Twilight stood at the front of the group, watching Sunset Shimmer hold up a sledgehammer to the portal and the Barrier Master casting its protective spell on the two Dual Blades standing side by side each locking one of Sora's arms, keeping him from escaping.
Sora struggled against the Dual Blades, he got his left arm loose, and tried to reach for his friends, "Twilight!"
The Dual Blade on Sora's right clinked its blade-like appendage as it was pointed at his neck.
"Don't hurt him!" Twilight demanded.
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it, I'm not a monster, Twilight." Sunset shifted her gaze to the Heartless, "Let him go."
The Dual Blades looked at each other for a moment and released Sora from their arm-lock, and ran into Twilight's arms.
"Twilight!"
"Sora!"
The two embraced each other tightly, glad to be safe in each other's arms. Their friends just stared at the endearing sight.
"You don't belong here."
Everyone returned their focus to Sunset, who held her hand out, "Give me the crown and you can go back to Equestria, tonight."
Sunset clenched the hand she held out, "Or keep it, and never go home!" she put both hands on the hammer and readied herself to smash the portal.
Twilight gasped at Sunset's words.
"And Sora..." Sunset began as she turned her head to the other side of the statue, "the same goes for you and your Keyblade. If you ever want to return to your precious islands."
Everyone turned to see what Sunset was looking at. Sora and Donald were in shock. They saw their Gummi Ship, with TNT attached everywhere on the outside, standing next to the ship was Snips and Snails with a detonator. They raised the lever and got ready to push down, thus blowing the Gummi Ship to pieces if he didn't cooperate.
"GRRR!!" Sora growled loudly as he glared at Sunset.
"Tick-tock, lovebirds, we haven't got all night," Sunset looked up to see moon's position, "the portal will be closing on its own in less than an hour."
Sunset returned her gaze to Twilight and company, "So... what's your answer?"
Twilight took her crown off her head and looked at it with uncertainty. Sora held his hand out summoned his Keyblade, looking at it for a moment then turned to Twilight, who turned to him. They nodded their heads, knowing what to say to Sunset. They spoke simultaneously,
"What!?" Sunset glared at them for their choice of words, "Equestria, Destiny Islands, all of your friends, lost to you two forever! Don't you see what we're about to do to the portal and your spaceship!?"
"Yes, but we've also seen what you've been able to do here without magic." Twilight began, "Equestria will find a way to survive without my Element of Harmony, this place might not, if I allow it to fall into your hands."
"Yeah! And my friends have always been able to fight the Heartless without my me and my Keyblade! Even if they're attacking them right now, the Heartless don't stand a chance!" Sora exclaimed.
Twilight smiled at his bravery and turned back to Sunset, "So go ahead, destroy the portal, and destroy the Gummi Ship, you are NOT getting the crown OR the Keyblade!"
Twilight placed her crown upon her head as Sora and Donald readied their battle stances.
"Fine. You win." Sunset said as she dropped the sledgehammer behind her.
It was then the TNT fell off the Gummi Ship, but it turns out, the TNT was just pieces of cardboard painted to look like TNT with wads of gum on the backs of them, acting as a type of glue. Snips and Snails laughed nervously.
"I told you the gum wasn't gonna hold!" Snips whispered.
"Duh, sorry." Snails replied.
Twilight and Sora breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that they were still able to go home.
"You... two... are... so awesome!" Rainbow said in amazement.
Applejack patted both Twilight and Sora on the back, the former cringed at the contact while the latter just chuckled, "Can't believe y'all were gonna do that for us."
"It's no wonder you're a real live princess." Rarity said.
Sunset held her arms while biting her lower lip.
"Yeah! And it's definitely no wonder why the Keyblade chose you, Sora!" Pinkie said.
Then she balled up her fists and growled with gritted teeth, and finally, she snapped.
"Oh, yes, they're so very special!"
With that said, Sunset charged at Twilight and pushed her and herself to the ground, knocking the crown off her head. Twilight tried to get it, but Sunset pulled her away.
"Get your hands off her!" Sora shouted.
Sunset crawled off Twilight and went towards the crown, but Twilight grabbed her left foot while Sora grabbed her right foot. Sunset tried to reach for the crown, but Donald jumped onto Spike's back and was riding him like a horse. The two jumped on and off Sunset's head and Donald snatched the crown with his wing.
