//------------------------------//
// Mysterious Tower (Twilight Town) 
// Story: Kingdom Hearts:  Friendship is Magic 
// by Mudkipman98 
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	As the group landed from they're keyblade gliders and deposited themselves on the grass outside of Yen Sid's tower, Sora began to feel uneasy.  "Do you feel that?" he said to the others.
"Yeah," said Twilight.  "That darkness... what's it from?"
"I'm not sure," said Sora as he crossed his arms in thought.  "There have been heartless in and around the tower before, but I don't think that's what's causing it.  This doesn't feel like a heartless."
"Well then what do ya suppose it is?" asked Applejack.
Sora sat in thought for a few moments before coming up with an answer.  "I have no idea," he said.  "I guess we'll just have to take a look."  He walked up the stairs to the massive double doors and approached them, slowly pushing them open.  "Be careful though.  Whatever's in there feels powerful."
Sora took the lead as he and the ponies began climbing the first flight of stairs.  At the top, there shined a white and green portal.  "It's safe," he said to the others.  "Just step right through."  Sora then stepped into the green light and disappeared.  After a few seconds, Twilight cautiously approached it.  She was just about to take a step through when Sora's hand reached back through the portal.  "You coming?" came his voice through the light.  His hand disappeared back through and everyone slowly filed into the portal.
Twilight stepped out of the green light and saw that she and the others were now standing on another staircase.  This one led straight up to a door with a strange yellow and orange glow behind it.
The group proceeded up to the door and Sora opened it, revealing a circular room on the other side.  Everyone filed in and Sora shut the door behind them.  When they were about half way through the room, both of the doors hissed as they were covered from top to bottom with a pink shield.  "Oh no.  Not again," said Sora.  He summoned his keyblade and turned to the others.  "Get ready!" he commanded.
Before the ponies could react, soldier heartless began showing up.  The ponies quickly summoned their keyblades and got to work.
They made quick work of the few soldiers that were there.  Applejack even managed to counter one of their cyclone attacks with lightning speed.  That time spent catching the falling apples from her trees proved useful as it had sharpened her reflexes.
After the short battle, Sora approached her.  "Applejack, how did you do that?" he asked after witnessing her counter.
"It was like second nature," she responded.  "Ah saw an opening and took it.  Nothin' more to it."
Sora took notice of that.  It seemed that the others were beginning to adopt some of his skills such as his way of countering different attacks and even how he cast some of his magic.
"Let's keep moving," spoke Twilight from the next door.  She had opened it with her magic and was getting ready to walk through.
"Right," said Sora, still thinking about how the ponies were developing the skills that he himself used.
As they moved up the tower, fighting heartless and advancing through a couple of new rooms in between, Sora kept thinking about how his skills were being mimicked.  It felt strange to see others using his tactics.  He certainly remembered the feeling from after fighting with Roxas in the world that never was.  Somehow, Roxas had countered every one of his attacks like he knew them by heart.  If a situation ever arose where he'd have to fight Twilight or any of the others, it would be a terrible weakness to him.
Eventually, the party arrived at the last door, one with a crescent moon carved into it.  "Here it is," said Sora.  "Let's hope he's here."
Sora pushed open the door and took a couple of steps into the room.  He suddenly shut his eyes as a glaring light filled the small circular area, blinding them all.  Sora summoned his keyblade and quickly cast the Reflect spell to ward off any oncoming attacks.  Thankfully, nothing came.
As Sora and the others regained their sight, Sora dropped his shield and found Yen Sid sitting at his desk, a candle burning next to a few documents and old scrolls.
"Master Yen Sid, it's good to see you here," said Sora.  As soon as the ponies were in the room, they bowed to Yen Sid.  Sora looked at them quizzically before getting a glare from Twilight who was kneeling on his right.  Her eyes almost screamed, 'Show some respect!'
Yen Sid motioned to the others to stand.  "I still sense Xehanort's presence in the dark realm," he boomed in his deep voice.  "Where are the others?"
Sora hung his head slightly.  "They were captured by Xehanort," he said.  "I've been traveling the worlds with these guys trying to find an entrance, but so far we've found nothing."
Yen Sid took more notice of the five ponies next to Sora.  "And who might they be?" he asked.
One by one, each of the ponies stepped forward to introduce themselves, giving their names and Elements of Harmony.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I represent the element of magic."
"Ah'm Applejack, the element of honesty."
"High, I'm Fluttershy.  I'm the element of kindness."
"Hi!  My name's Pinkie Pie, and I'm the element of laughter."
"And I'm Rarity, the element of generosity."
Yen Sid stared at the five ponies for a minute before relaxing in his chair.  "You're the students of Princess Celestia if I'm not mistaken," he said.
"Why, yes," said Twilight, a little shocked.  "How did you know?"
"I once fought alongside her when I wielded the keyblade long ago.  She and several others held off the heartless long enough for my comrades and I to escape during one of the battles in what is now known as the Keyblade Graveyard."
"Wow," said Twilight, interested to know more about some of Celestia's old exploits.
