Kingdom Hearts of Harmony

by steel soul

Healing and The Darkness

Within the Encampment near Trottingham Forest

The first thing Rarity noticed as she took stock of the camp was the surprising number of foals within makeshift settlement, the camp sight almost overrun with the little ones. If she was to take a headcount by sight alone, for every one adult there where at least ten foals for them to account for. The fact that Starlight was able to keep so many of them in line was more then a miracle ...at least in Rarity's opinion.

While she was happy that they found many of the missing ponies, the mare was not blind. She could see that many of the ponies, even the foals, needed medical attention. The makeshift bandages and splints they had managed until now had just been temporary measures. Whatever the Heartless had done to them, she knew that they had been true to their namesake if the injuries the mare saw was anything to go by.

If...If we had not made it in time...just...how many would be here now?

She shivered softly at the thought, not knowing if she wanted an answer to her question or not. She shook her head.

No...I do not think that I do...

She was surprised at how fast Lightning had taken command of the situation, the Guard Captain having her troops move in to secure the area with a swiftness only a Wonderbolt would be jealous of...and maybe Rainbow Dash as well. She couldn't help but smile as the ponies' fear turned into relief at the fact that they were actually being saved. It nearly moved the Fashionista to tears at the sight. She could even make out a few of the guards hugging a pony or two. More than likely a relative of some sort.

Finding herself lost on what to do at the moment, she would take a slow stroll around the camp, doing her best to at least busy her mind, seeing as there wasn't much for a seamstress to do. As she passed by healers tending to the wounded and guards setting up to move, the sound of foals laughing would catch her ears.

Following the noise, she would gasp softly before smiling at the scene playing before her. Quite a few of the foals had formed a circle around her friend Fluttershy, the soft spoken mare pouring a gentle glowing liquid into small cups, giving them out to the foals before her. Rarity recognized those bottles as Sora's Healing Potions, the very same that his Friend Riku had given him in case of emergencies, and Sora had given them to Fluttershy and herself in return.

Ponyville Train Station
A few Days ago

The train’s whistle roared to life signaling the train finally leaving the station proper.The fashionista sighed softly as she watched her friends wave to them goodbye, the mare doing so herself until they were finally out of sight. "And there goes Ponyville, once again. While I do understand the reasoning behind it, I do wish that Twi and the others could have come with us on this mission...if nothing else but for peace of mind."

"Yeah...it sucks…." Rainbow agreed, leaning against one of the benches. "But what can ya do? I mean...It would have been cool if they could come but what Twi said kinda made sense. Sora, AJ, and Pinks don't know how to use that cool powerup yet and the elements are out of whack because of it."

“Not only that…it leaves them drained…” Fluttershy added. “If they deformed while fighting somepony dangerous then…” The shy mare shuddered.

"You girls are right...When I formed with Donald and Goofy, it drained me a bit but not to the extent that it did with AJ and Pinkie." Sora frowned at that. "I…I’m Sor-ACK!"

The soft smack from Rainbow's wings up the side of his head caused him to glare at the smirking pony.

Before Sora could say anything to the mare, Fluttershy pulled up beside the stallion, giving him a gentle nudge. "We don't...we don't blame you if...um...If that is what you are thinking Sora." The shy mare told him, giving him an apologetic smile. "If it wasn't for you and the girls doing what you did, Sombra would have won." The shy mare shivered again, wrapping her whooves around herself for comfort as she looked away. "That would have…It would have been the worse outcome…so…Please." She looked back towards him, wrapping her hoof around his own. “Don’t blame yourself…okay?”

The stallion looked up at his friends with wide eyes before nodding slowly. He gave a weak smile, looking at each of them in turn before he bowed his head slightly to them all. "Yeah...Okay…I’ll Try…and thank you guys."

The rainbow maned mare wrapped a hoof around his neck, rubbing her free one his his mane playfully. "No need for thanks. Just keeping your head on straight is all, Hero." She told him, giving the stallion a genuine smile as she let him go.

"I concur." Rarity mused, placing a hoof on his chest. "Twilight will figure out what's going on with the elements, and we will be stronger for it. So do not worry, darling. Of that we can all believe in."

Sora nodded once again. “Yeah…then all we can do is wait for her to do so.” As he turned to make his way deeper into the train cart, the stallion would stop in his tracks, before turning back towards his friends. “I…Until then here.” Reaching into his bag, he would pull out several of the potions that he had gotten from Riku.

"These are only supposed to be used for emergencies...And I haven't seen a Moggle Shop anywhere...so...We don't have a lot of them and I can’t get them the way I use to. I know your friend is doing her best to make more but... right now..." He looked down at the healing elixirs in his hooves before turning to face the girls. One by one, the stallion would give each of the mares before him two bottles each.

"We don't have Twilight...or Pinkie...or AJ on this mission. Something may happen where we can't reach each other for help." The keyblade wielder paused. "I may not be there to help you...so...I want you to have these. I hope you do not have to use them but..."