"I got it!"
"Grab them, you fools!" Sunset commanded.
Snips and Snails rushed to catch Spike and Donald, the Heartless ran as well, but were stopped when Sora got in their way.
"I don't think so!" Sora said.
He charged at the Barrier Master and destroyed it with one strike, dispelling the protective barrier shielding the Dual Blades from Sora's Keyblade. The Dual Blades took a step back from Sora.
"Let's how long you last this time!" Sora said as he charged towards the Dual Blades.
Donald looked behind him and Spike to see Snips and Snails chasing them.
"Wak! Faster!" Donald yelled as he hung on to Spike's collar for dear life.
Spike was now beginning to outrun Snips and Snails, but then Sunset pushed her lackeys out of her way, knocking off Snails' hat while trying to catch the duck and dog. Snips and Snails recovered and kept running after them, shortly followed by Twilight and her friends. Spike and Donald made it to the front door of the school, Donald tried to open it, but his wings were slipping off the door handle.
"Stupid fingerless wings!" Donald cursed.
Spike and Donald looked behind them and saw Sunset with a mischievous grin and both her hands ready to grab them.
"Spike! Donald!" Rainbow called as she waved her hands above her.
Donald took his chance and threw the crown to Rainbow Dash, who flipped in midair while catching the crown. Snips tried to pull the crown out of her hand, but Rainbow yanked it away. Snails attempted to snatch it, but Rainbow pulled it away from his reach before he could and put her hand on his face, keeping him from getting any closer, but he still tried reaching for it.
"Fluttershy!" Rainbow called as she tossed the crown over to her friend.
She flinched and the crown bounced off of her and she caught it in midair. She saw Sunset, Snips, Snails, Rainbow, Spike, and Donald rushing to get to her and the crown, which made her freeze up. Applejack readied her lasso and tossed it around Fluttershy, pulling her out of Sunset's way, but the crown flew out of her hand and Snips caught it.
Meanwhile, Sora just finished off both Dual Blades and rushed to help his friends. He saw Snips with the crown in his hands and charged at him, gaining his attention.
"Want some more?" Sora shouted.
Snips panicked for a moment, but realized too late that Pinkie snuck up behind him and took the crown out of his hands while Sora came up in front of him and used a vertical slash at Snips, who stepped out of the way at the last second. Pinkie gave the crown to Applejack, who tossed it to Rarity, then Twilight, but Snips and Snails got too close, so Twilight tossed the crown behind her, hoping that one of her friends caught it instead of Sunset Shimmer. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the latter.
"I'll take that!" Sunset said before she giggled evilly. "At last!"
Spike growled at Sunset, but Twilight picked him up before he could do anything else. Sora ran up to Twilight's side, glaring at Sunset with clenched teeth.
"More power than I could ever imagine!" Sunset said as she placed the crown upon her head while smiling triumphantly.
Suddenly, the crown began to glow black and green and rings of dark magic glowing the same color surrounded Sunset, who gripped the sides of the crown with a panicked expression. Then a pillar of dark magic appeared and engulfed her, levitating her in the air. The powerful wind was coming off of the dark pillar, which blew off Applejack's hat. All anyone could do was watch in horror at the sight, especially the students, who just came outside. Sunset was biting her bottom lip as she appeared to be crying from the dark magic surrounding her, which in turn, burned away her tears. Sunset's eyes and the crown began to glow as her body transformed; her hands turned into red claws, her legs grew and turned red as well, she grew a tail the same color as her hair, and her clothing changed. She couldn't stand the overload of power seeping into her, but then a bright light illuminated the area with a thunderous boom resounded as the transformation was complete.
As the light dimmed, the group saw that Sunset had completely changed; her hair looked like raging fire, the same as her tail, she was wearing a dress with yellow at the top, a black stripe in the center, and the bottom of the dress looked like a downwards fire, she had giant wings with a couple holes through both of them, her entire skin was red, she had pointy ears, her eyes were black with the iris's green, she had razor-sharp teeth, and was wearing black and red boots on her feet. It was clear that Sunset was longer human, she had turned into what appears to be a demon.
"AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!" the demonic Sunset cackled as she admired her new form.