"Unfortunately, we must save that story for another time," said Yen Sid, straightening in his chair once again.  "Sora, the matter of your trapped friends is a grave one.  Who exactly is still being held in Xehanort's grasp?"
"Terra, Ventus, Aqua, Mickey, Axe- I mean, Lea, and..."  Sora trailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence.
"Who?" asked Yen Sid, trying to get Sora to answer.
"Kairi," he finally said.  "He's got Kairi as well."  Sora hung his head again, ashamed that he'd let her get captured and even more ashamed that he couldn't beat Xehanort.
"Kairi?" asked Yen Sid.  "What is her role in all of this?"
"She can wield the keyblade, and she's one of the Princesses of Heart.  She's a pure light that can be used to make the X-Blade." said Sora.
"Hmm," said Yen Sid as he leaned back into his chair, pondering what to do about the situation.  He knew that if things became too personal, then Sora may lose focus of stopping Xehanort in his efforts to rescue Kairi.  At the same time, Sora was one of the pieces of light that had to confront Xehanort to forge the X-Blade.  "Where is Riku?"
"We don't know," said Twilight, suddenly speaking up.  "We lost track of him during an attack by the heartless.  He and our other friend, Rainbow Dash.  She represents the element of loyalty.  Without her, we can't use the Elements of Harmony."
Yen Sid continued to ponder the situation.  "How do these Elements of Harmony work?" he said.  This took Sora aback because, when it came to factual information, Yen Sid seemed to know it all.
"To be honest, we're not too sure ourselves," said Twilight.  "Something just sort of clicks and, if we have to, we can summon a powerful light that destroys darkness.  We can only use it when we're together though.  It's also limited by how much we're in sync.  A while back, when an old enemy of the Princess by the name of Discord resurfaced, the Elements wouldn't work because he'd corrupted our hearts.  But when we found our light again and broke through his curse, we defeated him."
"If it wouldn't have been for Twilight's memory spell, then we'd all still be corrupted and Ponyville would still be in chaos," said Fluttershy.
Yen Sid narrowed his eyes at Twilight, deep in thought yet again (as if he ever wasn't).  Twilight caught that and shifted her eyes trying to dispel the uncomfortable feeling he was giving her.  "Sora," he spoke, still staring at Twilight.  "I need to have a word with you in private.  The rest of you, leave this room through the door on my left.  There, you'll find three good fairies.  You'll need more suitable attire for your coming journeys."
The ponies nodded to him and proceeded through the door into the next room.
Sora still hung his head in shame before Yen Sid snapped him out of it.  "Sora, wake up!" he shouted.  Sora snapped to attention in a second.  "You're letting darkness into your heart through your hopelessness.  Do not fall prey to the darkness the same way that Riku did."
"Riku?  What do you know about that?  You weren't even there," retorted Sora.
"The king kept in contact with me.  I know what really happened, and we don't need another warrior of light following that dark path again."
"How did he really become like Xehanort's heartless then?" asked Sora.
"No doubt he told you already of his battle with Roxas."
"Of course he did.  But what else is there to tell?"
Yen Sid stood up and began walking around the table.  "He didn't trust what light was left in his heart to help him prevail, so he instead turned to the darkness of Xehanort's heartless to aid him.  He lost hope and let the darkness take him.  He was lucky to revert to his former self, but no one will get that chance again."  Yen Sid was now standing in front of Sora.
"Sora," he continued, "don't lose hope like your friend once did.  Not just for your sake, but for your new friends.  You are their mentor, and what will they think if their teacher loses hope in times of hardship?"
Sora thought for a second on what Yen Sid had said.  If the ponies lost hope, then they may lose the power of the Elements of Harmony.  He realized that he'd have to be there to help them and guide them as Mickey and Yen Sid continued to do for him.
Yen Sid caught the look of understanding in Sora's eyes.  "Exactly," he said, correctly guessing what Sora was thinking.  He then moved back to his chair and sat down in it.  "While I'd like for you to rest here before you proceed, you must depart as soon as you're ready.  Xehanort is an inventive man, and he won't let the lack of one of his vessels stop his creation of the X-Blade.  He'll find another way if he fails to capture you or Riku."
"Right," said Sora.
"Before your friends return, I must ask you about Twilight Sparkle," said Yen Sid.
"Really?" asked Sora.  "What about her?"
"She has an unnatural gift that I wish many keyblade wielders would still have, though few remain in the first place.  She has the ability to cleanse a heart of darkness."
"What?!" said Sora.  "But how does that work if everyone is supposed to have darkness in their heart?"
"I don't mean it literally for the most part.  She can not simply walk up to a corrupted soul and return his light to him.  No, she shares this connection only with her friends.  No doubt you've already sensed the strong light of her heart?"
"Only a few times," said Sora.  "She attempted to connect with me during her dive to the heart, which she shared with Fluttershy somehow.  I don't know enough about it to understand how it works though.  Celestia tried to explain it to me, but it went right over my head."
"I see," he said back.  "What happened to you when you both connected?"
"I got some sort of incredible power boost, but it was gone shortly after I got it.  Any idea on what it was?"