“Darling…are you sure?” The fashionista asked, looking at the bottles he was passing around. “What if you need them more than us? They were given to you by your friend after all.”.

Sora smiled. “I am sure…I know I trust you girls to handle yourselves…but still…a little extra help is always good…right. And…Better someone uses them and not go to waste…right?”

Rainbow looked at the bottles in her hooves before nodding. "It's not like I’m gonna need them...but...I’ll take it nonetheless. I'll hold on to these for now but I'll definitely return them back to you after we finish kicking Heartless butt and go home…together."

Fluttershy took her bottles holding them close to her, a blush evident on her cheeks. "I...I'll do my best to not get into trouble...and, um, only use them If I have to...Thank you Sora."

Rarity, being the last, smiled softly at the stallion. "We will do our best, Darling. Don't you worry about that."

Rarity smiled as she pressed a hoof to the pouch that held her bottles. She had thought about joining her but her friend seemed to have things well in hoof. The white unicorn smiled softly as she watched each of the foals crowding around her friend as if she was a mother hen.

"Wow...your heart is so pretty Miss Shy!" One little filly would say, her eyes shimmering as she poked her head from the long pink tail that hung behind the yellow mare. "I wish I had long hair like yours."

"Oh...Well...thank you." Fluttershy answered as she tended to the next foal waiting. "But I think your hair is already pretty as it is. And It will only get prettier."

"This potion stuff taste like mint!" Another foal would call out, liking his lips after taking s swig from the little cup he was given with the healing liquid.

"No way! it taste like...um...spearmint!" Another challenge.

"That's the same thing, dummy!"

"No way! It's not! My mom always told me-"

"Now now." Fluttershy would interject, placing a wing between the two colts. "No arguing between you two. You two are friends right? What it tastes like doesn't matter as long as it help you...right?"

Both colts huffed but nodded, looking away from the mare as they did so. She smiled softly before turning back to her next charge. A young filly with a bandage over her eye smiling softly as she held a stuffed pony tight in her hooves.

Rarity couldn't help but shake her head, laughing softly at the scene playing out before her "She really does take to mothering so naturally, does she not?" The white mare mused.

"I would say so, at the very least." Rarity gasped at the new voice coming up from behind her. Moving towards her side was the unicorn who she had met when they first arrived. Starlight Glimmer. Said unicorn nodded softly towards Rarity before casting her attention back on the foals, a said smile forming on her lips. "I do hate to say it but...Quite a few of them lost their parents after those...Heartless attacked..." Her voice trailed off for a moment. "Dragged into the darkness through portals on the ground. It was...a frightful sight."

The fashionista gasped again. "Oh the poor dears...I can only imagine what they had gone through up until now if that's the case." She murmured quietly as she looked down at one foal who had a bandage wrapped around its leg.

Starlight nodded somberly. "Quite. That's why I made it my mission to see these foals to safety. And the other ponies as well of course. Everyone, together, helping each other as equal." She shook her head. "With so few adults, we had next to no pony who knew medical treatment. I have to say, on behalf of everypony here, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Especially your little friend's magical potion."

Rarity nodded. "Indeed. We were only supposed to use them in emergencies and well...Kind mare as she is, I suspect that this was as big as an emergency as one can get."

"Did she make those strange potions herself." The light purple unicorn asked. "Even I can tell that they are unlike anything I have seen in my time in Equestira."

"Oh, No actually. They were given to her by Sora." The fashionista admitted.

"Sora. That is quite the interesting name I must say." Starlight blinked curiously at the white unicorn. "Is he around? If he is providing such rare and amazing resources then I would love to thank him personally."

"Sadly Sora isn't here at the moment." Rarity answered, shaking her head with a frown. "He, a friend of mine and another pony ran off into the woods towards Trottingham itself."

Starlight went quiet for a moment before nodding slowly. "I see...but...isn't that dangerous?" She asked, giving the mare a look of worry. "Will they be okay by themselves? Those Heartless are savage beasts. I would think it would be near suicide going anywhere near that city? You must be worried sick about them."

"While I am worried about Rainbow and Sora, more than you know, darling, I know for a fact that if there is any pony that can fend for themselves, it's these two." Rarity smiled. "Sora is no stranger when it comes to fighting those beast you see, and Rainbow is a strong mare, even if she is the youngest of us." She paused. "As for Trixie...I do not know enough about the mare herself. I'm sure Sora and Rainbow will keep that mare out of trouble...though...If it is those two looking after her...that might be a tall order sadly." She murmured the last part quietly, more to herself then towards the other Unicorn.

"If you are sure then I'll trust your judgment on the matter." Starlight accepted after a while of internal debate. "Though there was another matter I came to you about before getting sidetracked. I overheard some of the guards calling you the Elements of Harmony. May I ask why?"