Twilight, Sora, Donald, and their friends gasped in fear at the new Sunset Shimmer, who put decided to put her new powers to the test by blasting Snips and Snails with black and green beams coming out of both her claws as the crown began to glow with dark magic, turning them into demonic-like creatures themselves, except they were wearing black, sleeveless jumpsuits with the top and bottom of Snips' outfit was dark blue, along with his now spiked hair and newly-grown wings, and he had light blue skin, Snails, on the other hand, had light orange skin with his wings both dark orange and light orange and the top and bottom of his outfit was dark orange. The only thing the demonic duo had in common was their unnatural red eyes.
"This is gonna be so cool!" the demonic Snips said.
They began to approach Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, who were backing away from them with the latter falling backwards on her butt. Before Sora could charge in and save them, Sunset spoke up,
"NOW, LET'S COMPLETE THE SET, SHALL WE?"
Sunset swung her open palm towards Sora and the Keyblade began to be pulled away as if Sunset was beckoning it to side with her. Sora pulled back with all his might, but the Keyblade disappeared from his hand and reappeared in Sunset's. The weird thing was that when it did, the Keyblade's appearance changed; the blade and the keychain became a dark red, the hand guards turned a dark yellow, the center where the blade and the handle meet turned orange, and it grew big enough for Sunset's large claw to hold it.
With that, Sora's Wisdom Form vanished as he changed back to his normal form. Twilight clenched her fist and growled at Sunset for what she's doing to her friends, but was interrupted when she heard the students freaking out at the monster in front of them.
Sunset turned to face them, smiling evilly as she screeched inhumanly, causing the students to run back into the school with one of them holding either door in an effort to keep Sunset from getting in. She flapped her wings and landed in front of the double doors.
"I'VE HAD TO JUMP THROUGH SO MANY HOOPS TONIGHT, JUST TO GET MY HANDS ON THIS CROWN, AND JUST LIKE THE KEYBLADE, IT REALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE ALL ALONG!"
The students just stared in fear as Sunset balled up her fists while growling with her spiky teeth clenched and her right eye twitching. She calmed down enough to where she's not enraged, just evil.
"BUT LET'S LET BYGONES BE BYGONES," Sunset raised her newly-required Keyblade and the end of the blade was glowing with dark magic, "I AM YOUR KEYBLADE WIELDING PRINCESS NOW, AND YOU WILL BE LOYAL... TO ME!!!"
She twisted the Keyblade, crushing the double doors with her dark magic and swung the Keyblade, tossing the crumbled remains aside. She flew into the building as the students ran for their lives, she gripped the Keyblade with both hands (or claws) and held it in front of her with the blade pointing outwards, once again glowing with dark magic, she closed her eyes as she was focusing all her power at once, and whipped them open with green and black hypnotic swirls emanating from them. The students stopped in their tracks as certain parts of their bodies changed; some had black splotches on their heads with an antenna and a glowing yellow dot as an eyes on either side of their heads, some had black claw-like appendages on their arms or legs, and some had everything in between. It's as if they had become half-Heartless, or more specifically, half-Neoshadow.
Sunset stared in wonder at her work, all the students had become her half-Heartless slaves, they were moaning as they walked like zombies, looking for hearts to collect, even attempting to attack their own comrades for their hearts, but every time one attacked the other, the attack just bounced right off. Demon Snips and Demon Snails walked up to their leader with kind eyes to her and only her.
"ROUND THEM UP AND BRING THEM TO, I BELIEVE IT WAS CALLED, THE 'GUMMI SHIP'." Sunset ordered.
The dangerous duo saluted to her and did what they were told. Sunset began to walk outside when she was stopped by Twilight and Sora with their friends behind them.
"SPOILER ALERT: I WAS BLUFFING WHEN I SAID I WAS GOING TO DESTROY THE PORTAL AND THE GUMMI SHIP, I DON'T WANT TO RULE THIS PATHETIC LITTLE HIGH SCHOOL, BUT IT'S NOT JUST EQUESTRIA THAT I WANT EITHER."
Twilight was beyond surprised, "What!? What more could you possibly want!?"
"IT'S QUITE SIMPLE, REALLY, I WANT THE DOOR TO ALL WORLDS! I WANT KINGDOM HEARTS!!! AND WITH MY OWN HUMAN/HEARTLESS HYBRID ARMY BEHIND ME, I'M GOING TO GET IT!!"
