken from them, Sora summoned his Keyblade, startling the parrots with his weapon appearing in a flash of light out of thin air as he prepared to retaliate. "You're not throwing us off your ship; we're gonna commandeer it!" Sora said, pointing his Keyblade at the parrots, forcing them to back away. "We've got somewhere we need to be, and I'll fight you all off if I have to!" The dopey parrot let out an angry squawk, then charged in a staggering sprint like an enraged duck toward Sora. Dodging his flapping and flailing arms, Sora sweep kicked the parrot, sent him flipping over, then hooked a foreleg around his midsection while continuing to spin in place, giving him a hard toss toward Celaeno. Even with a legless handicap, the captain managed to sidestep away, glaring intensely at the stallion while being impressed with his combat skills. "I really don't want to if you give me no choice. Just let us head south, and we'll let you and your crew go." "You've got a lot of guts for a pegasus," she complimented. She then reached for a scabbard at her hip, pulling out her own sword as she gave the stallion a scowl. "I'll see how much you've got after I spill it. No one takes over my ship and lives." "Then I'll be the first," Sora said with a cocky grin. The Mane Six, Spike, and the other parrots backed away, leaving Sora and Celaeno enough room to avoid getting slashed by their blades. The two stared each other down, slowly circling around, gauging each other's flinches to guess when they'll make the first move. Just as Sora rushed forward to make his first swing, a loud whistle from nearby caught everyone's attention, causing the stallion to skid to a halt and stare at what looked like a time-punch clock. "ALL RIGHT! THAT'S LUNCH!!!" Celaeno shouted. "Wait, what?" Sora asked, only for him and his friends to be hastily grabbed by the pirates, dragged into the dining room of the ship, and sat down with bowls of brown slop slamming down in front of everyone. Sora and Rainbow Dash sat on one end with Celaeno at the opposite end, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Spike sitting on their left with the muscular and dopey parrots, and Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack on their right with the other female parrot and the one-eyed male parrot. That parrots dug into their disgusting meal, where it was obvious it wasn't as good tasting as it looked, while the stowaways stared in bewilderment. They were going to get tossed overboard, Sora was going to fight Celaeno to take control of her ship, and now they seemed to forget about all of that and have a lunch break. "...Uhh...ok? This is...weird..." "Yeah, I'm gonna agree with Sora!" Rainbow said. "You were going to toss us overboard and you stopped for a lunch break!?" Twilight leaned over the table, giving Rainbow Dash a deadly look, silently signalling her to shut up or they'll most likely end up getting thrown overboard. "The Storm King only allows one break a day for meals, then it's back to hauling goods," the muscular parrot explained. "Hauling goods?" Sora questioned. "Delivery guys with swords?" "And gals," Celaeno said, tugging at the collar of her shirt with a look of disinterest. "These uniforms aren't exactly doing us any favors." Twilight grinned sheepishly, holding up the map to Mount Aris to Celaeno. "Then...can you deliver us to Mount Aris?" she asked. "Sorry. We do what the storm king orders, or we suffer his wrath," Celaeno said, holding up the very same rulebook she looked at a moment ago. "...Which means we're still going overboard," Twilight said bitterly. "Great." "Eh, it's nothing personal," the other female parrot said apologetically. "Pudding?" "There's pudding?" Rarity asked excitedly, eager to eat something that wasn't slop. Sadly, a bowl of the same slop plopped down in front of her, making her groan in misery. "...Never mind. I'm not hungry for dessert..." Sora could see these parrots weren't so eager to work with the Storm King. He didn't know how long of a break they'll have, so with this bit of reprieve, he was curious about who these parrots were. "Well, while we're all taking a break..." Sora glanced down at his bowl, gently pushing it away sheepishly after losing his appetite, then looked back around the table. "I think giving each other's names might break the tension in here a little bit." "Sora," Twilight hissed angrily, but he ignored her signs to keep quiet. "I'm Sora," he greeted, then pointed to each of his friends as he introduced them. "That's Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and...Hey, where's Jiminy?" "Umm, I'll just...hide in here," Jiminy said, his voice coming from inside one of his pockets. He peeked his head out, quickly ducking when one of the dopey parrot's eyes bounced around in his head while looking at Sora. "I'm not sure if they have a taste for crickets, and I don't want to be one of their little sides for their...'meal'." Sora shifted his gaze from the parrot to Jiminy, seeing the cricket's point. "...Right. So, we know Captain Celaeno. Who are the rest of your crew?" "Name's Boyle," the muscular, one-handed parrot greeted, then pointed his fork at the dopey parrot literally stuffing his face with slop. "That's Squabble." Squabble lifted his face up and greeted Sora with a squawk before planting his face back in his bowl. "He don't talk much." "Uh huh. Umm, sorry for tossing you like that, Squabble," Sora apologized, but Squabble let out a squawk and give the stallion an ok sign with his hand. "I'm Lix Spittle, the chef on this ship," the pudgy pink parrot greeted. "Slop might not be the best meal I can make, but it should put some meat in that skinny body of yours." "I'm fine," Sora assured, though his stomach betrayed him when it growled. "Silence, you traitor!" he hissed to his stomach before looking up with a fake, toothy grin, hearing Rainbow snickering beside him. "And I'm Mullet," the one-eyed parrot greeted. "Nice meeting ya...for about half an hour." "So, Sora, what kind of blade do you carry?" Celaeno asked curiously. "It doesn't need a scabbard or sheath, and if I recall correctly, a pegasus cannot wield magic to summon its weapon to its user. Not to mention...the design. A giant key?" "It's a really, really, really long story," Sora chuckled, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "And private!" Pinkie chimed in, then slid under the table and reappeared beside Sora. "To protect the world border!" "'Order', Pinkie," Sora corrected. Pinkie just giggled, then slipped back to her seat. The parrots ignored her strange antics as Celaeno curiously eyed Sora. "Despite your youth, you are pretty talented in combat," she said. "Are you a soldier where you're from?" Twilight let out a groan in irritation. She couldn't believe Sora was trying to make nice with these parrots on their only break for the day, who were going to kick them off their ship once lunch was over. She just stared at the map, zoning out of Celaeno's conversation with Sora about his skills as a warrior. At least he was keeping his true identity and anything about the Keyblade from being known; some of Equestria knew about him and the other wielders, and Twilight didn't want the rest of their world to know or risk having their home be invaded by even more creatures outside their borders. "You guys don't seem to be normal delivery birds," Rainbow noted. "What about before the Storm King?" The slightly cheery air in the room quickly changed, the parrots looking down glumly, almost defeated. "Yeah...We used to be much more adventurous," Celaeno said. She looked over at a poster of the Storm King, the very same one that the invading airship in Equestria unfurled to show the ponies their new overlord. There was something behind it; a black tattered cloth. But when Celaeno moved it away, she unveiled the image the poster covered, which made Sora gasp in awe as they saw a parrot skull and crossbones on the cloth. "Hey, I met that guy out in the desert!" Pinkie said as she pointed to the skull on cloth, which actually happened to be a pirate flag. Celaeno put the Storm King's poster back over the parrots' flag, but it was enough to tell the ponies and baby dragon that this delivery crew were formerly pirates. "No way. You guys...are pirates!?" Sora asked. It then dawned on him after looking at Celaeno, her crew, even her choice of sword before their lunch break interrupted their fight. "You guys are parrots, and the missing limbs and...How did I not notice this until now!?" Twilight didn't like hearing that. It was bad enough that these parrots work for the Storm King. Not it was far worse learning they were formerly pirates, and knowing how much they love to hoard treasures for themselves, they would surely go after a bounty if Tempest decided to place one on her or Sora. Plus, the way Sora and Rainbow Dash look at them in excitement made her more nervous. Sora may have made pirate friends in another world, but with THESE pirates working for the Storm King, this wasn't a good idea to befriend them when they'll stab them in the back if Tempest's airship spots them. "We prefer the term 'swashbuckling treasure hunters,'" Mullet corrected. "So, basically pirates," Rainbow summarized, Squabble letting out an agreed squawk after pulling his head out of his bowl. Sora's excited grin quickly faded. "But...you guys are following the Storm King? You're pirates! Pirates don't follow anyone's rules but their own!" "We got ourselves in a bad situation with the Storm King," Celaeno said. "We did take cargo from the Storm King before, but it was only minor stuff: sand, plastic, bottles, nothing too expensive to avoid getting his attention and have his battleships shoot us down. Believe it or not, but the Storm King did have a different creature as his second-in-command. He made his way onto our ship, telling us of a grand treasure he kept, and was willing to help us take it since he knew about their flight paths, formations, and so on. We even took on some Abyssinian stowaways as cabin boys when we caught them before our big heist, which I wasn't exactly confident in doing." "What's an Abyssinian?" Spike asked curiously. "Cats," Boyle answered. "They live in the kingdom of Abyssinia, although it's a slum after we heard the Storm King took every bit of treasure the king and queen had." "It was probably what we were after, too," Mullet added. "I didn't want us to get involved in a heist like that," Celaeno said morosely. "I wasn't going to risk my crew for that much treasure. We were all like family, and...despite my own fears, we went along with it." The captain prodded at her slop, regret and sorrow glinting in her eyes. "...We succeeded, even commandeering some of the Storm King's ships, but the he managed to find us and overpower us. The Abyssinian boys we took in snuck off with one of our captured ships when the Storm King confronted us. I didn't want them to get hurt, so I diverted the Storm King's attention to make sure they got out of harm's way. They were too young to get involved in something this dangerous. "The Storm King's former right hand man planned to betray us after begging for forgiveness...But..." Celaeno clenched her fists, her beak turning into a strained frown as her eyes showed a bit of fear. "...The Storm King threw him overboard." The ponies, excluding Twilight, and baby dragon gasped in shock. "The Storm King doesn't care about anyone but himself. He offered me to be is second-in-command, but I refused when he threatened my crew; my family...I thought he would keelhaul us as well, but gave me a different, forced offer." "Which is being his new delivery crew," Sora said, to which Celaeno nodded at the stallion's guess. The other parrots shared the same sentiment as their captain: hating their new job, being the only remaining crew left of Celaeno's former band of pirates who would rather work for the Storm King than risk getting offed by the cruel tyrant, and the drive that made them who they were was taken away by an opportunity for a great heist gone bad. The Storm King sounded far worse than any other villain Sora faced, and after hearing what else he's done outside Equestria along with his army invading the pony kingdom while also entrapping his friends and lover in stone, he was going to put a stop to it when they reached Mount Aris and asked for the hippogriffs' aide. "Well, we're gonna put a stop to him." Some of the parrots gawked at the stallion, exclaiming in shock. "Are you crazy!?" Boyle asked. "He'll probably do far worse than toss you over the side of an airship!" Lix Spittle exclaimed. "I've faced worse," Sora boldly claimed. "But you can't let some tyrannical monarch like him bring down your livelihood! Pirates don't follow any royalty's code, even when their lives are threatened! You should be free to fly the skies and pillage to your hearts' content!" Applejack cleared her throat loudly, glaring at Sora with an arched brow. Realizing what he just said, Sora sheepishly giggled, then corrected himself. "Well, pillage the evil countries' vessels, rather." Twilight growled, giving Sora the stink eye, gesturing him to stop talking and make things worse. "He's right!" Rainbow added, making the alicorn blanch in shock. "You birds have a choice to make! You could let some cloven-hoofed Storm King tell you how to live your lives, or-" Rainbow flew up to the Storm King's poster, then tore it down, pointing at the parrots' true "poster" to show who they really work for. "-you could be awesome again!" The crew glanced at each other, still apprehensive about testing the Storm King and his wrath. "Rainbow Dash, this really isn't a good time for a-" Twilight tried to say, but Rainbow landed back on the side of the table where she and Sora sat. [Rainbow Dash] I know the world can get you down Twilight facehooved and grumbled angrily. "-...song." Things don't work out quite the way that you thought Feeling like all your best days are done Your fears and doubts are all you've got "Sora, please stop Rainbow Dash before they-" Twilight's plea for Sora to make some sense failed as the stallion joined the rainbow-maned pegasus, both on the table and in song. [Sora] But there's a light shining deep inside Beneath those fears and doubts, so just squash 'em Sora stomped down on one of the parrots mugs, splashing water while crushing it, then kicked it away. Twilight's eye twitched before she grunted with a disappointed pout, wondering why she bothered trying to keep her and her friends safe when the stallion who was supposed to is helping Rainbow lift the parrots' spirits. Sora flipped off the table, summoned his Keyblade, then slashed through a curtain with the Storm King's symbol sewn into it, tearing it to pieces to reveal a portrait of Captain Celaeno in her pirate captain's uniform, along with several pieces of their pirate gear, some gold and gems, a spyglass, and much more that was hidden away. And let it shine for all the world to see That it is time [Rainbow Dash] Yeah [Sora and Rainbow Dash] Time to be awesome [Ponies] Ah, ah, ah-ah, awesome! It's time to be so awesome! Ah, ah, ah-ah, awesome! It's time to be so awesome! The ponies and Spike pounded the table in rhythm with their chanting, all except Twilight as she stared angrily before leaving the table. The other parrots seated next to the ponies followed their pounding, getting their spirits raised and believe they can do more than just be brought down by the Storm King and be forced to work for him. Celaeno was still a bit uneasy, but she knew, deep down, she wanted to revolt and be the pirate captain she used to be. [Captain Celaeno] You've no idea how hard it's been [Ponies] (It's time to be awesome!) Celaeno looked down at her lunch, smacking her bowl off the table, letting it clatter to the ground as she sat up and approached their stored away pirating mementos. [Captain Celaeno] This dull routine we've been forced to do Sora picked up Celaeno's pirate hat that matched the one in her portrait, a dark blackish-red with a really long pink feather attached to it, holding it out to her. [Sora] Don't let them rob you of who you are Be awesome, it's all up to you [Captain Celaeno] I feel the light stirring deep inside It's like a tale still yet to be told [Ponies] (It's time to be awesome!) Celaeno clutched her hat, then finally got inspired enough to put it back where it rightfully belonged. She took off her bandanna, freeing her feathery hair, then placed her hat on her head, ready to get back to her old self again. [Sora, Rainbow Dash, and Captain Celaeno] And now it's time to break the shackles free And start living like the brave and the bold! Seeing their captain excited to get back into the fray, the parrots all cheered, willing to follow her to the ends of the world. Sora spotted the parrot pirates' chest, twirling his Keyblade and gave the top a hard smack, unlocking it to reveal their pirate outfits and gear. He pulled them out and tossed them to the parrots, all of them tearing off their gray and bleary delivery uniforms and suited into their rugged pillaging attire. Boyle unscrewed the bronze stump and put on a sharp hook that belonged to him, Squabble stuck his lanky neck through an orange and red striped life preserver, Mullet tossed away the dull cap that went with his uniform and wore his old black bandanna on his head, and Celaeno took off the wooden peg leg to attach one made out of emerald. There were even some extra gear for the others to join in and be part of the crew: Fluttershy with a green and white striped bandanna and Pinkie with a pinkie one with dark purple spots, Rarity wearing a really fancy pirate's hat that suited her style, Rainbow with black tricorne hat with the parrots' skull and crossbones on the front and a red bandanna underneath, Applejack a dirty black one while wearing an eye patch, Spike holding a wooden sword, and Sora in a black tricorne pirate captain's hat with a tattered black coat that trailed over his flanks, making him look like a captain with his friends as his crew. [All] It's time to be awesome! Let loose, be true, so awesome! It's time to be awesome! Go big, be you, so awesome! Twilight was up on the deck trying to chart their way toward their destination, the silence she had was interrupted when Celano's kicked open the door, letting her and her band of pirates out, followed by her friends. She glanced at them as they wore their new pirate accessories, a disgruntled sigh escaping her lips before she went back to her map. [Mullet] We used to soar through the clouds in the skies [Lix Spittle] Elaborate schemes we would love to devise Twilight's charting was interrupted when Lix Spittle added some of her own, Spike, Fluttershy, and Pinkie gathered around the map as well with the latter adding in a few drawings on one side of the map in pink. While staring off with not an ounce of amusement, she felt the hat Rainbow wore land on her head as the speedy mare flew past them and fall off from her swift flying. [Boyle] We rescued our treasure and stored it away Boyle pulled out a hidden chest they had stored, carried it out to the deck, then slid it over to Celaeno and Rarity, where the captain opened it to reveal more of their pillaged treasure. [Captain Celaeno] Saving those gemstones for a rainy day The gang began to gather at the bow of the ship, Celaeno stepping out onto the edge front stem with the Storm King's rulebook in her hand. [All] We see that light filling up our skies [Rainbow Dash] So take the Storm King's orders and toss 'em Rainbow took the book out of the parrot captain's hand and threw it over the ship, throwing out the last shackle that kept them confined and make them free birds. [All] 'Cause it's the time to let our colors fly [Captain Celaeno] Hey, scallywags, it's time to be awesome! The crew and their new pony friends roared in cheers, the parrots feeling much more relieved getting back to their old and favorite business. They may still fear the Storm King and his rule, but they will no longer bow to his will and show that fear. Celaeno leapt back onto the deck of the ship, then made her way up to the helm and took the wheel. "Come on, ye scurvy birds!" Celaeno said. "Let's show these little ponies how it's done! Hoist the mainsails!" "Aye aye, captain!" the parrots wholeheartedly responded, Squabble squawking his answer in his own way of speaking. Celaeno's crew gathered to a set of ropes, each of them grabbing one and pulled them down. Their balloon holding the airship aloft began to shift, the outer covering kicking up dust as it fanned out, revealing sails that were hidden on top of it. The sails were in the shape of wing feathers, each section colored like a rainbow with red at the bottom and continuing upward with purple at the top. The new crew mates stared in awe, neither of them expecting them to have sails like that, and the sky pirates were proud to have their colors hoisted back up again after so long. "Wow. Now that's showing your colors," Sora chuckled. "Captain Celaeno and her merry gang of pirates are back in action!" "We knew you had it in you!" Rainbow said. "Now for the finishing touch!" "Huh? What finishing-?" Rainbow zipped off before Sora could ask what she meant. She was already flying up high into the sky as everyone watched her climb higher and higher before dropping back down and speeding up in a nosedive. "Rainboom! Rainboom! Rainboom!" Pinkie chanted excitedly. Twilight looked up after taking off her new hat, gasping in horror hearing Pinkie chanting what Rainbow Dash was going to pull off. "No no no no no no! NO!" she exclaimed. "Sora, stop her!" "What? What's she-?" Pinkie's chanting had finally clicked with Sora, making him grimace. But it was too late for him, or anyone, to stop Rainbow. The cone around her already formed, breaking through the sound barrier and color spectrum and released a shockwave explosion of sound and rainbows. The sonic rainboom pushed away the clouds as the ring of colorful light stretched out, Rainbow leaving behind a trail behind her as she circled around Celaeno's ship while cheering in accomplishment, showing off in her usual fashion. "...Oh," Sora could only mutter, slowly glancing over at Twilight, who gave him the most deadliest, exasperated glare she ever gave him. Giggling sheepishly, he lowered his hat over his face to avoid her gaze, then let out a worried grunt. "...That was a bad idea..." Several miles away, heading in another direction, Xigbar stood on the crows nest with his arrowguns formed into a sniper rifle, scouting the distance for any sign of Sora and his pony companions. He searched on land and in the air, no telling how they managed to get away so fast. He glanced down at where Capper stood, the feline watching the ground pass by as he leaned over the rail. Xigbar let out a sigh, actually getting bored despite being incredibly patient when it comes to making the perfect aim for any targets he comes across. "Man, these ships like to travel slowly," he uttered to himself. "I could warp to the kid, but without knowing where he is, I'll either find nothing or some crazy beast trying to take a bite out of me. I don't even know why Luxord enjoyed being out on the open seas in that Caribbean world he boasted about." He chuckled to himself a little. "Maybe he was a pirate in his old life." While distracted by his own thoughts, a loud boom startled him, along with a slight shockwave that made the airship toss a little. "What the hell was-?" Looking out to where the explosion came from, Xigbar's eye grew wide, shocked and awed by a rainbow ring appearing out of thin air southeast of them. There was even a smaller one circling around what appeared to be another airship in the distance, making it look like a target. Teleporting down to the deck, he joined Tempest as everyone on board stared at the spectacle. "Whoa! Look at that rainbow!" Grubber said, having taken the wheel as he climbed on it to get a better look at the shockwave of rainbow light. "That's so cool!" Tempest's shock turned into elation, able to recall one of the ponies in the group who had hair matching the bright colors brightening the bleak, cloudy skies. "Yeah. Of them to alert us," she said, then turned and gave a cold, deadpanned leer at Capper. "Funny, though. They don't seem to be heading to Black Skull Island." Capper winced, chuckling nervously, his ruse to help the ponies and baby dragon failing to fool Tempest and Xigbar for long. "Like 'ha ha' funny, or...eh heh..." Xigbar squinted at Capper, detaching his weapon back into dual guns, then fired several beam arrows at the cat's feet. Capper yelped and hopped around, avoiding getting struck by each arrow. He tripped and fell on his stomach, but he couldn't get back up before looking up to have one of the arrowguns pointed right at his face. "Uh oh..." "You were guiding us in the wrong direction, pussy cat," Xigbar growled. Grasping Capper's coat by the collar, he shoved the cat on his back, keeping his weapon pointed at him, then leaned forward while hovering over the terrified feline. "I did warn you. Those were just warning shots, but if you don't come clean and tell us EXACTLY where they're going, you're body's gonna make a really nice addition to my Nobody 'crew' when I blast your heart out of your chest." "O-Ok! Ok! I was helping them escape!" Capper admitted frightfully, trying to clamber away, but Xigbar kept his aim on him and slowly followed him until Capper reached the railing of the deck. "I-I didn't really care at first! They were my ticket to getting out of my debt, but...I screwed up a lot of things in my life, and I felt like a massive hairball that took hours to cough up after trying to sell them off. That white one, Rarity, did something for me without asking for anything when I guided them in the worst city in all the world, and I felt it was fair helping them get far away from you two if you're so interested in them." "So you decide to stick your neck out for them, even though you know we could kill you before you can so much as blink?" Xigbar questioned. Despite his fears, Capper gave Xigbar a harsh glare. "I'd rather die helping them than continue living as a con artist and a thief. I wanted to get away from that lifestyle for so many years, but if you're gonna do me in for steering you away from them-" Capper then grabbed the pointed end of the purple stallion's arrowgun, aiming it right at his heart. "-then just do it and free me from my own guilt for what I did to them." Xigbar continued staring intensely at Capper, seeing the cat's eyes quivering a little in fear, but his words didn't falter. He smirked, squeezing the trigger, making Capper flinch when he heard a loud click. There was no pain at all, not even a shot fired. Xigbar chuckled at the cat's reaction, who was now sweating bullets after realizing he said. "Used up my ammo making you dance," Xigbar said with an impish grin. Pulling his gun away, Xigbar gave it a flick, reloading it, but stepped away. "You seem to have a strong heart in you, but I don't think you're worth it. Appreciate your guts, though." As he walked back over to Tempest, Capper let out a heavy, shuddered sigh, spared for a moment longer before they finally get rid of him for good. Using his magic, he took control of the wheel, spinning it hard to port while also flicking Grubber off the wheel, sending the hedgehog flopping to the deck on his belly. "Looks like they messed up getting away from us again. Recognize the ship they're using?" "It's a cargo ship," Tempest said. "But the crew who mans it were formerly pirates." "Pirates?" Xigbar asked curiously, then let out a laugh. "The Storm King trusts a band of sky pirates to handle his deliveries?" "He gave them a proposition after losing several vessels of his before I became commanding officer," she said. "But, if they do plan to revolt if they're harboring our targets, they won't be flying for long unless they give them up." "Maybe if they're persuaded with a bit of cash, they'll comply much more easily," Xigbar suggested. "Rewards in money are always a pirate's best friend." "We'll see," Tempest said, watching the rainbow lights fade away as the ship turned and headed for the cargo airship. Capper shakily stood up and leaned over the rail, glancing over to the ship the ponies were traveling in. He at least managed to give them some time, but not enough, wishing he chose a location in the opposite direction. At the very least, he saw what a sonic rainboom looked like before he would face his demise. Rainbow flew back onto the deck, smirking with a cocky gait as she heard the parrots exclaiming excitedly at witnessing her sonic rainboom. "How's that for awesome?" she gloated. "Quite the spectacle, little pony!" Boyle said. "Far better than our own colors," Celaeno mumbled to herself. Leaving the wheel after setting it on their course south, helping them get to where they needed to go, the pirate captain approached Sora. "So, Sora, care to give me a show of your swordsmanship with that blade in a friendly duel? That display you made when Squabble charged you peaked my curiosity." "Uhh, think I can take a rain check on that?" Sora asked. "I kinda need to have a little chat with-" Squabble let out an alerted squawk, hanging from the ropes and pointed out to the starboard side of the airship. Everyone looked in that direction, followed by surprised gasps when they saw one of the Storm King's airships heading toward them. "Storm guards!" Celaeno exclaimed. "They've found us!" Sora said. "Secure the rigging! Lock down the cargo! Everyone, prepare to be boarded!" Celaeno ordered her crew, which they immediately obeyed. "Seems like we will schedule a duel for a later date. Sora, you and your friends hide in the cargo hold until the coast is clear." "Aye aye, captain," Sora said with a salute. Boyle quickly ushered the others down while holding up the hatch leading to the airship's cargo hold. The mares and baby dragon quickly filed inside, Sora just about to follow them before turning around to Celaeno. "Captain Celaeno." "Yes, Sora?" she asked. "...Be careful," he said. "And thanks for your help." Celaeno nodded with a grin, then focused on the airship headed their way. Sora leapt inside the hold with his friends, wondering what they should do if Tempest and Xigbar decide to search the entire vessel. All the while, Rainbow looked around shiftily with a nervous grin. "You think they saw my sonic rainboom?" she asked. Twilight growled irately. "Are you kidding me!?" she exclaimed. "That was the worst thing you could have possibly done!" "Ok, so I got a little carried away with bringing the pirates out of their funk," Rainbow said apologetically. "A little!?" Twilight shrieked. "And what made you think that stunt was you getting 'a little' carried away!?" "Twilight, we'll talk about this later," Sora said, trying to keep Twilight quiet. "This was the dumbest mistake you and Sora could have ever made!" the alicorn continued to complain. "Huh? What did I even-?" Sora was interrupted by a harpoon from Tempest's ship striking Celaeno's, the hook breaching the hull and caught it. The whole airship lurched from the impact, making everyone below and up top stumble as Tempest's ship pulled Celaeno's ship closer for boarding. Once the ship settled, everyone stood back up, panicking