After Sora and the ponies landed back in Traverse Town, they quickly hurried to the Accessory Shop to speak with their friends. Sora knocked on the door a few times, and Cid opened it for them.
On the inside were a couple of laptop computers at the counter, all hooked up via wires to holes in the ceiling above. Leon and Tifa were busying themselves with two of the computers, tapping at the keys while the rest of the gang sat around the small fire in the chimney joined by what appeared to be an orange wolf-like creature. As soon as they were in, Cid went to one of the laptops and got back to whatever work he was doing beforehand.
Yuffie looked away from the fire and took notice of those who entered. "Sora! You're back," she said. "How'd it go?"
"Not great," said Sora as the others turned to acknowledge them. "It turns out, we might not be ready to take on the heartless here." Sora noticed a disappointed sigh escape the others. "How's Aerith?"
"She's okay, but she's sick," said Cloud who sat next to Yuffie. "We've tried everything to help her, but nothing's working. She's not getting worse though, so I guess that's good."
Twilight took a couple of steps toward Cloud as she said, "What are her symptoms?"
"She's got a mild fever, and she doesn't seem to have any energy. She's been trying to sleep since you all left."
"Hmm," hummed Twilight as she pondered the matter.
"So why aren't you ready to fight the heartless?" asked Leon, who was moving out from behind the counter.
"We went to talk with Master Yen Sid, but he told us that we weren't ready to tackle some kind of new skill he called, 'Mega Ragnarok'," answered Sora. "So we need to keep moving I guess. We have to get stronger before we can master it."
"So you're leaving us again?" asked Tifa who had stopped her typing.
"I'm afraid so," said Twilight. "But don't worry. We'll be back to help once we get strong enough."
"Then hurry up and get moving," said Cloud. "We've been trying to set up a defense system like the one at Radiant Garden, but we're having a hard time integrating it. We've been holding off the heartless, but it'll get through the First District gates before long."
"Right," said Sora. "We'll be back before you know it."
With that, the group left the accessory shop and proceeded out into the main square. As they gathered and prepared to leave, Pinkie Pie suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, I hope Rainbow Dash and Riku are okay."
"Ah'm sure they're fine," said Applejack reassuringly. "You know how tough Rainbow is. She ain't goin' down without a fight."
"I guess you're right," said Pinkie back, hanging her head slightly. The other ponies followed suit, clearly concerned for their two missing friends.
"Come on, guys," said Sora. "Cheer up! We'll see them again soon. I'm sure of it," he finished with a smile.
"Sora's right," said Twilight, straightening suddenly. "We can't give up now. Not when we've just gotten started. I want to see them as much as you all do, but that's no reason to lose hope."
"You're right, Twilight," said Rarity, also stepping forward. "We must keep moving, even if the going gets tough."
"That's the spirit," said Sora, glad to see everyone starting to perk up a bit. "Now, let's get out of here." Sora and the others donned their keyblade armor and were preparing to board their vehicles when a familiar voice came through the com.
"Leaving without us?"
Everyone stopped dead as they listened. From above came a massive explosion from which a circular rainbow erupted, spreading out over the night sky. The group immediately looked up at the center of the blast where they noticed two glowing dots moving toward them, away from the explosion with one trailing a rainbow.
After only a minute, the group was greeted by Riku and Rainbow Dash, hovering in the air above them before disengaging their vehicles and dropping onto the ground.
"Riku!" shouted Sora in excitement.
"Rainbow Dash!" shouted the ponies.
"Sup guys?" said Rainbow Dash to the excited group of ponies.
"How've you been?" asked Riku smiling.
"Where were you two?" asked a bewildered Pinkie Pie.
Riku took the next minute to briefly explain. "After we got separated from you, we came to Agrabah in search of that keyblade wielder. We lost track of him, though."
"Then we came to some world called Hollow Bastion," said Rainbow, "before we finally found you all here."
"Actually," said Sora, "It's called Radiant Garden again."
"I guess it fits the scenery now," said Riku. "So what have you all been up to?"
"After everything that happened on Pulse, we left and found Traverse Town here. But, we ran into some trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" asked Rainbow Dash worriedly.
"We came across a rather large and powerful heartless in the Second District and it nearly killed one of our friends," said Rarity.
"Not to mention Fluttershy nearly lost her heart in the Third District," said Applejack, frowning at the thought of nearly losing her friend.