Sora was shocked at Sunset's words, How does she know about Kingdom Hearts!?
Flash Sentry was in the crowd with the right side of his head turned black with an antenna sticking out and his right eye turned into a glowing yellow dot. Twilight was upset that Flash had partly become a mindless monster, but that just strengthened her resolve.
"No. You're not."
"Yeah!" Sora agreed.
Sunset hovered in front of them and cackled at their meaningless determination, at least, that's what she thinks, "OH, PLEASE, WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE GOING TO DO TO STOP ME? I HAVE MAGIC AND THE KEYBLADE TO BOOT, AND YOU. HAVE. NOTHING!!!"
At that last word, Sunset's hair blazed brightly as she glared at the two heroes with gritted teeth.
Sora stared Sunset down as he spoke, "I don't need the Keyblade."
"PARDON?" Sunset dug her pinkie into her ear, like she was cleaning it out to hear better, and cupped her claw to that same ear, "I DIDN'T QUITE CATCH THAT."
"I have a stronger weapon: my heart." Sora placed his hand on his chest.
Sunset had a look of annoyance, "THAT WAS A JOKE, RIGHT?"
Sora continued to glared at Sunset. She began to chuckle at first, then it grew into a humorous cackle.
"YOU'RE SERIOUS! WHAT COULD THAT WEAK LITTLE PIECE OF FLESH DO FOR YOU?!"
"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone... it's grown with each new experience... and it's found a home with all the friends I've made, in this, and many other worlds... I've become a part of these girls' hearts just as they've become a part of mine... and if they think of me now and then... if they don't forget me... then our hearts will be one... I don't need a weapon, my friends are my power! And I'm theirs!"
Twilight stared at Sora in awe, never in all her life has somebody, or somepony, spoke such sweet words.
"Sora..."
Sunset just chuckled at Sora, "HOW TOUCHING. NOW, IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME, I—"
Her sentence was cut short as the Keyblade vanished from her claw in a flash of light.
"WHAT!?"
Sora knew what to do and swung his arm, summoning his Keyblade back to his side, and all its alterations have disappeared, returning it to its former glory.
"NO!! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!! I'M SUPPOSED TO WIELD THE KEYBLADE!!!"
"You're wrong. The Keyblade didn't choose you. You were never meant wield it."
"RRRGGGGHH! NO MATTER, AS LONG AS I HAVE MAGIC, YOU AND TWILIGHT SHALL PERISH ALONE!!"
"They're not alone," Rainbow spoke up as she and the rest of the group came up to Twilight and Sora, "because they have us!"
"That's right! All for one and one for all!" Donald declared as he readied his Mage's Staff.
Twilight and Sora smiled at them, knowing that they've really great friends.
"Thanks guys." said Sora.
Sunset's right eye twitched as she growled, but she soon cackled maliciously.
"GEE, THE GANG REALLY IS ALL BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!"
She laughed as wiped a tear from her eye. Then she created a small dark fireball with her claws, "NOW STEP ASIDE! TWILIGHT AND SORA HAVE TRIED TO INTERFERE WITH MY PLANS ONE TOO MANY TIMES ALREADY! THEY NEED TO BE DEALT WITH!!"
The dark fireball has grown bigger as Sunset raised over her head and threw at the only people standing in her way of world conquest. Twilight pushed Sora and Donald out of the way as her friends held her and braced themselves for the blast.
"TWILIGHT!!!" Sora screamed.
Sunset laughed as she assured her victory, but it was very short-lived when the light from the blast died down.
"WHAT!?"
There stood Twilight and her friends, unharmed, and somehow glowing in a pink light. They held hands in a circle around Twilight and they all smiled, except Twilight's was bigger.
"The magic contained in my Element was able to unite with those that helped create it!"
When Twilight said that, a light came from the crown and drifted over to her and her friends, causing them to float.
"Sora!" Twilight called.
"Yeah?"
"We need you and Donald to buy us some time while we charge up our Elements, don't let Sunset Shimmer come anywhere near us!"
"You got it!"
Sora and Donald readied their battle stances as Sunset scowled at them.
"YOU FOOLS! GIVE IT UP! IT'S HOPELESS!!!"