as they were sure to get caught. "We need to get out of here now before they tell Tempest we're hiding in here," Twilight said. "Twilight, there's no way Celaeno or her crew is gonna tell them we're here," Sora said. "We helped fixed their broken spirits, and we're like part of their crew." Twilight ignored Sora and began looking around for a way out. The breach in the hull where the hook latched onto the ship wasn't big enough, along with being caught from the side before the enemy ship boarded Celaeno's. While the other mares and Spike hid or waited for the inevitable, Twilight spotted a large gray tarp with the Storm King's face in a silhouette on it, and a lever for a hatch to drop cargo from above. She got an idea on giving Tempest the slip and away from the pirates who would eventually rat them out. "I've got this," she said, gathering everyone around where the hatch would open while grabbing the tarp, some rope, and a nearby crate big enough to fit all eight of them with her magic. Sora grimaced as he heard her say the three words he heard Gloriosa Daisy keep saying, which was never a good sign with a determined look. "Uhh, Twilight?" he asked, but she didn't respond. She placed the tarp in his hooves while setting everything up. "What are you doing?" Tempest and Xigbar waited by the side of their ship as they pulled Celaeno's to safely board. Celaeno was shocked to see it was the Storm King's commander boarding her airship, but she and her crew kept their cool as Tempest stoically marched onto their vessel, Xigbar and Grubber following behind her. "Where is the pony princess?" Tempest demanded. "'Princess'?" Celaeno asked. She grabbed a clipboard, looking through their listed cargo while trying to divert Tempest from searching her ship. "Hmmm...Nope, no princess anything. All we're hauling is Storm King merchandise." Squabble squawked as he held up one of the pieces of merchandise they were delivering: a bobblehead of the Storm King. Xigbar squinted at the ridiculous toy, along with the ditsy parrot waggling his head along with the souvenir. "He has toys of himself?" he questioned. "What is he: an evil dictator or a comic foil with an over-inflated ego?" Getting tired of watching the bobblehead waggling around, Xigbar summoned an arrowgun and shot it out of Squabble's hand, making him squawk in terror and flee behind his mates. "Then if you're not hauling a princess on your ship, what about a bratty young stallion with spiky hair and a sword that looks like a giant key? Can't be hard to find someone like him in a sky like this." Celaeno opened her beak, but before she could try to lie, Xigbar aimed his weapon at her. "Best think about the answer you'll give me. We've already got one conniving cat who helped them escape, and after seeing that massive rainbow target around your ship, we don't want to hear any tall tales. If you pollies want a cracker that'll save your tail feathers, you tell us where you're hiding them." "We're done playing games," Tempest added. "If you've been sheltering fugitives we've been hunting the whole day for, the Storm King won't be the only one who'll get...explosive." Her horn began sparking, giving the parrots their only warning. Celaeno gulped nervously, but she stood her ground, one hand clutching the scabbard of her cutlass in anticipation. "Now, I'm going to give you until the count of three, and if you don't tell us where they are, your ship is going down. One..." Xigbar summoned his second arrowgun, aiming it at the rest of Celaeno's crew with a smug grin. Despite being outnumbered, the sky pirates were ready to fight back if needed. They weren't going to let them take away their new friends after helping them bring back their fighting spirit against the Storm King. "Two..." "Oh, this is intense!" Grubber whispered excitedly. "Shut up, tubby," Xigbar growled. A long silence passed, Tempest and Xigbar staring down Celaeno's crew. "...Three!" Suddenly, they heard a mysterious opening sound below them followed by several yelps that were faint. "The hell?" Xigbar muttered, both he and Tempest looking down at the deck, then at each other, then back to Celaeno and her crew. Celaeno reached for her cutlass, only to freeze when Xigbar summoned Snipers, surrounding the parrots. "None of you move!" he warned. They didn't plan to, not with the strange creatures holding them up with giant crossbows and red energy arrows glowing in them, ready to fire at the slightest twitch. "Sounded like it came from the hold." Xigbar looked around the deck, finding the hatch leading down to the cargo hold. His horn lit up, grabbing the hatch with his magic aura, then quickly flicked it open, aiming his weapons down inside. He found the drop hatch opened, some of the crates of Storm King merchandise lost by whatever opened it, but no sign of any ponies. Grunting in frustration, he closed the drop hatch with his magic to keep from losing anymore cargo, then slammed the hatch to the hold down. Celaeno was relieved to see they managed to get away, but by dropping from several thousand yards high above ground level was incredibly dangerous. "OH FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE!!!!!!!!!!" Rarity screamed. The ponies and baby dragon were free-falling after Twilight randomly dropped them out of Celaeno's ship without any warning. The non-flyers obviously panicked, though Pinkie's screams of terror quickly turned into excited cheering and laughter, as they all expected, and Rainbow and Fluttershy had no idea how to save everyone from a fall this high. "Twilight, whatever it is you had planned, you'd better do it now!" Sora exclaimed. "Gather everypony in that crate! I'll do the rest!" Twilight called out as she flew around, using her magic on the tarp and rope. Having no clue what she was doing, Sora maneuvered himself around, trusting Twilight with her crazy plan. "Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy! Keep that crate steady while I get the others inside it!" The two pegasi nodded, diving ahead to keep the crate steady beneath everyone. Sora quickly went for Applejack and Rarity, who were closer to him, wrapping a foreleg around their barrels. "Hold on tight!" "Like we have any choice!?" Applejack exclaimed, holding her hat firmly over her head as Sora nosedived toward the crate. Both mares felt their stomachs drop as they fell faster. As they got closer, Sora slowed himself down, setting both Applejack and Rarity into the crate. Pushing himself from the crate, he spread out his limbs to slow his descent since his wings would be of no help thanks to Kairi's spell. He caught Spike, planting him firmly on his back, then steered himself toward Pinkie. Thankfully she didn't try to avoid him while having fun falling from the sky, quickly grasping her barrel with both forelegs before diving back down to the crate. "Wheeeeeee! Do a flip, Sora!" Pinkie cheered. "Pinkie, not now!" Sora chided. He grimaced as they broke through the clouds, getting closer and closer to the ground with every second. Reaching the crate, Sora landed himself and Pinkie inside with Applejack and Rarity. Rainbow and Fluttershy joined them, all of them keeping the crate upright, then saw Twilight catch up with the tarp tied together with the rope, where she also fastened to the pony-filled box. "Twilight, any minute now! Otherwise we're all gonna make a very deadly crash-landing!" Once Twilight had secured the rope tightly around the crate, she flew inside, grabbed Spike, then squeezed him hard while aiming his head up into the tarp. Spike blew out a powerful stream of flames, sending hot air into the cloth, causing it to expand like a balloon. Enough hot air managed to slow down their fall, causing the makeshift hot air balloon Twilight built to bounce a little, barely hitting the treeline of the forest they fell toward. Safely floating several yards in the air, the others sighed in relief, thankfully not having eaten any lunch with the parrot pirates to lose any after a close brush with death. "Oh, thank goodness," Rarity uttered. "That was way too close for comfort," Rainbow added. "Can we do that again!?" Pinkie asked. "No!" everyone else exclaimed. Out in the distance, they could see Mount Aris on the horizon. Thanks to Celaeno, they were able to make it a bit closer, and with a short hot air balloon ride across the sea to the mountain of land, they'd reach it in no time. Rainbow hovered out of the makeshift basket and pushed them along while the others relaxed, some still shaky from the terrifying fall. Jiminy climbed out of Sora's pocket and perched himself on the stallion's shoulder. "Oh boy. What a rush that was," Jiminy said. "Twilight's quick thinking saved our bacon." "Wished she told us what she was planning before dropping us out of the blue like that," he mumbled. He glanced back at Twilight, who was focused on watching Mount Aris getting closer, where their destination and their saving grace for Equestria lies. "And what did she mean when I made the same mistake with Rainbow Dash? I couldn't stop her from pulling off that sonic rainboom if I tried. My wings are magically tied down." "Well, you did make friends with a group of sky pirates," Jiminy stated. "I know Hook was clearly with Maleficent on taking over the worlds with darkness, but there aren't a lot of pirates you've met who are that terrible." "Yeah. Jack was a pretty great pirate. And I knew Captain Celaeno would have fought tooth and nail for us to keep Tempest off our backs," Sora said. He sighed, resting his chin on the edge as he watched the scenery pass by. "I just hope they'll be alright..." "Sora, you there?" Sora's ears perked up as he heard Kaito communicate with him. "Yeah," he responded with a hoof to his earpiece. "How's you're journey going?" Kaito asked. "You find them hippos yet?" "I think we're almost there," Sora said. "And...it's not the hippos we were searching for; it's the hippoGRIFFS." "Ohhhhhh. See, THAT makes a lot more sense in this world," Kaito said, his reaction making Sora snicker a little. "Hippogriffs are half-pony half-griffon, right?" "I think so. We're heading to their kingdom at Mount Aris, way down south of the continent Equestria's on," Sora said. "...What about over there?" "Not good," Kaito said, which made Sora's ears droop and frown. "Those strange monkey guards are holding a lot of ponies in cages or chaining them together to put them in more holding cells...And...I think I see Donald and Goofy used as lawn ornaments in front of the castle." "And...the others?" Sora asked. "I can't see them from where I'm scoping the city. They might be in the castle. Can't really sneak around with all those Snipers and Berserkers patrolling the place, and those Snipers have some pretty good vision when they have no eyes." Sora sighed, feeling more worried than ever. "Do you want me to help you guys? I can use a portal and head down there to reach you." "...No, we're fine," Sora assured. "We...had a few close calls, but we managed to get away." "Well, there isn't much I can do here without causing a scene," Kaito said. "And don't worry; I'm not gonna act like a bigshot hero if you're that worried about your old man." A moment of silence passed before Kaito let out a heavy sigh. "...Sorry. I can't really control the words that come out of my mouth sometimes. Your dad's instincts just...kick into me out of the blue." "...It's fine," Sora uttered, even though it was a lie. "I'll keep watching the city for you," Kaito said. "If you don't call back after asking the hippogriffs for their help in the next few hours, I'll be right there to help plan a strike to save your friends." "Ok. This is our only chance...I just hope we can convince the queen to help," Sora said, ending the call, then let out sigh. "I really hope she can help us." "The best news is that she might be aware of the Storm King and his kingdom domination spree. If she has an army that can face the Storm King's, we'll free everyone in no time," Jiminy said, trying to stay positive of their outcome. Sora nodded and sat back up, unable to wait to rescue his friends, especially Kairi, and free Equestria from the Storm King's tyranny. Tempest's soldiers began grabbing all the cargo from Celaeno's vessel, transporting the Storm King's merchandise safely on her own since they couldn't trust the pirates. They also searched around for any sign of the ponies, but as they emptied the airship, they found no trace of them anywhere on board. A Sniper followed behind Capper, forcing the cat to cross onto Celaeno's ship. "Ok, watch the coat, you weird-" The Sniper smacked Capper's back with its giant crossbow, making him yowl in surprise as he plopped onto the ground in front of Celaeno and her crew. Growling, Capper stood up and brushed his clothing off, but when he looked at the sky pirate captain, he froze, both he and Celaeno staring at each other in silence. He tilted his head, unable to help the feeling that he's met this parrot before. "...Uhh..." Celaeno gasped a little, recognizing the confused feline. "...You," she uttered. "You were one of the Abyssinian boys who stowed away in one of the Storm King's airships." Capper's eyes widened in surprise, though he grimaced, laughing sheepishly at the crazy stunt he had pulled with his former friend. "Uhh...Small world?" he asked. "What of your friend?" Celaeno asked, worried and curious. Capper's ears drooped as he looked down in sadness, but also bitterness. "...I don't want to talk about him," he uttered. "Probably didn't even survive after he tried to abandon me in Kludgetown." Celaeno felt sorry for Capper, wondering what had happened to the cat's friend since she helped keep the Storm King's revenge attack from harming them. Xigbar and Tempest kept a close eye on them, Snipers surrounding the traitors to make sure they didn't try anything funny. Grubber came back from his search with some of the guards, though Xigbar wasn't in the mood for any shenanigans from who was supposed to be Tempest's assistant. "There's no ponies here," Grubber said. He then pulled out a cupcake out of nowhere. "But I did find this. It's a...kind of cupcake...with sprinkles." Xigbar shot the pastry out of Grubber's hand, startling him as he dragged the ever-hungry hedgehog up to his face with his telekinesis. "Can you not find anything that's food and find actual clues!?" he exclaimed. "You're starting to get on my last nerves with your constant eating, too! Why are you even Tempest's second in command when you're the laziest piece of lard I've ever seen!?" "I-I-I also found this!" Grubber quickly said, his other hand clutching a map. Growling, Xigbar snatched the map out of Grubber's hand, dropping him to the deck before grumbling in irritation. "You need to get a better right hand man, Tempest. I'd throw him overboard myself with his junk food habits." He held the map up for him and Tempest to see, though Xigbar's eyes opened wider in surprise. On the map was the illustration of Mount Aris, a red dashed line marking the direction they were headed with a big X at the base of the mountain, and a drawing in pink of a familiar pink pony with a big smile and hearts around the mountaintop. "...A decent clue...Finally, something not about this little porker's black hole of a stomach. But where the hell is this?" "Looks like they were headed to Mount Aris," Tempest said, giving the traitorous delivery crew and feline a dirty glare. Capper glanced around nervously, biting his lower lip, knowing that pleading with them would be a moot point after already misleading them earlier. "And this ship had gone off its delivery route to head in that very direction. You've all made