"What?!" shouted Rainbow Dash, more as a statement than a question. She immediately rushed over to her shy friend, grabbing hold of her and looking her over. "Are you okay?! What got you? I'll kill it!"
"Easy, Rainbow," said Twilight. "She's okay now. Believe me, I took care of the heartless that attacked her."
"So it was the heartless," said Rainbow, losing some of her enthusiasm.
As she drooped, Applejack approached her. "Lighten up, Rainbow. We're all okay now."
"Lighten up? LIGHTEN UP?! How can you say that? Fluttershy almost lost her heart! Are you really okay with that?!" blurted out the cyan pegasus.
"Ah never said Ah was okay with it," said Applejack back, keeping her relaxed tone. "Sora managed to save her, so we're all good. But just because she's okay now doesn't mean we're not ready to cut up the heartless to protect her and everyone else too."
Rainbow backed off and shrunk away, realizing her mistake in doubting her friend. "You're right," she sighed. "Sorry."
"These must be some pretty strong heartless then," said Riku.
"Yeah," answered Sora. "We've had some trouble with them, but we're getting the hang of dealing with them."
"That's good to hear. And how's that going exactly?" Sora then explained what he'd told Leon and the others about the Mega Ragnarok skill.
"Mega Ragnarok?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"We've never heard of it, either," said Sora. "But we're going to get some help from Master Yen Sid on it."
"Yen Sid is going to help us?" asked Riku, slightly shocked.
"Yep!" said Pinkie Pie as she bounced in excitement. "But he said we weren't ready and that it could be super dangerous if we tried to learn it before we got super duper strong! That's why we're going to go to the Colosseum to train up a whole bunch!"
"Do you mean the Olympus Colosseum?" asked Riku.
"I hadn't planned on going there," said Sora, surprised at Pinkie Pie's seemingly impossible knowledge of the world she'd never visited.
"Well we are now!" said Pinkie, only smiling as if she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary.
"I guess that's as good a place as any to search for a portal to the dark realm," said Riku.
"Yeah," said Sora back, losing some of his enthusiasm as he remembered his trapped friends. "I wonder how they're doing."
Applejack approached him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "Now don't you worry," she said as she smiled at him. "We'll save 'em. You can count on us."
A collective agreement came from the rest of the ponies, putting Sora's heart at rest. "Thanks, guys."
"So what are we standing around for?" asked Rainbow Dash, spreading her wings. "Let's get moving!" She donned her keyblade armor and stood at the ready, eager to move on.
"Right," said the others in unison. Together, the group equipped their armor and summoned their keyblades, transforming them into vehicles and mounting them in seconds. Sora, Riku, and the ponies rocketed into space to proceed to the Olympus Colosseum.
/)*#*(\
While in mid flight, Sora contacted Riku via the com. "Do you know where the Colosseum is?"
"Just about," said Riku back. "Remember, these worlds don't seem to orbit a sun, or anything for that matter. In fact, they don't seem to have any sort of path in space. They're just there, islands in the void. It should be within only an hour's travel."
"An hour?!" came the voice of Rainbow Dash through the com, breaking in on the frequency.
"Sorry, Rainbow," said Sora. "but we don't have a gummi ship with a warp drive to use. Besides, unless we had its coordinates in space, then we wouldn't be able to warp anyway."
"Ugh," groaned the mare over the com in annoyance. "I just wish we could go a little bit faster. All this simple flying isn't getting us anywhere soon."
"This is as fast as we can go right now," said Riku. "We've gotten faster since we left Equestria. Our speed might have something to do with how powerful our keyblades are. After all, these vehicles are our keyblades in a different form, so maybe we just need to get stronger to get faster."
"Are you sure? 'Cause I don't want to be stuck going this slow for the rest of the journey."
"Um, Rainbow Dash?" came Fluttershy's shaking voice over the com. "I don't think we should be worrying about speed right now."
"Why not?" she asked, turning to her friends. They were all looking in the opposite direction, though she couldn't see their expressions through their visors. "Guys?" When she turned around, she couldn't quite believe what she saw.
While she was looking at the others, a large red and yellow spaceship had pulled up next to them in space, flying at their same speed. Rainbow couldn't see through the large glass dome of a cockpit, but she managed to make out two figures inside, one short and the other tall. Suddenly, Sora's voice came out over the com.