With that, Sora and Donald charged into battle. Sora jumped when he got close enough and began to strike Sunset, only to have done little damage. Donald casted Blizzaga at Sunset, who howled in pain upon contact.
"I'LL CRUSH YOU, YOU WORTHLESS BIRD!!"
"I'm not worthless! I'm the King's Court Wizard!"
Meanwhile, Applejack's ears changed and pointed upwards and her braided hair grew longer, as if she had a tail, and her dress shimmered as the transformation was complete.
"Honesty..."
Sunset charged up a small fireball and threw it at Sora, who swung it back to her, Sunset swiped her claw at the fireball, not only sailing it back at Sora, but made it slightly bigger and faster. Sora knocked it back again, then Sunset did with the same change in size and speed as before. This back and forth process repeated several times until the ball of fire was bigger than Sunset, at that moment, Sora swung his Keyblade with all his might and sent the oversized fireball at Sunset, which was too big for her to knock back and exploded right in front of her. She screamed in pain as she fell to the ground on her knees, breathing heavily.
Sora and Donald took their chance and attacked the weakened demon; Sora charged in slashing at Sunset and then casted Blizzaga twice before swinging his Keyblade again, Donald kept casting Blizzaga at Sunset to weaken her further.
Sunset stood up when she snapped out of her daze and swung her arms outwards, shouting, "BEGONE!"
Sora and Donald were blown a few feet away from Sunset, Donald lost his footing as he touched the ground, but Sora recovered in midair and landing firmly on his feet.
"Heal!" Donald casted Curaga on him and Sora.
Fluttershy went through the same transformation as Applejack, her ears changed, her hair grew as it was tied into a ponytail, and her dress shimmered, but one difference was that she grew wings.
"Kindness..."
Sunset tried a different tactic, she blasted her dark magic from her claws, trying to change Sora and Donald into demons to join her ranks.
"BECOME ONE WITH THE DARKNESS! MY DARKNESS!"
Sora and Donald tried to avoid Sunset's dark magic blasts, Donald even used his magic to stop her.
"Stop!" Donald casted Stopga on Sunset, but to no avail.
"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! YOUR FLIMSY SPELLS WON'T WORK HERE, COURT WIZARD!"
Sora began to float as pointed his Keyblade at Sunset, charging up his Ragnarok attack, "Give me strength!"
"WHAT—"
But Sunset was too slow to react as multiple lasers shot towards her, damaging her even more.
"AHH!! YOU LITTLE!!"
Pinkie noticed her ears, hair, and dress change like Applejack's and Fluttershy's, and bounced around in glee as she transformed.
"Laughter..."
"I'M GETTING REALLY INFURIATED!!" Sunset growled as her hair burned like fire. "JOIN ME!!!"
Sunset focused her magic and eyes became hypnotic once more, attempting to turn Sora and Donald into Heartless hybrids as well. Sora rushed to Donald's side and picked him up with his free hand.
"Defense!" Sora casted Reflega around him and Donald, preventing the dark rings from morphing them.
"RRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Sunset was becoming extremely mad that she can't beat her opponents.
Rarity watched as her body transformed, first her ears, then her curly hair tied into a ponytail, and her dress became more radiant than before.
"Generosity..."
"THAT'S IT!!! I'M THROUGH PLAYING GAMES!!!"
"Aww, That's too bad, I love games!" Sora said with a smirk.
"SILENCE, YOU FOAL!!!!!"
Sunset raised her right claw to Sora and Donald, enveloping them a dark green light, and threw her claw in the air, causing Sora and Donald to be flung into the sky. Sora looked down at Sunset charging at them with a giant fireball in her claws. He had a memory flash in his head, something that he remembers, but at the same time, he doesn't...
* * *
He was falling off a platform that somehow tipped over, as he fell, he noticed a large monster with sharp appendages and the Nobody sigil on its face. But another thing he noticed was that it was holding an ominous glowing orb and he was plummeting towards it. Suddenly he thought on his feet and flipped himself in an upwards position and threw his Keyblade at the orb, shouting, "Come on!" just before the Keyblade made contact with the orb and exploded in the monster's face, sending them falling back down to the platform that somehow repositioned itself to the way it was. With him motionless, he was about to smash his body onto the platform as it grew closer...
* * *
Sora snapped back to reality as he saw Sunset close the gap between them. Thanks to his unknown memory, he smiled as he knew what to do. He flipped into an upwards position and threw the Keyblade at Sunset's fireball.
