A low, groggy groan escaped Sora’s lips, eyes opening slightly and granting him the briefest glimpse of the surrounding area.
Wherever he had landed, it was unspeakably plain.
Taking a moment to compose himself, the Keyblade wielder returned to a sitting position. However, it didn’t take much for him to realize that something was amiss. For starters, his legs felt… different. Not like when he’d been a merman, of course, but still like their structure was a bit off.
To say nothing of his arms. They honestly didn’t feel like arms, more like forelegs.
Were a lesser man to wake up to this, he could easily imagine the panic it would invoke. But to that, he smiled.
Sora was NOT a lesser man, and had dealt with transformation magic enough to not be panicked by that general fact. But of course, what he had transformed into might have that effect, if his time in Monstropolis was any indication.
And so, he began his checklist.
‘Okay, let’s see…’ he opened his eyes, looking over this new body’s features. ‘Pinkish fur, hooves, a tail, a mane… uh, is that an equal sign on my butt? And-’
His entire train of thought came to a screeching halt upon realizing the next thing he noticed was there. Or rather, wasn’t there.
“What the…!?” he exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down, just in case anyone else lived in this plain little shack. “Am I… a girl!?”
There was a mirror nearby on the wall, which Sora wasted no time rushing toward. Sure enough, staring back at him was a pretty pinkish unicorn mare, her purple mane worn in a long ponytail, with a couple streaks of aquamarine accenting it, and her bangs styled straight, ensuring it was not in the way of her horn. A complete departure from what he normally looked like, in virtually every capacity.
Thankfully, he could take solace in that he was staring back into his deep blue eyes. At least he had kept something about himself.
Still though, there was only a small bit of comfort in that. There were still far more questions that needed answering. Sitting on his new haunches, Sora closed his eyes and crossed his forelegs - something of a tic for when he was deep in thought - and contemplated his situation.
‘Okay… so, now I’m a pony. I have no idea why, or where I even am. How did I even get here? Last thing I remember was wandering around and meetin-’
Sora’s eyes shot open and his blood turned to ice.
Yozora…
Memories of that strange man’s challenge flooded the Keyblade wielder’s mind, the scars still stinging his soul, despite his new body being completely unscathed. Next to the Lingering Will, Yozora was perhaps the greatest opponent Sora had ever faced. It had taken everything he had just to keep up with him, and in the end…
Well, actually, Sora couldn’t remember. That was the weirdest part of this whole situation.
But, he supposed, whether or not he won or lost was irrelevant to the whole thing. The point was, after fighting him, he found himself as a pony, in the middle of God only knows where!
‘Hm… maybe I should look around,’ Sora reasoned. ‘There’s gotta be something past this house, right?’
And so, with a tentative motion, Sora stood up. Thankfully, having been in a four-legged form before made him quicker to acclimate than one might expect. Before long, he was trotting like it was nothing, and even figured out how to use his hooves to open the door.
Though upon seeing what was outside, part of him wished he hadn’t.
Traveling to many different places, one might think Sora would be unfazed by anything he’d see. And yet, this simple settlement, it disturbed him in a way he couldn’t quite put into words. Stepping out of the house and toward what must have been the ‘Town Square’, the boy-turned-mare was at a loss for what he saw.
In all his travels, all his journeys, of all the 33 worlds he has been to (and yes, he has been keeping track), nothing compared to this. Not once had he seen a place so… depressing. Like sure, Hollow Bastion’s ruins had been dreadful to look at, and the World that Never Was had a sad existence by nature, but this was a different breed altogether.
Never once, not even in the literal world of the Nobodies, had Sora seen a town so… soulless.
Twelve little structures, perfectly spaced, perfectly aligned, and completely the same. That was it. Nothing even remotely setting any of the individual buildings apart from one another. Were they all supposed to be houses? If so, where did they have their Moogle Shops? Did they even HAVE Moogle Shops, or did everyone just run their businesses from their homes?
So many questions, and Sora highly doubted he was going to get any answers right now. It had to be about midnight, if he were to take a guess, and unless this was like Halloween Town, it was likely everyone was asleep.
‘Okay, I can work with that,’ Sora thought. ‘Someone around here has to know what’s up. I’ll ask ‘em in the morning.’
A small sigh escaped Sora’s new muzzle, and he closed the door. Returning back to the house, he took in the surroundings, noticing the equal sign adorned on the wall, and the rather plain decorations. But on the table, he did notice one thing that stood out.
His bag.
Most people didn’t even know Sora kept a bag, but that was because it was often shrunken thanks to a built-in Mini spell, courtesy of Donald. But there it was, plain as day, and from the looks of it, stuffed with something.
Wasting no time opening it up, the boy was pleased to find that he had most of his important things. His outfit was still there - though he seriously doubted it would fit this new body - along with his necklace, his armor pieces, his accessories, his belt full of Elixi-
“Wait, hold on!” Sora exclaimed, grabbing said belt incredulously. “I had like seven of these things, where’d they all go!?”
Another question for later, it seemed. For now, he could at least take solace in that he had two left. All he’d have to do is find a Moogle, and then he could synthesize some himself. Or heck, even buy some if he could get the Munny together.
But for now, Sora decided maybe getting back to sleep was the smarter option. And so, placing his bag to the side, the Keyblade wielder let himself fall onto the plain bed, and was left with his thoughts.
Wherever he was, it seemed like he needed to be a pony to not look out of place. That was fine with him, and he could even accept the whole ‘I’m a girl’ thing.
But some part of Sora felt this wasn’t right. Maybe it was the fact that his new form looked nothing like him, or maybe it was the brand on his flanks. He couldn’t entirely put his finger - or rather, his hoof - on it.
‘Ugh, too much to think about,’ he bemoaned. ‘Come on brain, let’s toss it on the backburner for now. I just wanna sleep…’
Thankfully, after a few minutes, sleep did finally grace the weary warrior.
And while he was out, Sora dreamed of home.