incredibly poor choices with me today, and I'm not too happy about it." "What's even there?" Xigbar questioned, squinting at the map to see what was flying around the mountain that wasn't a heart. "It's where a kingdom of hippogriffs resided, but it's been empty for years," the mare explained. "That begs the question as to why they would go to an abandoned kingdom to escape us." "Because they'll put a stop to you and the Storm King for taking over the world," Celaeno said. Tempest and Xigbar eyed her as she glared right back at them. "One of the ponies you're looking for, Sora, he's a very skilled swordsman. I haven't seen much after we found him and his friends stowed away on my ship, but his words ring true. With his and his friends' help, we're no longer listening to your king's orders." Tempest stared blankly at the pirates, then glanced at Xigbar. With a nod, Xigbar smirked, stomped his hoof to dismiss his Nobodies, then the group backed up onto their ship, confusing Capper, Celaeno, and her crew. "So sad to hear you're quitting," Tempest said with a sweetly sarcastic tone. "But, because of all of your betrayals, your usefulness to our's and the Storm King's cause...requires your termination. Immediately." Tempest's horn sparked as her vessel began to push away, then released a powerful surge of electricity onto what remaining cargo was left on Celaeno's ship. Capper and the parrots gasped as the magical bolt struck, causing a series of explosions that blew up a huge chunk of the ship, sending it falling down to the ground below. Tempest watched the airship crash before turning and head for the wheel, steering her airship toward Mount Aris. "So, what's the plan, commander?" Xigbar asked. "You know we're not able to take down Sora after getting creamed by him. Literally and figuratively." "My back still aches after he slammed me down with that giant cannon," Tempest grumbled. "The princess I can handle with her lack of fighting experience, but Sora really has more skill than I can imagine." "Told ya," Xigbar said. Tempest let out an annoyed huff, ignoring the cocky smirk on her ally's face. "The best thing to do, if I might suggest, is set up an ambush. They're bound to get exhausted from all the running, stressed from the never ending chase, and they'll get on each other's nerves." "Sora has far more stamina than the other ponies," Tempest mentioned. "He won't tire that easily." "True. Which is why we're only going to catch the princess." The mare raised a brow, then glanced at Xigbar. "He never backs down on saving his friends, even with an adventure he's currently on failing to distract him from what his heart keeps reminding him of what's important." Xigbar paced in front of Tempest, peaking her intrigue at his idea as he grinned. "We wait for them to split up, trick the princess to step in a trap, then head back to Canterlot, where Sora will do his hardest to save her before the Storm King takes hers and the other alicorn princesses' magic. Kinda grateful to have dark clouds give us the cover we need in such a cloudy sky, too, so it'll make the surprise much more satisfying." "I sense a catch with this plan," Tempest voiced. "There is. One: this princess is really strong with magic. And two: she also has a Keyblade," Xigbar listed as he held up his forehooves to point out the flaw in his scheme. "A simple cage won't hold her if she can blast it apart with a magic blast or unlock her cage with a simple swish. Got anything that could keep both her escape plans from succeeding?" Tempest hummed, her lips curling into a small smirk after a moment of thought. "I think I know just the thing..." The hot air balloon managed to reach Mount Aris in record time. The only problem was that Rainbow tried to make it in record time. Being the impatient pegasus she was, she pushed the makeshift balloon too fast, causing them to lose altitude and steer out of control, crashing them into the base of the mountain. Luckily, there was a path of land from the mainland to Mount Aris, along with a path along the mountain for travelers on land to walk on and reach the hippogriff kingdom. The group were already halfway up the mountain before Rarity began complaining. "We HAD to crash the balloon at the bottom of the mountain!" Rarity whined. "That's it! I just can't...do it! I have nothing! The bad guys have won!" She then collapsed on the mountain road, defeated. "I'm so sorryyyyyyy!" Sora looked down at the whiny drama queen from higher up on the path with a blank stare. "Rarity, we're almost there. You can whine when you're relaxing at a spa the hippogriffs might have." "Oh, don't you dare spout that!" Rarity argued. "Rainbow's been saying that for the last several minutes!" "I can literally see an archway up ahead that look like two hippogriffs to make up an entrance into the city," he said. That got Rarity out of her whining fit as she and the other mares and baby dragon climbed higher to meet up with Sora. He leapt on ahead, where he saw the archway he mentioned in all its glory. His elation began to fade a little at the state of the stone hippogriff entrance: a few cracks lining them, some moss or weeds growing from them, and for a kingdom of creatures, there was a complete lack of them making noise and going about their business. "Wait...Something's wrong..." Sora walked on ahead while his friends followed, Jiminy feeling just as concerned as the stallion while he was perched on his shoulder. Once inside the city proper, Sora and Jiminy let out a startled gasp, the Equestrians doing the same in shock as they saw the state of the hippogriff kingdom. The cloudy sky and foggy mist didn't help add to the empty city: no lights to brighten through the fog, trees bare of leaves and seemingly dead with other flora climbing over the empty homes, even some of them that happened to be stores with broken windows, whatever wares were left stripped clean by thieves or wildlife looking for a snack. There were no hippogriffs at all, which meant they either moved their kingdom elsewhere, or, at worst, they were all held prisoner by the Storm King in his kingdom. "Oh no," Twilight uttered in despair. "W-Where...This can't be the right place..." "Ah think we're in the right place, but...there's nopony here," Applejack said. "You don't think the Storm King already took over and...there're no more hippogriffs left...is there?" Rainbow asked. "It's like a ghost town," Spike mumbled, staying close to Twilight. They headed deeper into the abandoned city, hoping to find SOME sort of life around here. They looked through windows, some spiders making homes in the empty buildings with several webs covering corners, the sills, etc. Sora wondered if all their traveling amounted to nothing, his hopes dashed as the help they'll need no longer existed. In the silence, everyone paused when they heard something faint. "W-What was that?" Fluttershy asked with a small gasp. "Shh," Sora shushed, perking his ears up to figure out where it was coming from. It sounded like someone singing, though whether it was from a survivor, a non-hippogriff, or a monster luring victims in its new home. Summoning his Keyblade just in case, Sora guided the ponies and baby dragon toward the singing. "Stay behind me. I have no idea what that is, but if it's another Siren, the Dazzlings are gonna have another cellmate joining them." "Sirens in this world?" Jiminy asked nervously. "Oh, I hope there's enough lint in your pockets to muffle out their hypnotizing songs." "At least they don't eat your souls in this world; just the negative energy they force out of you," Sora assured the cricket. "And you're not worried, Sora?" Jiminy questioned. "A trio of Sirens tried to use their song on me in the other Equestria, but since I was connected to the Elements of Harmony, I was immune to their power. Now shush before we give ourselves away." The singing came from the entrance of what looked like a cathedral, the entryway blocked by a bit of rubble from the mountain. Sora quietly moved the rocks out of the way for them, then snuck inside to see who was singing. They could also hear the sound of water flowing in the center of the empty cathedral. There was a pool of water in the middle of the room, several lilies floating on the water's surface with one big one in the center of the pool. It was odd seeing healthy flowers like these in the desolate kingdom outside, but what made their hearts jump was the bigger lily glowing a faint light through its petals, where the singing was originating from. Unsure it it was dangerous, Sora slowly made his way down the steps to get a closer look while the others stayed back. One of the steps crumbled the moment he went down a couple, the noise making the creature in the flower gasp in surprise. "What was that?" the creature inside asked, sounding feminine and frightened. It looked in their direction, Sora wincing a little with his Keyblade held firmly in his maw, but instead of expecting some sort of self-defensive magic song, the creature swiftly dove into the water. "Hey! Wait up!" Pinkie exclaimed, startling Sora when she bounded off his back and dove in after the mysterious aquatic creature. "Gack! P-Pinkie, get back here!" Sora scolded, he and the others racing after the pink earth pony. They stood in the shallow end of the pool, searching around for any sign of Pinkie before she popped up to the surface. "Pinkie, I said to stay back! It could have been a Siren, or a Heartless, or something!" "She's gone, though," Pinkie said. Everyone let out collective groans while Pinkie blew bubbles in the water. Suddenly, the water began shifting, dragging Pinkie out as it began to swirl. The others soon began to get sucked into the strong current, swept off their hooves as they were getting sucked into a whirlpool. "Oh, this is gonna suck," Sora grumbled. The others screamed as they sank deeper and deeper into the underwater vortex, unable to focus on taking in a deep lungful of air before getting sucked down to wherever the whirlpool would fling them. Sora and Jiminy were the only ones to take in as much oxygen as they could before they submerged, Jiminy clinging onto Sora's jacket collar tightly as everyone flipped and spun out of control, disorienting them as they struggled to hold their breath. The whirlpool flung them out of the cathedral and into an underwater alcove. Sora quickly righted himself underwater and swam for the entrance, only to have the hole they came through close up on them, leaving them in pitch black darkness and no air pockets for the others to catch their breath. Sora panicked, his friends about to drown to their deaths, but without any light, he can't see any way for them to get out. Quickly swimming to where they were shot out from, he used his Keyblade to slash through it, lift the opening up like a crowbar, anything to get them back to the surface. While distracted with the sealed exit, Jiminy looked at their friends, their lungs burning as their struggles for air would quickly end in them drowning. Through the darkness, Jiminy let out a gurgled grunt in shock when he saw a glowing light coming toward them. He quickly tapped Sora's head, getting him to focus on the strange aquatic creature coming toward them. Sora turned around, seeing the glowing light as it swiftly swam past his friends. Whatever it was, instead of snatching them away or eating them, it placed air bubbles over their heads. All of them let out a big gasp as they could breathe again, relieved, but incredibly confused. Sora tried to look for the light after seeing his friends were ok, only to feel something plop over his head as he and Jiminy took in a breath. "Huh?" Sora gently tapped the bubble with his hooves, Jiminy trapped inside it near his head. "What the...?" "Good thinkin', Twilight," Applejack said. "But...I didn't make these," Twilight said. Sora swam over to them, keeping his Keyblade in his hooves to avoid popping his only supply of air. "Then...Sora?" Rainbow asked. "I don't know any magic spells to make these air bubbles," Sora said. They flinched when they heard movement, quickly huddling together as they faced the mysterious creature, its glowing light moving closer toward them. "Who's there?" "I should be asking you who you all are," the creature said, which was the same voice they heard from the cathedral. Sora looked down at his Keyblade, taking a huge risk as he dismissed it, holding his hooves up above him. "We don't mean any harm," he assured the nervous creature, who seemed more so after seeing his weapon disappear in a flash of light. "We're just trying to find out where the hippogriffs were." "Why?" the creature asked. "How do I know I can trust you?" "The Storm King invaded the kingdom of Equestria, and he's captured our friends," Sora said. "We came so far, and we need their help." "The Storm King!?" the creature gasped, then swam up to them, her body glowing as bright as the small light she already emitted. Everyone got a better look at her, and to their shock, it was a seapony, far from a menacing creature of the deep blue sea. Her skin was a bright yellow, her mane, hooves, and tail fin a light aqua blue, one of her bangs the source of the glowing light from the darkness earlier, and a pair of translucent red fins on her back that looked like a pair of underwater wings. "I am so glad I saved you guys! I'm totally taking you to my mom!" "Does your mother know where they are?" Twilight asked with a hopeful grin. "Oh, she might have an idea~!" the seapony said with a giggle. She grabbed Sora while the others held onto him and each other in a line, the seapony dragging them through the underwater alcove, Applejack using a hoof to keep her stetson on her air bubble to avoid losing it in the water. There were various schools of fish they swam past, heading further down into the ocean, which the pool in the abandoned hippogriff kingdom's cathedral seemed to take them to. The seapony guided them to what appeared to be the exit, where a light seemed to shine from above. The ponies and baby dragon followed after her, and when they exited the alcove, they gasped in awe at the sight of an underwater kingdom enclosed by a much larger cavern. The lights in the hanging underwater city left a pinkish glow around the many homes and the royal palace on the bottom of the structure. "Wow," Twilight uttered. "What a beautiful place." "Atlantica's got a run for its Munny," Sora said. As they followed the seapony to the lower section of the kingdom, though he had a nagging familiarity when it came to this aquatic mare, this underwater palace, and who they'll be meeting. "She also reminds me of Ariel. If she was a lot more chipper like Pinkie is, but not as random." At the bottom of the cavern, they saw more seaponies gathering some of the underwater plant life, or with the younger foals, playing, who noticed them and watched them follow the mare who saved them. They were curious and wary, especially the foals as they tried to swim closer, only to have their parents hold them back. They entered what seemed to be the seaponies' royal throne room from the entryway at the bottom. Seapony guards glanced at them, wearing seashell styled armor and bared spears, eyeing them cautiously, and lounging on a huge throne was who they all assumed was the ruler of the ocean kingdom. Her skin was a pure white with dark purple hair, her tail fin matching her hair color, three blue bangs matching similarly to their guide's with the same glowing lights at the end, light blue hooves, and transparent purple fins. "Mother, look what I found!" the mare exclaimed, startling the group when the seapony queen was this mare's