"This is it!" Sora declared.
The Keyblade hit the giant fireball and exploded. Sunset was thrown backwards from the blast and slammed face first into the ground. Sora looked next to him and saw Donald flailing his wings and legs as he fell out of the sky, Sora grabbed him and used his Glide ability to guide them to safety and landed in front of Sunset.
Rainbow transformed as well; her ears pointed up, her hair grew and was tied into a messy ponytail, her dress dress shimmered, and like Fluttershy, she grew wings.
"Loyalty..."
Sunset picked herself up from the ground as Sora and Donald readied themselves for another rage-fueled attack. She flew into the air with an infuriated scowl.
"Magic..."
Twilight changed just like her friends, her ears, her hair, her dress, and she grew wings as well. She looked like her pony self and human self combined.
"Together with the crown, they create a power beyond anything you could imagine." Twilight began as Sunset grasping the sides of her head in pain, "But it is a power you don't have the ability to control. The crown may be upon your head, Sunset Shimmer, but you cannot wield it, because you do not possess the most powerful magic of all—The Magic of Friendship!"
Twilight and her friends joined hands in the shape of a heart as their magic sparked to life and two halves of a rainbow swirled upwards adjacent to each other and when they merged, a bright light flashed as a giant rainbow came down towards Sunset.
"NO!!" Sunset said as the rainbow surrounded her in a tornado. WHAT... IS... HAPPENING!?
"Here, in Equestria, and maybe, just maybe, even beyond the worlds of Kingdom Hearts, it is the only magic that can truly unite us all!" Twilight said as her eyes began to glow.
Sora jumped backwards and landed right under the girls, he raised his Keyblade and pointed it at them, sending a beam of light from his Keyblade, with their magic combined, the beam went towards the students and changed them back to normal people, even Snips and Snails were enveloped in a rainbow tornado of their own.
Twilight closed her eyes and the light coming from her and her friends shined bright enough to light up the entire area.
* * *
Twilight felt like she was falling... No. It doesn't feel like I'm falling. Floating? Gliding downwards?
She didn't know what she was feeling, but she couldn't see either, she didn't have the strength to open her eyes. Then she felt that she landed softly on some kind of floor. Somehow, she was able to open her eyes, she saw only darkness. She began to sit upright to view her surroundings; still darkness, except for the floor, which she began to have a better look of. And when she did, she recoiled to her feet and put her hands over her mouth as she stared in fear at the sight before her: She was standing on what looks like a stained glass platform with an inverted Sunset Shimmer on the left and Twilight herself on the right.
Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing, was this the Elements doing?
Choose a side...
"W-Who's there!?" Twilight demanded with shakiness in her voice.
Each one will show you a different dream...
"D-Dream?" Twilight stuttered.
The dreams of one who deeply cares for you...
"Who?" Twilight asks.
No answer.
Sighing, Twilight looks at both sides of the platform, "Choose a side..."
Twilight takes a step to the right side of the platform and a light quickly lit up the area. Twilight raised her arms to shield her eyes from the blinding flash. As the light subsides, she lowers her arms and looks down at the platform to see it has changed: it was just Twilight and her friends in the small circles, including Sunset and her lackeys, Snips and Snails.
She was about to walk forward until a sound stopped her, the sound of clashing blades, she looked up and saw Sora fighting a man in a black coat, wielding two shimmering blue sword-like weapons.
"Sora!?" Twilight exclaimed.
He didn't respond.
"SORA!" Twilight shouted even louder.
Still nothing.
He cannot see you, nor hear you...
"Why?"
This is one of the two dreams from the previous two nights...
"What?"
Nothing can be changed, only viewed...
Twilight returned her attention to the battle only to find that the hooded man has disappeared, then another bright light came and it grew brighter as Sora and Twilight shielded their eyes from it.
Sparkle...
Twilight's eyes snapped open and found herself laying on the same platform as before, with her and Sunset on opposite sides in the center. She quickly stood up and remembered what the voice told her, this time, she stepped on the left side and yet another light flashed upon her.
She found herself in an almost empty grass field, only a few trees and Sora, who was running past her.
"Sora!" Twilight exclaimed.
She followed Sora up a small hill, only to find herself, holding her hand out to him.