"The gummi ship?! Does that mean..."
"Gummi ship to Sora. This is Donald Duck. Do you read?" came the voice of Sora's feathered friend over the com.
"And Goofy, too!" said the taller figure in the ship, waving behind the glass so only his silhouette was visible.
"Donald! Goofy!" yelled Sora, excited to see his friends again. "What are you guys doing out here?"
"Come on in and we'll tell you all about it," said Donald, opening up a hatch on the bottom of the small ship.
"Let's go, everyone," said Riku, taking point with Sora and guiding them all into the opening on the ship.
Once inside, the hatch closed behind them and the 'hangar' began filling with oxygen. A green light above the airlock door to the rest of the ship turned green, signaling the OK for the group to remove their armor and head topside.
"Donald? Goofy?" asked Sora as he moved up the main hall and up into the cockpit. The two closest seats turned and in them sat Sora's companions that he'd adventured with throughout the galaxy twice over in search of Riku and Kairi.
"Hey, Sora," said Goofy wearing his yellow pants and green shirt with the black vest while his orange hat hung off the back of his head. "How ya doin'?"
"Sora," said Donald, almost saying it more like a question than a statement. He wore his deep blue shirt and zipped hat while his staff leaned against the console next to Goofy's shield.
"It's good to see you two again," said Riku as he came up behind Sora. The ponies were right behind him, just as eager to meet Sora and Riku's friends from another world as they were to reunite with them.
As the ponies approached and came into view of the cockpit, Goofy spoke up. "Who are your friends, Sora?"
"Oh, right! Donald, Goofy, meet the elements of harmony." One by one, the ponies introduced themselves to Sora's old companions, quickly becoming friends with them until they had all been introduced to each other. After the introductions, Donald walked over to the console and pushed a few buttons, opening seven extra holes in the floor to allow chairs for the others to rise in their place.
Once everyone was settled, Sora spun back around in his chair and asked, "So Donald, why are you both out here?"
"Well," began Sora's comrade, "after you told us to leave the dark realm and get back to Yen Sid's tower, we started to get worried about you."
"You'd been on so many adventures without us, we thought you'd stopped needin' us," commented Goofy.
"Right," said Donald. "So, we decided to go and look for you again. Yen Sid told us he didn't want us getting involved and that it would be too dangerous, but we snuck out at night and stole the gummi ship to look for you."
"That's odd," said Twilight from the front row of the ponies. "Yen Sid never mentioned you to us."
"He probably just didn't want Sora to go looking for them for help," offered Rarity.
"But doesn't having your friends with you through the worst times make everything better?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"Not when you really care about them and are trying to protect them," said Twilight, realizing why Sora had sent them home, possibly when he needed them the most. When she looked over to Sora, she saw a look of understanding on his face, proving that she was right.
"I'm sorry for trying to keep you out of it," said Sora to Donald and Goofy. "but I didn't want either of you to get hurt."
"But don't you believe in us, Sora?" asked Goofy, feeling slightly betrayed.
"Of course I do! But I didn't want either of you to get hurt trying to help me. Xehanort is beyond powerful. Only a keyblade wielder can even begin to stand up to him. You guys are the best, but even you'd be no match for him. He crushed us in minutes. Do you know what happened in the dark realm?"
"We got a message from Yen Sid a little bit after you talked to him," said Goofy. He then held up an opened envelope with a torn wax seal on it. "He said that he was waiting for you at some place called the Keyblade Graveyard, and he wanted us to meet you there."
"Any idea why?" asked Riku.
"Not a clue," responded Donald.
After a few moments of silence, Sora spoke up again. "I guess the crew's back together again," he said with excitement. "So let's get going. We were on our way to the Olympus Colosseum to get some training from Phil, so why don't you come with us?"
"Are you sure you want us around, Sora?" asked Goofy.
"Come on, guys. You're my friends! Where would I be without you? What do you say?" asked Sora.
After a few agonizing moments, Donald caved. "I guess we don't have a choice, do we Goofy?" he said with a smile.
"Not at all," he responded with a laugh.
"Then let's go!" shouted Sora. The keyblade master then spun his chair back around to face the console, took hold of the wheel, and hit the gas, rocketing the gummi ship out into space and off toward the Colosseum.