"Oh? Well...that's because we are the Elements of Harmony darling." Rarity answered, flipping her hair in flourish.

"You mean to tell me that old mare's tale is true?" The light purple unicorn asked, gasping softly.

"Oh? So you know about it as well?"

"I've dabbled in a bit of reading on the subject."

"I dare say you and Twilight just might get along as reading buddies if that is the case. She was always one to read about an obscure tale or two herself, even before she met the others." Rarity giggled. "But, to answer your question properly, yes, me and Fluttershy are but two of the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow, my friend I mentioned earlier, is one as well mind you."

Starlight nodded, her mind soaking in the information like a sponge. "And that Sora pony. And Trixie as well? Are they Elements?"

"Oh no. Trixie is just...well...She is just a showmare from what I have seen, and mind you that is very little. And Sora...hes..." She paused, trying to think of the best way to explain it while not saying too much "Well...He is a bit of a special case. While he is connected to the Elements themselves, he isn't an Element of harmony himself." She paused again. "Sora is...well...I think it would be more appropriate to say that Sora is, and I know he would feel embarrassed about it, a Warrior of light, as it were."

"A warrior of light?" Starlight asked, raising an eyebrow at the title Rarity had given him.

"Oh yes. If it wasn't for him and his Keyblade, we would have been done in by Heartless by now." Rarity mused softly. "From what I'm told, his weapon is the natural enemy of the Heartless. He made it his mission to defeat them wherever he travels.

Starlight was quiet for a long time after that. When she spoke her voice was barely a whisper. "Was it he that broke the barrier that surrounded this town?"

Rarity nodded. "Yes indeed." She replied. "It's all because of him that we were even able to reach all of you in the first place." The fashionista went silent as her mind turned back into the past few days, remembering how things played out when they first arrived in Trottingham.

"I understand now...Thank you Rarity. Our talk has been...an enlightening one to say the least." She smiled at Rarity as she turned to walk away. "Once again, I do hope to meet your friend Sora. He sounds like a pony that...will do anything for a friend. For now I must attend to my duties. Farewell for now, my friend...I do hope we can talk under...better circumstances"

Unknown area within Trottingham Forest

It was some time later within the day…or night as it were. Gilda would stand, waiting for the one who would once again give her orders. She had finished preparing what Starlight had asked her to. Now all she could do was wait. Even if she hated it.

It did not take long for the one she was waiting for to come, the cloaked mare smiling sweetly at the griffin as she quietly made herself known. "And there you are, Miss Gilda.Do forgive me for the delay. I was just...relaying a bit of critical information to the ones that we are working for. And gaining a bit of information myself."

The griffin stared down at the mare, not moving an inch. Had she something to say she would have said it.

Continuing on, the cloaked mare growled softly. "It seems that a few...rats made it into the city proper. While I would have asked my partners to deal with them, it seems that they want to test my loyalty." Without warning, she struck a nearby tree leaving a deep hoof imprint within it. "How dare they…Was supplying them with what they needed not enough! What more do they want for me until they are satisfied!?"

Though she did not scream, the force of her voice was enough to make even Gilda quiver ever so slightly. The pony’s white iris began to glow with a deep shade of darkness as black whisps began to form around her very being. Even with the state she was in, Gilda knew that she was on the verge of losing it. It was surprising she was lasting for as long as she did.

Finally calming down from her episode, the mare would look towards the griffin, a frown upon her face "Fine. If that is the way they want to play it then I will play it...." She frowned as she pulled out a dagger, small yet dangerous in the hands for the right pony...or griffin. "They set up a distraction for the Warrior of light and his two friends, but should they best it, it is only a matter of time before they find out about me.” The mare paused looking off towards where the city would be. “Your task, my dear Gilda, is to meet them there when they do." Producing a dagger from within her cloak. "They said the stallion was too dangerous to be left alone. That they needed him out of the picture altogether. If that is the case I need you to fly to them." She placed the dagger within Gilda's claws. "Befriend them." She made Gilda tighten her claws around the grip. "And when the time is right...you know what to do." She backed away from the griffin, giving her a smile. "Go...and when it is done...I will release you. You have my word my dear friend."

Gilda nodded slowly, though she couldn't refuse even if she wanted to. She turned and ran in the direction of the small city, leaving the cloaked mare alone. When she was, the mare fell to the ground clutching her chest as her heart tightened. Her breathing was sporadic, her mind was all too clear on what she was doing. "Haa...haha...If this is what I have to do...what I have to pay then so be it...I'll do anything if it means..." The mare stood back up, pushing herself to get her body back under her control. "Enough...foolishness. The future can wait…right now I need to stay in the present.” She tightened the cloak around her. “I’ll have to keep these ponies busy now that they found me…if it wasn’t for those two brats…They should be out of my hair though…Gilda would have seen to that." She turned around, slowly making her way back to the camp. She had to prepare. She had to sacrifice...all for him...