mother, making her the princess. "Uh oh," Sora mumbled. The queen didn't glance at them, seeming annoyed by her daughter's pestering with her quiet time. "Is it another shell?" the queen asked, which her daughter responded with a shake of her head. "I'm telling you, if it's another shell, I am-" She finally looked over at the ponies and baby dragon, letting out a shocked gasp at their visitors. "Princess Skystar, what have you done!? You know surface dwellers are forbidden here! Guards!" The guards stationed by the entrance swam toward the group, their spears pointed at the ponies. "Whoa, whoa! Hold on a sec!" Sora exclaimed. "We come in peace!" "Silence, earth dweller!" one of the guards barked. He tried to give the stallion a warning poke, but Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade, parrying the spear out of the surprised guard's hooves. "We're not a threat!" Sora tried to explain again, the other guards keeping his distance after seeing their partner get quickly disarmed. The queen gawked at Sora's strange sword, about to call in more guards to apprehend him, but her daughter intervened. "No, mom! It's true! They're not dangerous!" Skystar quickly said. "Then what do you call that!?" the queen exclaimed as she pointed at Sora. "Well, being greeted with a spear threatening to pop my only supply of air will get me to react in self-defense," Sora pointed out. The queen continued leering at him, making him sigh, dismiss his Keyblade, and hold his hooves up in surrender. "Fine. Put me in underwater jail for defending myself and my friends." "Mom, please don't arrest him!" Skystar begged, making the queen huff in exasperation. "The Storm King is trying to destroy their home, too!" "Please, hear us out, Your Majesty," Twilight begged. "We need to find the hippogriffs. Do you know what happened to them?" "Well, of course I know. I'm the queen. I know EVERYTHING," the queen said. "Oh, it's such a good story!" Princess Skystar said. Her mother blanched, turning to her daughter to scold her, but Skystar swam up to the windows around the throne room. The Equestrians didn't notice it before, but those windows had artistic depictions on them as she waved her hoof in front of them, lights glowing and creating images on them. The first was an image of Mount Aris and hippogriffs flying around the mountain. "Once upon a time, like, a while ago, the hippogriffs DID live on Mount Aris." The queen gave Skystar a deadpanned stare, being ignored as their guests her daughter brought began telling them everything. "Of course she would," she grumbled, sitting back in her throne with a defeated sigh. "We're not supposed to tell outsiders, but hey? I'm just the queen. Don't mind me." "Fine! I can't tell you!" Skystar said. Her mother counted from three in her head, then pointed to her daughter while eyeing the ponies, Sora especially. "But if I COULD tell you, I'd say that that horned beast did show up to steal their magic!" The princess revealed the next image, showing the Storm King, followed by one of the queen as a hippogriff, then the underwater kingdom with seaponies. "But, to keep it out of his clutches, their brave and majestic leader, Queen Novo, hid them deep underwater where he could never go! We ARE...Well, we WERE the hippogriffs!" The pictures and Skystar's summary of their story shocked the ponies. The hippogriffs were the very seaponies they're talking to, and their magical transformation from creatures of the sky to creatures of the ocean astounded them. Skystar swam over to her guests, ignoring that scary look a mother gives to their kids, ensuring to punish them after doing something they were specifically told never to do, but they did it anyway. "But I totally did not tell you that!" "Well, I guess the pearl is out of the oyster now," Queen Novo muttered with a sigh. "Yes, we are the hippogriffs, and I am Queen Novo." "I think we figured that from that picture," Sora said as he pointed to the queen's image as a hippogriff. Novo gave Sora a dirty look, making him chuckle sheepishly. "Shutting up now." "Now, hang on just a darn second," Applejack said as she swam up to the queen. Some of the guards pointed their spears at her, but she pushed them away, reminding them that Sora could outmatch them if they so much as attacked his surrogate sister. "When the Storm King came, ya just abandoned your entire city and fled?" "We didn't flee! We swam!" Skystar corrected, though it didn't seem to matter how she tried to state it when they basically ran and hid. "But...how?" Twilight asked curiously. Skystar gasped giddily, then swam up to Queen Novo. "Oh! Mom, can we show them? Huh?" she begged. "These are the first guests we've had in, like, forever! Can we, can we, can we, can we, can we?" Queen Novo rolled her eyes and chuckled, giving in to her daughter's endless pleading. "Well, I suppose I SHOULD make sure it still works," she said. Skystar squealed and giggled with glee, following her mother as they both swam up to a large jellyfish floating like it was an underwater chandelier. Its many tentacles opened, glowing and sparking as it gently floated down a large pink pearl. Novo gently caught it in her hoof, then with the other, swirled it around the pearl, releasing a magical aura that came from within the enchanted spherical gem. With a flick of her hoof, she sent the aura down toward the Equestrians, surrounding them and made their bodies tingle. They let out startled squeaks or gasps, laughing a little at the tickling sensation of being transformed. Their air bubbles popped, able to breathe freely as all seven ponies transformed into seaponies. Unlike the hippogriffs/seaponies, they had unique differences that made them stand out among the native creatures: Rarity and Twilight still kept their horns, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie lacking the pair of fins that used to be the three pegasi and alicorn's wings, and the dorsal fins on the backs of their new tail fins bearing their cutie marks. This transformation was far different than what Twilight experienced when she changes herself into a human when visiting other worlds. While Sora was in awe, he began to feel a bit disappointed that the magic the Storm King tried to take involved transforming into an aquatic creature. He didn't know how a tyrant like him would use that pearl for world domination. "Oh! My goodness! Sora, is this how you, Donald, and Goofy felt when magically transforming to enter Atlantica?" Nearly forgetting about Jiminy, Sora looked at the cricket, only to gawk, then snort in laughter. "Jiminy? Is that you?" Sora asked. Jiminy wasn't a cricket anymore; he was a gray-ish teal shrimp, though he still wore his usual top hat and clothes. Sora laughed while the startled shrimp looked at himself. "You should change your name to Jiminy Shrimp while we're down here!" "That...doesn't have a good ring to it," Jiminy muttered. "I think I feel smaller now than as a cricket." "Uhh, guys!" Spike exclaimed. Everyone quickly turned to look at the baby dragon, who was now a purple and green puffer fish, his shock causing him to puff out and make him panic even more. "What's...happening!?" "Aww. So cute!" Fluttershy gushed, despite Spike now floating up in his puffed, pointy state. As the others admired their new forms, getting used to swimming around like a fish, Twilight laughed with joy, finally finding the help they needed to save their home and friends. "This is amazing!" she said, then swam up to the queen. "With this, we could transform everypony at home into something powerful enough to face the Storm King's army! Maybe even run off the Organization coming after Sora!" "Or it could end up in the Storm King's greedy claws!" Queen Novo argued, startling Twilight. Jiminy swam up to the stuttering alicorn, understanding Novo's point with a gem strong enough to turn other creatures into something else. "She is right, Twilight. Anyone who's looking for an all-powerful weapon could misuse it for their own evil purposes," he said. "Your little friend is right," Novo said, her gaze turning sympathetic as she knew how awful their own situation was with the Storm King, and their kingdom had been taken over without any warning. "I'm sorry about your home, honey. I truly am. But my responsibility is to protect MY subjects." The jellyfish that protected the pearl lowered its tendrils down, taking the enchanted gem Queen Novo held up for it to grasp and protect in its shocking, and possibly painful, tentacles. "This pearl is not going anywhere." Sora's jaw fell, heavily distraught hearing the queen refusing to help them after getting this far for nothing, but he could see her side of their predicament. "But we've come all this way," Twilight tried to reason. "And you can't just hide down here! Trapped forever!" "We understand, Your Majesty," Sora interjected. Twilight glanced at him, shocked to hear him basically giving up instead of trying to convince Queen Novo to help them. "I think we're all a bit disappointed that you can't help us, but you are right. Your subjects come first." "I shall allow you all to stay until you are ready to leave, but that is all I can do for you," Queen Novo said. While Twilight began worrying about what to do next, a small octopus floated up to the queen and said something in a chittery language. "Yes, Jamal?" The creature spoke again, intriguing Novo. "Ooh! Time for my seaweed wrap," she said, getting up from her throne and followed Jamal as he spoke again. "Yes, and a massage, too. Mama needs her deep tissue." Sora sighed, he and his friends now stuck without any assistance after traversing a desert, escaping a port city of greedy creatures, Tempest, and Xigbar, befriended sky pirates, fell several thousand yards in the air to escape their pursuers once more, and almost drowned to find their saving graces, only for their pleas to be refused from the queen's fears. "Back to square one," he mumbled. "Oh my gosh! Best...idea!" Forgetting about Princess Skystar, the Equestrians looked at the seapony, who seemed to be pretty excited despite seeing them feel so defeated. "You can stay with us! Forever!" "Uhh, princess-?" Rarity tried to interject, but the overly excited seapony continued on. "There are so many things we can do! We can make friendship bracelets out of shells, picture frames out of shells, and decorative waste buckets out of shells!" Skystar held out the many different shell-crafted items she listed to her confused guests. Out of all of them, though, Pinkie seemed very interested, wearing a big grin and seemed just as excited to try some of the shell-crafting activities Skystar wanted to do. Realizing how shell crazy she sounded, the seapony princess giggled sheepishly. "I have so many projects that involve shells, but now I have someone new to share them with! I mean, aside from my friends, Shelly and Sheldon." Skystar introduced her two friends to the ponies, baby dragon-turned-puffer fish, and cricket-turned-shrimp, which were just two clams, one pink and the other blue with googly eyes attached to them. Sora grimaced, being reminded of Pinkie's inanimate friends she made up when the planned surprise birthday party they tried to throw her ended up making the mare psychotically random, believing they were disowning her as their friend. Skystar wasn't on Pinkie's levels of crazy, but he could see that she was definitely lonely and longed for outside contact. Her mother may have been ok staying underwater forever, but not all the seaponies had the same feeling, even with a dangerous threat to the whole world attempting to dominate every kingdom, city, and town. Pinkie was about to say yes, but Sora swam up to Skystar, who laughed and tried to explain the punny names she gave her "friends". "Listen, Your Highness-" "Oh, don't call me royal names! Just call me Skystar!" she interrupted. "...Right. Umm, Skystar...You know we can't stay, right?" he said. "Equestria's in trouble, and we have friends and family that need our help. Someone has to stop the Storm King, and if your mom can't help us...we'll have to come up with a new plan." Skystar's smile turned into a dejected frown, making the stallion sigh. "I know you're really excited to have us as guests in your home, but I hope you understand." "...Oh...Y-Yeah, of course," Skystar said. "Obviously, you've got friends and family back home. It's fine. Shelly and Sheldon get jealous anyways." If guilt could eat away at Sora's heart, he'd lose it before he could even blink. He felt sorry for Skystar, even as she moved her shell friends away so they didn't hear her, pretending to have some sort of companionship in her own mind to distract herself from being isolated underwater and no longer seeing anymore visitors outside of their home in Mount Aris. She began swimming away, trying not to break down in front of the ponies. "I'll just...I'll get mom to, uh...turn you back so you can go home..." As they watched Skystar swim off to let her mother know of their plans, Twilight was still deep in thought about what they should do. "So, now what do we do?" Fluttershy asked. "...Looks like we're going to head back and try to take back Equestria ourselves," Sora said. "It's risky, even if Kaito helped me, but we don't have any other choice at this point." "Sora, I know I'm reckless, but that's a hundred percent more crazy than Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow exclaimed. "What if they set up a trap for you if you set hoof in Canterlot!?" "I'd rather take that risk than have you girls, or even Twilight, get caught," Sora reasoned. "If the Storm King was after magic, and if he wants the alicorns' power, then it's important that Twilight stays safe and we stop him immediately. Otherwise, we might face another Tirek encounter, except it's with a weird monkey creature with horns...and hooved feet...What is he, anyway?" "I know we have to go, but...can we stay just a little bit longer?" Pinkie begged. "Princess Skystar looked really sad, and it wouldn't feel right leaving her so disappointed." "Pinkie, I know you mean well, but you know we can't stay," Jiminy said. "Sora's idea might not be the best, but if we ask for King Mickey and Yen Sid's help, we might-" "Oh, no," Twilight interjected. "Pinkie's right." Everyone looked at Twilight, shocked by her agreeing with Pinkie when the more pressing matter toward the Storm King was more important. "I think we need to come up with a better plan than storming Canterlot and liberating it from the Storm King. A few minutes won't make that much of a difference." "Twilight, are you sure?" Sora questioned. "I can't think of anything or anyone else who can help us now." "Well, rushing in headfirst into a well-guarded place isn't exactly better," Twilight said. "Plus, if there's anypony who can cram a lifetime of fun in the blink of an eye, it's Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie beamed, letting out a squee as she grinned widely. "So, go ahead and show Skystar the best time ever!" "I won't let you down, Twilight!" Pinkie cheered as the alicorn gently pushed her friends along. "I'm counting on it," Twilight said. Sora glanced back at Twilight, confused by her sudden change in behavior from being despondent with Queen Novo's refusal to help them to being positive and willing to come up with a new plan. He trusted in her genius mind to come up with a solution on the fly, and maybe a few minutes of relaxing could do him some good from all the stress they've been through all day. Twilight watched her friends swim off to find Skystar, and once they were out of sight, she looked up at the jellyfish floating up on the ceiling of the throne