"Sora..." Dream Twilight cooed.
"Twilight?" Sora asked.
"Sora, I know I just met you, but after you told me about all of your adventures that you've had... I can't help but feel happy around you."
"Wait, what!?" the real Twilight said in shock.
This can't be me! ...Can it? Do I really feel that way about Sora? More importantly, does Sora feel that way about me enough to dream of me declaring my love for him? Twilight was racking her brain out, trying to understand what she's seeing.
"Come back with me. To Equestria." Dream Twilight said.
Sora stood slack-jawed at Twilight's words.
"We can be together... forever."
"Okay, that's going WAY too far!" the real Twilight said, annoyed.
Twilight was blushing to no end, but regained her composure when she saw Sora walking towards Dream Twilight, reaching for her hand.
"Sora, what are you doing!?" the real Twilight asked, shocked.
Before Sora could grasp Dream Twilight's hand, a different voice spoke up.
"Okay, Fun's over."
The entire field was plunged into darkness, even Sora as he flew backwards from the force of the wind the darkness stirred up. The real Twilight was nearly swallowed by it, until she found herself in some type barrier of light. The darkness began to fade as a another glass platform appeared before her: Twilight and her friends were in the small circles, looking conflicted, while Sunset Shimmer was in the center with a sinister grin on her face.
"W-What is this?" Twilight questioned.
"I can feel your anger and fear." the new voice said.
Twilight and Sora turned to see a Corridor of Darkness and the hooded man who tried to kill Rainbow Dash appear from it.
"You!" Sora said as he summoned his Keyblade.
"What's HE doing here!?" Twilight asked.
"I'm not your opponent." the hooded man said.
"What?" Sora asked, confused.
The hooded man pointed towards Twilight and Sora, "She is."
They turned around to see Sunset Shimmer with an evil grin upon her face, similar to grin on the platform. She just stared at Sora, that grin of hers infuriated him more than ever. Twilight noticed that he gripped his Keyblade as tight as he possibly could.
"Yes, get angry. Let your anger take hold." the hooded man began as he disappeared in darkness, "For where there is anger... there is darkness."
The hooded man left without a trace and Sora prepared himself to attack Sunset.
Twilight began to think aloud, "Wait... I remember when Sora got angry when my friends were bickering... no..."
Twilight suddenly became afraid when she put two and two together. Sora charged at Sunset, who sidestepped and tried to punch him.
"Sora, look out!" Twilight warned.
Sora jumped out of the way and pointed his Keyblade in the air, casting his Thundaga spell, "Thunder!"
Several lightning bolts came from out of nowhere, attacking Sunset while covering the area in smoke. Once it cleared, Twilight and Sora saw that Sunset had blocked Sora's spell with a Keyblade of her own.
"How did Sunset get a—" then Twilight remembered a crucial detail, "Oh, yeah. This is a dream."
Sora charged at Sunset, clashing their Keyblades together. They jumped backwards from each other and kept attacking. They went at it for a while, until Twilight noticed Sunset was getting tired, despite her evil grin. Sora charged at Sunset one last time, he jumped and spun in midair, and horizontally swung his Keyblade as hard as he could, hitting her in the face and she flew across the platform, landing near the edge as her Keyblade disappeared.
Twilight and Sora walked up to Sunset, but Twilight gasped when she saw that Sunset wasn't there, it was Dream Twilight, looking up at Sora with tears in her eyes.
"W-W-Why, Sora? W-Why d-did you attack m-me?" Dream Twilight asked.
"Twilight... I... I didn't mean... I thought..." Sora could hardly form a sentence.
"W-What did I-I do w-wrong?"
"You did nothing wrong... I just..."
Sora let his Keyblade dissipate into thin air and walked over to Dream Twilight, kneeling down and giving her the most meaningful hug he could give.
"S-Sora?" Twilight was more confused than before.
More tears began to form in Dream Twilight's eyes as she returned Sora's hug with her own, sobbing into his chest.
"What is going on?" the real Twilight asked.
Then the hooded man's voice spoke,
"Get angry."
"Let your anger take hold."
"For where there is anger... There is darkness."
Once again, Twilight snapped her eyes open and quickly picked herself off the floor. Twilight looked down and she went in shock, she saw Sora on the platform this time instead of Sunset or any of her friends. She didn't know any of the people in the smaller circles, except Sora's pet, Donald.