"It is likely the essence of Twilight's heart that came into sync with yours.  Be cautious, but you might want to try merging with her again.  Now that she's had more experience, she may be able to help you unlock one of your hidden abilities," said Yen Sid.
"A hidden ability?" asked Sora.
"Precisely.  We have very little understanding of a heart, but I've personally seen evidence of abilities that keyblade wielders have sealed deep within their hearts.  Mickey had one such ability, one that allowed him to traverse the Dark Realm to search for its keyblade, though he never belonged there.  They're acquired through a variety of methods, but the most common that has come to my attention is the merging of two strong hearts.  Unfortunately, this can end in two ways.  Either a new ability is unlocked, or both of the users lose their hearts."
"It is no doubt a risky process, but you've seen the benefits of it before using your various combat forms.  After extended use, you developed various abilities such as the ability to glide, the ability to slide across the ground effortlessly, and even the ability to jump again in mid air.  However, you've also lost your heart multiple times through this process.  Every time that you've entered the ghastly 'Antiform', a piece of your heart has been corrupted.  You haven't noticed it and it hasn't effected you yet, but when the time comes for that darkness to awaken, you may not be safe, nor those around you."  Sora nervously gulped as he continued to listen.
"But back to the topic of hidden abilities.  Twilight's was gained either through that first connection with you or from her previous experiences with the Elements of Harmony.  Doubtless she's experienced it before gaining her keyblade."
"I don't know about that," said Sora.  "I don't know much about her past or about the history of Equestria.  Your guess is as good as mine."
"This is no guess. Celestia told me of Twilight's encounter with the spirit of chaos, Discord, and how she managed to clear her friend's hearts of turmoil.  Her simple memory spell would not have been enough.  It was due to her strong heart and will to help her friends that she could return them to normal and use the Elements of Harmony again."  The sound of voices suddenly echoed from the other side of the door that the ponies had left through.  The voices were getting closer by the second.  "We will finish discussing this at a later time," said Yen Sid.  "It seems that your friends have finished."
The aforementioned doors suddenly swung open to reveal the five ponies that had left.  "Whoa!" exclaimed Sora as he stared at them.
Each of the ponies had been outfitted with clothes that were similar in design to Sora's, though they each bore a different central color.  For Twilight, she was wearing mostly purple.  Applejack had mostly orange, Rarity, mostly white, and Fluttershy mostly green.  Pinkie wore mostly pink, obviously.
"How do we look?" asked Twilight with a smirk.
"Nice!" said Sora.  The three good fairies followed them through, shutting the door behind them.  "Do they have the same powers as mine?" he asked the fairies.
"Not quite," responded the one in red, Flora.
"They each have their own powers, but they'll need to be discovered themselves," said Fauna, the one dressed in blue.
"They were made with some of our strongest magic, possibly stronger than yours," added Merryweather, the last fairy who wore green.
"Thank you all again," said Twilight as she turned to the three fairies.
"It was our pleasure," responded Flora.  With that, the three fairies returned to their room, leaving Sora, the ponies, and Yen Sid alone again.
"Master, we came here for help," said Sora, remembering the original reason they'd come.  "Some sort of new heartless has shown up in Traverse town.  We have an idea how to destroy it, but we need to learn how to manifest our light.  You were going to show me and the other warriors of light how to do it, but we never got a chance."
"I was, and still am," said Yen Sid.  "But are your new friends ready?  Can their hearts withstand the force of the skill I will teach them?"
"Of course we can handle it!" said Applejack.  "Who do ya think yer talkin to?"
"Yeah!" said Twilight.  "We're the Elements of Harmony.  What makes you think we can't use it?"
Yen Sid held up a solitary hand, signaling for the rest to be quiet.  "While your light burns bright, your hearts are not yet conditioned for the force that it takes to pull off such an attack."
"It is similar to the Ragnarok skill that Sora already possesses.  The principal is the same, but the skill required to execute it is vastly greater," continued Yen Sid.  "Sora, meet with me at the Keyblade Graveyard at your earliest convenience.  I will demonstrate to you all how to execute Mega Ragnarok.  Come prepared."  With that, Yen Sid disappeared in a flash of light, leaving no trace.
"Mega Ragnarok?" said Twilight.  "What's that?"
"I'm not sure," said Sora.  "We'd better head there now."
"But what about all of Xehanort's heartless?" asked Pinkie.  "Didn't Yen Sid say to 'prepare'?"
"Then we'll just have to fight our way out," said Sora.
"And what about Rainbow Dash?" asked Applejack.
"Or Riku?" asked Fluttershy.
"We'll find them," said Sora.  "Let's go back to Traverse Town.  We need to tell them what's going on."
"Right," said everypony.  With that, the group exited Yen Sid's tower and prepared to get back to Traverse Town.  While Sora equipped his armor, he couldn't help but wonder what the dark presence he had felt before could have been.  They hadn't encountered anything dangerous other than the heartless, so what caused the disturbance?  Shaking off the thought, Sora boarded his keyblade glider and sped off, leading the others into space and back to the town.