room, eyeing the pearl it protected between its shocking tendrils. Pinkie swam ahead of the others, and they didn't have to look too far for Skystar. She had been trying to delay telling her mother to change her new friends back, which she would quickly lose since they had to go back to their home to save their friends and family. She sniffled, trying not to cry, completely understanding why they couldn't stay and be safe with them. "It's for the best," she mumbled sadly, letting out a whimper while trying not to think about losing her new friends forever. Pinkie snuck up on the upset princess, silently taking Shelly and Sheldon from her, then held them up in front of her, making them seem like they're talking, or rather singing, to her to get her attention. [Pinkie Pie] (as Shelly) Hey, now, don't be sad (as Sheldon) I know we cannot stay Skystar turned around as her shell companions disappeared, seeing Pinkie holding them while the others floated behind the pink mare. But we've got a couple minutes And a little time to play As happy as she was, Skystar felt depressed, knowing that they'll have to eventually leave with the few minutes Pinkie promised. [Princess Skystar] I know you have important things So it's ok, just go She turned away, but Pinkie floated in her way, upside down, with a reassuring, infectious grin. [Pinkie Pie] But we can still pick one small, little thing To do with you, you know! Pinkie swam ahead, the other mares pushing Skystar along while Sora, Spike, and Jiminy followed them to give the sad princess a fun time. One small thing doesn't seem like a lot They found a bright and glossy large seashell, everyone gathering around it while they all made weird and silly faces in their reflections. One small thing, work with the time you've got Soon, one small thing becomes two After two, perhaps another few Pinkie had begun gathering seashells, crafting several necklaces out of them for her, Skystar, and the others to wear. As she caught her necklace, Skystar completely forgot about them leaving, and was having much more fun than she ever had since her and her subjects were forced to hide underwater. Then one small thing is not so small One small thing can be the biggest thing of all The group swam along the palace, getting the other seaponies' attention from their fun and singing. [Princess Skystar] All right now, since you're here Let's see what we can do Swim with the flow until you go Together, me and you [Pinkie Pie] I've got necklaces for everyfish So what else do ya got? [Princess Skystar] Well, we could play the bubblefish You'll like this one a lot! Skystar, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy each grabbed a small orange, bloated fish as the school swam beside them while Pinkie grabbed Spike, being close enough to the bubblefish in size to grab after startling him to puff out. Sora looked around, needing something more than a little fish to squeeze out bubbles. He spotted a large clam beneath them, getting an idea as he swam down to it, his Keyblade summoned in his hoof. [Pinkie Pie and Princess Skystar] One small thing, it's a good place to start [Sora, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy] (Just one small thing) As soon as the mares started squeezing bubbles out of their fish, Sora flipped and smacked his Keyblade on the top of the clam, forcing it open and let out a torrent of bigger bubbles, making them float alongside the smaller ones. Pinkie and Skystar swam into one and floated up, dancing a little as they tried to make it split, but brought it back together before snapping them away. [Pinkie Pie and Princess Skystar] One small thing, and we don't seem so far apart [Sora, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy] (Don't seem apart) While Pinkie Skystar danced, the others began gathering the curious seaponies watching them. It didn't take long for them all to get into the fun as some of the mares gently dragged some of them along, creating a spiral chain of seaponies as they swam up and around the rising bubbles Sora unleashed. Sora had gathered the seapony foals as they followed him into the stream of bubbles, making them laugh as they slowly floated after Skystar and Pinkie while the bubbles tickled them. [All] Soon, one small thing leads to more It's so much more than there was before Just one small thing, and you will see The start of something big for you and me As soon as every single seapony reached the top, Sora gave his blade a twirl, aimed up, then released a bright firework of light to add some flair to their "short" party. The seaponies exclaimed in awe at the stallion's magic, definitely catching the foals' attention as they were eager to see what this new stallion was able to do. "What in Seaquestria is all that noise?" Queen Novo swam out of her spa room, tossing off some seaweed from her seaweed wrap from her eyes as she watched this party that came out of nowhere. [Sora] One small thing Sora held out his free hoof while Jiminy danced to the music, the foals around him mimicking him with tiny jellyfish floating over theirs. [Seaponies] Just one small thing [Princess Skystar] Or a tall thing Skystar danced over a much taller jellyfish while the adult seaponies danced in the background. [Seaponies] Just one tall thing [Fluttershy] Or a sing thing Fluttershy began playing with the foals alongside Sora, playing pattycake with one of them. [Seaponies] Just one sing-y thing [Rarity] Or a bling thing [Seaponies] Just one bling-y thing Rarity danced with a pair of oyster shell fans in her hooves, adding more style with her underwater moves. She was interrupted when Applejack butted in, starting a conga line with Sora and a couple foals behind her. [Applejack] A conga thing [Seaponies] Yeah, a conga thing Rainbow one-upped Applejack with a much longer line with seaponies following behind her as she passed the smaller conga line. [Rainbow Dash] Or a longah thing [Seaponies] Just one longah thing Pinkie and Skystar began spinning in a circle while holding onto each other's tails, followed by a group of sea turtles circling around them, then several groups of seaponies mimicking the two mares, and finally a group of porpoises swimming around the other three rings, creating a very bright and colorful display for everyone. [Pinkie Pie] A blue thing, true thing, you thing [Seaponies] (Oooh-oooh) [Princess Skystar] A whee thing, sea thing, me thing [Seaponies] (Oooh-oooh-oooh!) [Pinkie Pie and Princess Skystar] So many things and everything until our time is done There's one small thing for each and everyone! The little party slowly began to wind down, Queen Novo swimming past her subjects as she got closer to her daughter having fun with Pinkie Pie and her friends. When she saw the look of joy on Skystar's face, she never saw her this genuinely happy; not a happy, overly-excited grin that seemed forced just to garner a bit of attention from her, but a real, happy smile, and brought by strangers from outside their home who had traveled so far to see them. She felt terrible keeping her daughter and subjects down here for their own safety, and seeing the other seaponies' expressions, they looked like they needed a party to lift their hopes and have some more fun in their contained home no thanks to the Storm King. [Princess Skystar] One small thing, so much we can create You and me, we started something great Skystar floated up to Pinkie, grabbing her hooves as she expressed her and her friends for making their day, even if it was for a brief moment. It's so amazing, look around At all the happy sights and sounds One small thing is big, it's true You did this all for us I just wish there was one small thing Skystar spotted her mother in the crowd, who seemed really pleased by what her friends did for the seaponies, even after refusing to help them put an end to the Storm King. An extra special kind of thing [Princess Skystar and Seaponies That we could do for you... The princess swam to her mother, took her hooves in her own, and dragged her up to join in on the party. Novo was still in awe, warming into it as her daughter began spinning them around, picking up the festivities for a moment longer before it truly ended. One small thing! With one last finisher to end the party, Sora flicked his Keyblade above everyone, shooting off more fireworks to brighten the cave. The bright and colorful explosions startled Novo as she looked down at the Keyblade wielder. He gave her a cheeky grin, spun his weapon expertly in his hoof, and hefted it over his shoulder. She was amazed to see that he also had magic as well as combat prowess, and the added light show was a perfect end to the party. The queen laughed, enjoying the short couple minutes of the party, which was a complete success on Pinkie's list as she cheered in satisfaction. As Novo calmed down, she swam over to their visitors with a warmer smile, a better look than her suspicious and wary scowl when she first met them. "What kind of magic was that?" Novo asked curiously. "Eh, just something for show," Sora said. "I could do much more dangerous spells, but I use them against much more dangerous creatures who attack me, my friends, or other innocents." Realizing he still had his Keyblade out, he giggled and dismissed it. "...Still not allowed since it's a dangerous weapon, huh?" "...I'll let it slide, because that was quite a display," Novo reassured. She looked at Skystar, then back to Sora and the others. "You know, after such an exciting party...I guess there is ONE small thing we can do for you." The ponies and Spike let out a surprised gasp, shock turning to joy at what the queen was implying. "Y-You...You mean...you're gonna help us!?" Sora asked, to which Novo nodded in response. Sora grinned and cheered, flipping around several times while Jiminy clung onto his mane, shaking the dizziness while expressing his own joy calmly. As the girls rejoiced, Sora grabbed Novo's hooves and gently shook them. "Thank you so much for reconsidering, Your Majesty! Trust me when I say that, together, we'll kick the Storm King far away from our kingdoms and beyond! I can't wait to tell-!" Suddenly, an alarm began blaring, startling everyone as they looked around in confusion. "W-What's going on?" Fluttershy asked nervously. "Is the ocean under attack?" Rainbow asked. The seaponies all gasped in horror, all of them exclaiming about the "pearl alarm". Novo and Skystar looked at each other, the happiness the queen had quickly turning to anger as she looked at Sora, swiping her hooves away from his. Confused, Sora didn't know why she was mad at him, but with the alarm, the seaponies talking about a pearl, and Twilight wasn't among them to hear the good news that was about to quickly thrown out the window, his eyes widened in shock. "...Twilight." Sora quickly swam off, startling the queen and Skystar as he sped off faster than a startled flounder. "Guards! Seize him!" Novo exclaimed, snapping her guards out of their shock as they chased after the stallion. Jiminy clung onto Sora for dear life as they approached the throne room. "Oh no! You don't think Twilight's responsible for this alarm, is she!?" he asked. They got their answer when they entered the room, Sora slowing to a halt as he and Jiminy gasped in shock. There was Twilight, trapped in the jellyfish guard's tentacles while trying to reach for the pearl, letting out yelps as she was painfully shocked with each movement she made. "Twilight!? What in the name of Kingdom Hearts are you doing!?" Sora shrieked, then grunted as the seapony guards tackled and pinned him to the floor. Twilight ignored Sora, still trying to grab the enchanted pearl while the jellyfish continued to shock her. When Queen Novo, Skystar, and their other friends reached them, the queen was absolutely furious. Swimming toward the alicorn, she took the pearl swiftly out of the jellyfish's protective tendrils without getting shocked, making Twilight panic. "No! Please!" Twilight begged. "All of this so you could sneak in and take the pearl!?" Novo exclaimed, appalled and infuriated that she was tricked by the outsiders. "W-Wait, Queen Novo!" Sora cried out, shaking off the guards as he swam up to her, hooves together and begging her to hear him out. "T-This isn't what it-!" "SILENCE!" Novo shouted, making the stallion wince and keep quiet. "I don't want to hear any excuses! I allowed you and your friends to stay in our home, as seaponies, until you were ready to leave, and you abuse my offer so you can steal our pearl! Our kingdom's most important magical artifact!" Sora stammered, looking at Twilight, who was still trapped in the jellyfish's tentacles, but couldn't get a word out as Novo swam to Skystar, grabbed her hoof with one while keeping the pearl kept safely in the other, and forcefully dragged her away from the mares and Spike. "This is why we don't bring strangers into our home!" she scolded Skystar, who was still shocked and confused by what was happening. "B-But, Your Majesty...W-We didn't-" Sora tried to speak, but the guards grabbed him, tossing him back to the mares while a pair of them grabbed Twilight, untangled her, then dragged her to join her friends. Novo glared at the thieves, holding the pearl out, and unleashed its magical aura. "You don't deserve to be one of us." As the transforming aura approached them, they ponies, Spike, and Jiminy began to panic. "Guys, grab onto each other and take in a deep breath!" Sora exclaimed, everyone doing as he was told as they began feeling their bodies begin reverting back to normal, along with the need for air as held their breaths. Sora had a moment of deja vu when he, Donald, and Goofy saw Ariel transform into a human thanks to Ursula's power, but having it happen to him and his friends was far more terrifying when they had no idea how deep under the ocean they were. As the mares and Spike clung onto each other, Twilight wrapping her forelegs around his barrel, Sora gave Novo and Skystar an apologetic look before summoning his Keyblade. The guards thought he was going to attack them, but he looked up and spun his Keyblade quickly like a propeller, more concerned with getting himself and his friends back up to the surface before they all drowned. Novo, Skystar, and the guards watched them disappear from their kingdom before the queen gave the jellyfish the pearl for protection again. "Mom, you could have gotten them killed," Skystar said. "M-Maybe they did it because they were that desperate to-" "I do NOT want to hear a word about this, Skystar," Novo growled. "That is the last time I ever allow anymore outsiders into our underwater home. I told you time and time again to NEVER go back up to the surface, but you just don't listen to me!" "But mom!" Skystar whined. "ENOUGH!" Novo shouted, making her daughter flinch. The queen took in a deep breath, and exhaled just as hard. "You are forbidden to leave this palace from now on. If you are to go anywhere else, even for your ridiculous shell collecting, you are to be escorted by a guard at all times. I am not taking another risk like this again. Is that clear, Skystar?" "...Yes, mom," Skystar murmured dejectedly. Novo's glare lessened, letting out an exhausted sigh, not meaning to snap at her daughter like that. "Skystar, I'm just trying to keep all of us safe," she explained. "That kind of recklessness is what'll end our prosperity as a kingdom. This isn't just for their protection; it's for yours and mine. Please understand this, hon." Skystar slowly nodded silently, refraining from making eye contact with her mother. Sighing again, Novo left her daughter alone, giving her some space and try to make up with her later. "I need another spa treatment..." Queen Novo left, ordering her guards to watch the entrance to their palace to make sure Skystar doesn't leave as she headed back to Jamal. The princess sniffled and rubbed her eyes, believing her friends only wanted what was best for their own home. Sure, taking the pearl was a terrible thing to do, but her mother took out her ire on all of them when Twilight was the one who tried to take their kingdom's magical artifact. And the look of abject horror on Sora's face proved that he and the others were completely unaware of what Twilight was planning to do. Looking back up at the jellyfish, Skystar knew she had to do something for them to not only make up for her mother banishing them while also having them drown, but also for bringing back that sense of hope of them being able to return to land and fly free in the skies once more. She knew she was going to get in a whole lot of trouble, and it would be worth it when she offers to aid the Equestrians in their battle against the Storm King. Sora grimaced as he heard his friends grunting and whimpering, their lungs burning as they couldn't hold their breaths any longer. Spinning his Keyblade faster, he could see the surface still several hundred yards away. Taking Twilight's hoof, he gave his friends a hard throw above him after stopping his Keyblade, then aimed down below him. "Aeroza!" he gargled, creating a powerful wind in the water that sent him and the others shooting up to the top. They breached the surface as Sora made them fly up in an ocean geyser, the mares and baby dragon coughing and gasping as they yelled and fall back into the water. They swam back up after splashing back in the water, resurfacing safely as they took in deep lungfuls of air. They found themselves near the shore of the mainland and a far distance away from Mount Aris, treading water for a bit as they recovered from the second near-death experience and Novo taking back her assistance in their fight against the Storm King. Sora floated on his back, staring at the dreary, cloudy sky, their rekindled hope quickly drenched by being accused as thieves. "That was close," Jiminy sighed in relief as he stood on Sora's chest. "Good thinking with that spell, Sora. I don't think we would have been able to make it." "...Yeah...Don't mention it," Sora mumbled. As soon as the cricket hopped onto Sora's head, the stallion turned around and slowly swam to shore, where the others had already reached to dry off. When he reached land, Jiminy hopped over to the others to make sure they were ok, though Twilight had walked further ahead and began drying her hair, her back facing them. Ignoring their loss, Sora's look of defeat turned to anger as he looked at the alicorn. "What the hell was that about, Twilight?" he questioned, but Twilight refused to look at them or respond. "Was that what you came up with while you sent us off!? Stealing their pearl!?" "It was the only way to save Equestria," Twilight said, her excuse far more poor than any made by a child caught red-handed as they snuck snacks before dinner. "By STEALING their kingdom's most prized and powerful artifact!?" Sora exclaimed as he stomped toward her, the others just as bitter and appalled by the alicorn's "plan". "Queen Novo was going to help us, and you blew it! If we knew that was gonna happen, we should have just gone back to Canterlot and faced the Storm King ourselves!" "Yeah! And you said I was the best pony for the job by helping lift their spirits with a party!" Pinkie added. "It made them realize that we were ponies worth helping!" "Why did you even bother telling us to give them a good time if you were...?" As Sora tried to understand Twilight's logic, he gasped and stared at her. Shock turned into betrayal, which boiled his blood far more than anything. "...No...No, you did NOT just use us like that, Twilight. You didn't want us to give them a good time; you USED us as a distraction!" The others gasped, their shock worsening when the alicorn turned her head, barely denying the claim. "Well, I wouldn't have DONE it, but this isn't Equestria, Sora!" Twilight argued, getting up and turning around to face him. "We can't just dance with con artists, make rainbooms in the sky, and expect everything to work out in the end! It's not enough, Sora! WE are not enough!" "Excuse me!? Since when did I dance around with a con artist!?" Sora argued back. "If you mean that shifty cat, did you completely forget that he pilfered stolen stuff on me to drag you guys away from me!? You know, to pawn you off to that mole rat for money!? I had nothing to do with that!" "Oh, and what about befriending pirates WHO WORKED FOR THE STORM KING!?" Twilight shouted. "You and Rainbow Dash are fully responsible for almost getting us caught again! Be grateful I thought fast and got us out of there!" "They would have fought to keep us safe knowing they were after us! Maybe it was a bad idea, but with the right KIND of pirate you meet, they'll treat you like a part of their crew!" Sora explained. "You just don't want to trust them because they USED to work for the Storm King before we brought back their fighting spirit! They don't anymore thanks to us!" "And they probably told Tempest and Xigbar where we were going!" Twilight countered. "Twilight, Sora, stop arguing!" Jiminy shouted. "This senseless fighting is getting us nowhere! Everyone here has made a mistake in who to trust, and if it was justified or not, that doesn't matter!" "Oh, it matters when we've been sticking together to avoid getting caught!" Sora said. "We were about to get the help we needed until Miss 'Princess of Friendship' screwed it up! Great plan, by the way, 'Your Highness'!" Sora gave Twilight a mock bow, seething with sarcasm. "Say, whenever you have a good idea, why don't you tell US about it before taking matters into your own hands like you used to do when we first met!?" "I'm doing the best I can!" Twilight turned away with a huff and walked away from Sora. "I'm the one Tempest wants. I'M the last princess!" "And Xigbar's after me! You have no excuse for not trusting me to save your plot!" Sora exclaimed, making Twilight pause with a disgruntled look. "I took a risk distracting Tempest and Xigbar long enough for you guys to reach the docks, and it paid off when we stowed away on Captain Celaeno's ship without getting caught!" The air was left in silence aside from the ocean wind and the lapping waves nearby. "What, nothing smart to say? Maybe you're thinking of a way to THANK me for all the times I saved your life from certain peril, including back in Kludgetown?" "...You know, Sora...You're really, really powerful," Twilight said after more silence. "Years of being a Keyblade wielder, facing foes of all creatures and sizes...and yet, with all that power, you just don't seem to truly 'defeat' your worst enemies." "What?" Sora questioned. Twilight turned back around, glaring daggers at Sora. "You could have stopped Xigbar and Tempest back in Canterlot when they invaded. You could have ended them in Kludgetown with whatever Formchange abilities you had with Pinkie's element. But instead, you ran away with us, and you just delayed them from hunting us in the sky!" Flabbergasted, Sora felt hurt as Twilight basically called him weak, growling angrily and stomped his hooves in the sand. "Are you pinning this on me!?" "Yes! You could have done something, but you didn't!" Twilight exclaimed. "Terra told me to keep you safe, because, as of right now, you're more of a priority target for Tempest than I am with Xigbar!" Sora argued. "Sora, Twilight, both of you calm down-!" Jiminy tried to say, but Sora continued, ignoring the cricket. "If Queen Novo was right about the Storm King stealing powerful magic, then stealing the magic from the alicorn princesses HAS to be his main goal!" Sora yelled. "Screw Kingdom Hearts falling in Xehanort's hands; all of this world would fall to ruin if the Storm King has all that power!" "I don't need your help protecting me! I never did!" Twilight exclaimed, which made Sora sarcastically laugh in bewilderment. "'Never needed my help!?' Since when, 'princess'!?" Sora questioned. "Ever since I discovered Nightmare Moon's return!" Twilight said. "Oh! Oh, ok! Let's see...Heartless began appearing around AJ's farm late one night, then more appeared and almost attacked Rainbow Dash the other day, and more one stormy night when I was placed under arrest, where Apple Bloom, one of the many fillies I cherish like my baby sister, almost gets attacked by them, along with Rainbow Dash again after she tried to stop me! If I wasn't there, Ponyville would have been taken over first, then the rest of the world!" As Sora continued proving Twilight wrong with her points, the others silently watched the two arguing. Their anger toward Twilight for her shifting the blame on them began to get more concerning when she was putting it all on Sora. They were afraid their fighting would escalate into a more physical one, and with their abilities as Keyblade wielders, it could end with someone, or both of them, getting severely hurt. "And Nightmare Moon was Luna's Heartless! You girls wouldn't even survive facing her with the Elements of Harmony!" "I would have found a way to blast them away if they came close!" Twilight yelled. "Without a Keyblade, and without ANY knowledge on the Heartless, you'd lose your heart before you could say, 'Oops!' For a genius, you sure are pretty dumb!" Twilight was appalled, then fumed as her face turned red in anger. "Your rushed planning keeps making you paranoid, causing more problems than solutions, and you think everything in life can be solved by a book on the subject! Well, news flash, Twilight Sparkle, making friends comes from experience, not words in a book some writer made up to make it sound more interesting! You even freak out when you're late for writing a stupid letter to Celestia about a friendship lesson like it was a school assignment worth one hundred percent of your grade! 'Dear Princess Celestia, today, I learned I'm a helpless little unicorn, forever a nerdy bookworm who thinks she knows everything about friendship, but completely forgets that much more knowledgeable Keyblade wielder friend of mine is the MASTER of making-'!" In his mocking Twilight's old friendship letter writing in the dumbest-sounding way possible, Sora was shot by a beam of magic, hitting him square in the chest and sent him tumbling far across the sand. The others gasped, watching Sora skid to a halt face first, the rest of his body plopping down as they heard him spit out sand that got in his mouth. They all looked back at Twilight, her horn sizzling and sparking with a deadly look in her eyes. "You're a miserable excuse of a Keyblade wielder if you've done so much good that you're not even a master yet!" Twilight screamed out. "You have all this power: magic, Drive Forms, Formchanges, several different Keyblades, and even you're all-powerful Harmony form, but you always seem to keep holding it all back! That's why most of your enemies keep coming back to hurt you and everypony you care about, because you can't kill them!" Sora slowly sat on his haunches, his head hunched low as he grit his teeth. "Maybe that's why Master Yen Sid won't approve you to retake your Mark of Mastery exam! You'll just flunk it like the last one you and Riku took together, which is why he can't trust you to take a position THAT important! And if Kairi can beat you to it in only a few months, then I'm pretty sure I could ace it, with extra credit, and give you a dunce cap to prove just how useless of a hero you truly are!" Jaws dropped, the mares, baby dragon, and cricket startled to hear that come from Twilight. They heard Sora growl, watching him stand up and slowly turn around, glowering angrily at the alicorn. "You think you're better than me, Twilight?" Sora questioned. "I don't think I'm better than you; I KNOW I'm better than you!" Twilight stated. The two glared daggers at each other for several long, silent, tense moments. Before the ponies or Jiminy could try to deescalate the situation, both Sora and Twilight quickly summoned their Keyblades and got in their fighting stances. "Oh no," Fluttershy whimpered. "Guys, don't do this!" Rainbow exclaimed. "A lot of poor and hurtful words are being exchanged, but we need to calm down," Jiminy tried to calmly reason, but nothing was getting through to the enraged wielders. "You're making a big mistake, Twilight," Sora growled, his teeth clenching his Keyblade hard. "I never make mistakes," Twilight growled back. Sora crouched, exchanging his Kingdom Key with the Keyblade of Loyalty, then charged forward at a blinding pace. Twilight met him halfway, tapping into her Keyblade's Loyalty charm to match Sora's speed with her Harmony link. The two clashed and zipped across the beach, kicking up sand as their blades shot up sparks with each swift clang that rang out. "Sora, Twilight, stop it this ins-!" Rarity tried to call out, only to shriek when the two wielders got a bit too close to their unfortunate audience, kicking sand at them as well. "They ain't listenin' to us," Applejack uttered. "H-How can we get them to stop?" Spike asked worriedly. "...I don't think we can," Jiminy said. "Sora's got the Gummiphone on him, so I can't call King Mickey to get them to stop. And Kaito's still in Canterlot, along with contacting him out of our reach when they're moving so fast and dangerously." "But they're going to hurt each other really badly," Fluttershy whimpered. "Or...or us..." Pinkie's hair deflated and hung down her side, her lower lip quivering as tears began welling in her eyes. "This is worse than what originally would have happened if I argued with Twilight," she whimpered. As they helplessly watched, Sora and Twilight finally took their fight farther away from their friends, still slashing away at each other. Sora managed to push Twilight back, then flung the Keyblade at the alicorn's hooves. Twilight managed to jump away as it sank into the sand, quickly flapping away when one bolt of lightning struck where it disappeared, followed by another as it shot up the Keyblade of Loyalty's Formchanged state. Sora lunged toward Twilight as the rainbow spear shot up, quickly grasped it, then rained down lightning strikes around Twilight. Twilight's enhanced speed helped her avoid the lightning bolts, but it distracted her long enough for Sora to get a few hard swings on her. Combining her link with Kindness', Twilight was able to form a barrier around herself, protecting her as a wolf's head lunged out and tried to chomp down on Sora with each thrust he made against the barrier. Grabbing his spear, Sora split it in half, flicking them around as they transformed into lightning bolt daggers. He dashed off at mach speeds, slashing Twilight's barrier too fast for the countering jaws of the pink wolf to retaliate. One last dashing slash sent lightning straight down on top of Twilight, followed by several delayed slashes, shattering the magic bubble and staggered her. She recovered quickly, growling in frustration as she added Generosity's enhancement to her mix of links. Sora came back for another barrage of swift strikes, but Twilight increased speed and evasion helped her avoid him and the small bolts of lightning that came after, dancing and leaping away while blasting him away with her magic. "This is gonna end one way, Twilight, and I really don't want to hurt you that badly!" Sora exclaimed as he kept dashing around the alicorn. "You're too nice! Fight me like you mean it!" Twilight goaded angrily. "Fine, then!" Sora zipped in Twilight's view, then ran toward her, only to quickly skid in front of her, kicking sand up and blinding her. Twilight yelled, spitting out sand while trying to rub her eyes clean from the grainy earth. While distracted, Sora leapt high into the air, reaching past the clouds, then dove right back down toward Twilight. She managed to clear her vision, looking back up as she saw Sora begin to spiral rapidly, a mach cone forming with rainbow trail behind him. Thinking quickly, Twilight included Laughter's H-Link, quickly flicking her Keyblade and cast several Mine and Balloon spells around the shore. Grabbing the sand beneath her after setting up her invisible traps, she tossed it up in front of her, using Water to get it wet, hardening the sand to use as a shield just as Sora crashed down on her. He made impact with her makeshift earth barrier, protecting her from the thunderstorm of rainbow lightning bolts raining down around them. Growling in irritation, Sora flipped off Twilight's clever defense, switching his Keyblade from Loyalty to Kindness. As soon as he landed, he flinched as his tail brushed over a Mine, quickly diving away as it blew up in a bright yellow explosion. Cursing the Element of Laughter's tricky ways for either himself, Twilight, or Pinkie Pie, Sora was forced to stay still, unsure where the next trap was in the invisible minefield Twilight set up. He had a way to counter it, though, Formchanging his current Keyblade into its whip form. With its longer reach, he whipped and swung it around, causing Balloon spells to pop and more Mines to blow up in a variety of colors. Through the smoke of colors, he flung the whip at Twilight, catching her by surprise as it wrapped around one of her forelegs, then made her yelp as she was pulled into the smoke. Sora bucked Twilight as she got close, sent flying back, then smacked back to the sand with a hard flick. Grunting, Twilight could barely get back up without Sora dragging her back toward him, then began swinging her around, making her strike her own Mines and Balloons harmlessly, clearing the area for him. Tapping into Honesty's power, she flapped her wings hard, landing on the sand and stood her ground, slowing Sora's swinging until she came to a stop. The two tugged, but Twilight's increased strength made her pull hard, startling the stallion as he was flung toward her. He let his whip release Twilight, quickly twirling and shifting it into its shield form, blocking a powerful swing from the alicorn, but it still sent him sailing back across the shore from her might. Landing on his hooves, skidding across the sand, Sora kept his distance as Twilight activated her own H-Link, using all six Elements to increase her prowess more. Aiming her Keyblade at him, Twilight unleashed a barrage of elemental -ja spells. Sora grimaced, lunging and rolling away from Thundaja spells and their incredible area range while blocking Firaja and Blizzaja spells with his shield. The explosive force of the fiery spells slid Sora back, but he kept his ground and kept up his defense. Thinking quickly, Sora tossed his shield and made it slide across the sand, jumping on and skating away from Twilight's onslaught of powerful spells. He tried to steer himself closer, leaping or swerving away from more spells, nearly falling off when Twilight aimed an Aeroja spell in his path that sent him flying several feet in the air. Grasping his shield, Sora aimed it down at Twilight and unleashed its final blast, the ethereal Discord roaring and slithered down to the alicorn. Twilight held up her Keyblade, combining Waterja and Aeroja to form a protective barrier from the oncoming draconequus image and the explosion of pink with several animals appearing in the explosive magic cloud. Shifting back to his old Keyblade, thinking Twilight was finally down and out, Twilight yelled and shot out of the energy cloud, flying toward him at blinding speed. Sora quickly blocked Twilight's Keyblade, sending the two skidding back until coming to a stop, pushing each other back while glaring intensely at each other. The others watching couldn't take seeing the two killing each other, but they were too afraid of getting hurt themselves. "You...are so...stubborn!" Sora grunted. "You're one to talk!" Twilight argued, still using her Harmony Links as she began pushing Sora back a few inches. "You can't even trust us to help you!" Sora exclaimed. "If you're gonna blame me for being powerless, why don't you take on the Storm King yourself if you can't trust your friends!" "Well, maybe I would have been better off without FRIENDS LIKE YOU!!!!!!!!!" As Twilight screeched, the chain on her Keyblade shimmered intensely. Neither of them noticed the chain increasing from Harmony, the other Elements now connected to the pommel by a silver crown. Twilight shot Sora point blank in the face with a magic beam, making him yell out and stagger away. Twilight grasped her Keyblade in her mouth and crouched, mimicking Sora's fighting style, then thrust her blade toward him and repeatedly dashed at him. Sora grunted as he was struck, constantly getting knocked around while shocked to see Twilight was copying his Sonic Blade attack. After six dashes, Twilight flapped her wings and pushed off harder on the seventh and final thrust, sending Sora flying in the air. She leapt after him, her Keyblade glowing as she slashed at him a few times, then flew away and aimed her blade at him, building up an intense amount of energy. She released it as it built up to its highest peak, unleashing dozens of colorful beams of light that quickly homed in on the stallion, her version of Ragnarok making Sora yell out in pain as the explosive beams struck him and sent him falling back to the ground. Sora grunted, trying to stand back up, but as he tried to access his Harmony Form just to protect himself, too stunned by what Twilight was able to do to fight back, the alicorn teleported in front of him, bucking him hard in the chin and sent him flying back up in the air. He slowly flipped around, shaking his head, but as he looked down at Twilight as he fell back down, she had her Keyblade aimed at him again. The magic building up in her blade made Sora gasp, seeing a massive ball of non-elemental energy begin to grow at the end. "T-Twilight, wait," he uttered, holding his hoof out to try to get her to stop. The others gasped in horror, seeing what Twilight was about to do. They tried to tell her to stop, but their words, even Sora's, fell on deaf ears, too focused on showing Sora just how weak he was compared to her. "Megaflare!" Twilight shouted, unleashing the powerful energy orb and shot it straight toward the stallion. Sora tried to dive away, but Twilight cast Thundaga on him, shocking him and forcing him in place so he could get blasted by the powerful spell. As it got closer, all he could do was watch with paralyzed fear. The Megaflare made contact with his chest, Sora clenching every muscle in his body as he braced for the searing pain he'll feel. The orb quickly expanded and exploded in a blinding, burning flash, Sora's scream of agony echoing the silent beach while everyone was blinded. The blast sent Sora flying, his whole body completely singed along with the cuts and bruises Twilight inflicted on him. His flight ended harshly as his body smacked into the side of the cliff on the shore, letting out a loud, pained gasp as he bounced off, his grip on his Keyblade lost once he lost consciousness as he fell to the sand with a painful thud. Twilight panted heavily, waiting for Sora to get right back up and keep fighting her, ignoring her own pain after getting flung around like a rag doll. "...Sora?" Applejack called out, but he remained unresponsive, his Keyblade disappearing in a flash of light. "Oh no..." "Come on, Sora! Get up! Quit faking it!" Twilight shouted. "You're stronger than me, right!? Get back up and keep fighting me!" Having enough, Jiminy bounded his way over to the enraged alicorn, leapt on her head, and gave her ear a hard tug. "Twilight, enough is enough!" he scolded as Twilight winced in pain. The girls ran over to Sora to make sure he was ok, but the damage had already been done. "The two of you should be ashamed of yourselves! You nearly killed him! And over what!? Your desperation to save Equestria by stealing the seaponies' pearl and trying to convince us YOU were in the right to take it!? Whether you're a Keyblade wielder or a native to your own world, you don't just take a different kingdom's priceless relics or treasures because you need them! You could have sparked a war between the hippogriffs and ponies for doing that, and you're more concerned with the fact that you're trying to save your own kingdom by using another's resources without their permission!" "But he-!" Twilight yelped as Jiminy tugged even harder on her ear. "Don't go blaming Sora for what he couldn't do!" Jiminy continued. "He was upset when Canterlot was under siege, but you and the others pulled him out of his funk and focus on protecting all of us to get this far! He trusted you with finding another way to save Equestria and stop the Storm King when the queen refused to help, but what you did broke the last straw in having any hope in your thoughts on the situation, and you almost got him killed when he tried to stop the fight!" He forced the alicorn to look at Sora, the mares gravely worried as they tried to wake him up. Sora was still breathing, but he was out cold, and no idea how long he'll be out for. "Sora does his best, Twilight, but he couldn't do anything at all to help everyone. "There were too many innocent people in Canterlot for him to try to save, not to mention all your friends trapped as statues. If they fell and broke, they could have died, so going back would have gotten them all killed, the princesses included. And you went along with your friends when Capper guided you through that awful city, so despite your own suspicions, you STILL followed him so you didn't get separated. I don't know where your conscious has been, but you were so focused on finding the hippogriffs and saving Equestria that you blamed Sora for 'abandoning' you in Kludgetown while he was chased off by shopkeepers, made friends with pirates that I believed could be additional help for our cause, and convincing Queen Novo that your home would be worth saving and the world would be free from the Storm King's tyranny." Twilight watched Applejack and Rainbow Dash heft the unconscious stallion over the farm mare's back. They all then looked at her, heavily disappointed and upset at her for pointing out their faults, especially Sora's, over her own terrible choices. As the mares walked past her, they just silently glared at her or gave her the cold shoulder, making her realize just what she said to them; what she said to Sora. When she glanced at her Keyblade, her eyes widened when she saw the silver crown that was added onto her Keyblade, which was what gave her that much more power that almost killed Sora. It connected with the base of the pommel, being the base of the chain holding all the Elements: a Harmony Link with Sora that she must have had all this time, only to appear and make itself known at the worst possible time to remind her that she NEEDED Sora just as much as Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. "Well, I hope you're happy. Now you have no one to help keep you safe, help Equestria, and you proved to Sora you're stronger than he is. I'll be giving him a stern talking to when he wakes up, too. He behaved just as badly as you have." Jiminy hopped off of Twilight's head, following after the others. Twilight turned around, watching all but Pinkie leave, who had looked back with a depressed, disappointed gaze. "...Pinkie...?" Twilight uttered. The alicorn raised a hoof to her, but Pinkie slowly shook her head, turned around, and sadly walked away to join the others. Feeling like she just lost all her friends, Twilight dropped Harmony, disappearing as it hit the sand in a flash of light, then turned and walked in the opposite direction, head hung down in shame and misery. Spike had remained standing where he was, unsure who to follow, but he could tell Twilight felt all alone now. He followed her, wanting to comfort her, even knowing what she did and said was wrong while understanding how stressed she was, how stressed they all were, and they all needed a breather to think clearly and stay calm. The baby dragon followed her up to a path leading to the edge of a cliff, the alicorn hunched over as she sat by the edge. "Twilight?" Spike gently called out. Twilight flinched, her body shuddering as she began to break down in tears. "It'll...It'll be ok. Sora'll be back on his hooves soon, and you can find another way." "...No...I can't," Twilight sobbed. "I ruined everything. Now there's no chance to save Equestria now. It's all my fault." She wept, regretting hurting everyone like that, for hurting Sora. He was right; she betrayed his trust by using them to get the pearl while the seaponies were distracted. She's no better than Maleficent or Xehanort for doing that to her friends, and they could have come up with far more schemes to trick others into doing their bidding. "I really don't deserve any friends after that...I don't even deserve to wield a Keyblade...I'm not stronger than Sora..." "Sure looked like it when you kicked his butt all over the beach." Twilight's ears quickly shot up. Quickly turning around, she gasped when she saw Xigbar standing behind her, holding Spike in one foreleg while aiming one of his arrowguns at the baby dragon's head. "I'm actually quite surprised. Maybe you should take Sora's place instead." "Xigbar!" Twilight summoned her Keyblade, despising the Nobody for holding her surrogate baby brother hostage. "Let him go!" "Hmm. Let me think about it. Not a chance." Xigbar smirked, quickly aiming his weapon at Twilight and fired at her. Twilight leapt away from the energy arrows, landing right where he wanted her. "Gotcha." Twilight was about to attack Xigbar, but as she took one step forward, bars shot up around her and closed shut. "Ahh! W-What!?" "Hook, line, and sinker!" Xigbar laughed. A chained hook dropped down through the clouds, which blew away and revealed Tempest's airship. As Xigbar hooked it up to Twilight's cage, the alicorn was trying to break through the tough steel bars with her Keyblade and magic, but she had not enough room to swing through hard enough, and the cage was magic proof. After levitating the hook securely, Spike wasn't going to continue remaining a hostage, growling and breathed fire around the dark purple stallion's foreleg. "Ahh! Son of a-!" Xigbar flung Spike away, patting his leg to douse out the green flames. Thankfully, his coat protected him from the flames, not expecting the baby dragon to try fighting back. He chuckled in amusement as he glanced at Spike. "A little tough guy. Too bad you're not worth my time right now, small fry!" Xigbar teleported onto the cage, then tugged the chain to signal the guards on the ship. The cage rose up, being hoisted toward the airship, making Twilight panic. "No! Spike!" she cried out, unable to escape as Spike watched her get taken away. "Twilight!" Spike wished he was a dragon born with wings so he could fly after them and burn Xigbar again. They disappeared into the airship, the hatch closing tight as the vessel began to make its way back to Canterlot with Twilight. "No! They got her...I hope Sora wakes up soon!" Spike ran as fast as he could down the path to find the others, dreading to tell them the bad news, and hoping Sora wasn't too banged up from his and Twilight's fight to rescue her AND stop the Storm King.