"No way... this isn't real... this is impossible..."
"How did you get in here?"
"GAH!!" Twilight screamed.
She whipped her head around and saw a familiar face, the boy who took Sora's place, except he was wearing a black coat.
"You!" Twilight said, pointing a finger at him.
"Me?" the boy asked.
"You're that boy I saw!"
"And you're that girl he thinks about so much."
That took Twilight by surprise, "W-What?"
"Um... maybe we should start over." he put his hand to his chest, "I'm Roxas."
"Roxas?"
"I'm Sora's other half. His..." Roxas looked down in depression, "dark half."
"Dark half? Does that mean... you're the one who made Sora angry?" Twilight asked, her anger growing.
"...Yes." Roxas returned his gaze to Twilight, "But I didn't mean to. I can't help it most times."
Twilight furrowed her brow at Roxas, who look down at Sora's stained glass platform. Twilight's expression softened when she noticed Roxas upset.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"You know... for me and Sora," he motioned towards him and the platform, "this could've been the other way around."
Twilight gasped at his words, but he continued without noticing, "But it really has to be him. I'm a part of him, so he feels what I feel."
Twilight looked at him thoughtfully, wondering what she could do to comfort him.
"But then... he told me something really interesting... he said, 'No Roxas, we're not the same, you have every right to be your own person just as much as I do.'"
Twilight giggled, "Yeah, that definitely sounds like Sora."
Roxas chuckled, "You see? That's why it's has to be him."
Twilight then pondered something, "Hey, why are you wearing a coat like that evil organization wears?"
"Organization XIII?" Roxas corrected.
"Yeah, that's it."
"I was one of them, but I left..."
"Why?"
"Because of me." a feminine voice spoke.
"HUH!?" Twilight exclaimed as she whipped her head around to see where the voice came from.
She saw another person wearing a black coat, but her hood covered her face.
"Who are you?" Twilight asked.
Then Twilight heard what sounded like clattering footsteps. She turned to her right and another person, but this person was wearing strange-looking armor.
"You'll know who they are when it's time." Roxas said.
Twilight suddenly began to feel tired, she started to wobble as her legs nearly gave in, but Roxas grabbed Twilight's hands before before she collapsed.
"It's time to wake up now. Your friends need you. Go to them."
Twilight struggled to stay awake, but failing miserably.
"Don't worry," Roxas flashed her a smile, "we'll see each other again. Real soon."
Twilight couldn't hold on anymore and passed out.
* * *
As the blinding light died down, the students, healed of their half-heartless curse, gathered up at the threshold of the school's destroyed entrance to see their saviors awake after passing out from using the power that is unknown to them. The girls began to get up, except for one, who Sora ran up to and lightly shook her to wake her up.
"Twilight? Twilight?" Sora said.
Spike came up to them and licked Twilight's cheek, waking her up. Twilight held her arms out to Spike and jumped into them, the two nuzzling each other in their embrace.
Sora put a hand on Twilight's shoulder and said, "Good to have you back, Twilight."
Twilight blushed at his kind words.
"Hey!" Donald exclaimed.
Twilight and Sora turned to face him and became shocked at the sight before them: Donald was wearing his wizard's outfit, his size returned to normal, and his wings became fingers again.
Sora said, "Donald! You're back to normal! But... how?"
"I guess when my crown fell into this world, it must've corrupted any other magic that was around it." Twilight theorized.
"So THAT'S why that happened!" Donald said.
Sora chuckled, "Looks like helping Twilight helped solved that mystery, eh, Donald?"
Donald narrowed his eyes at Sora, "If we ever find Twilight's world, I'LL have the laugh." he concluded with an evil chuckle.
Sora suddenly grew nervous when Donald said that. The rest of their friends joined up with them and they looked down upon a massive smoking crater in front of the school that was created by their magic to stop Demon Sunset. Twilight and Sora stood up and walked to the edge of crater, with their friends right behind them. There, they saw a defeated Sunset Shimmer picking herself up off the ground, no longer a demon thanks to the Magic of Friendship.
"You will never have Kingdom Hearts," Twilight began, "any power you may have had in this world is gone." she gestured to the students gathering to the crater, "Tonight, you've shown everyone who you really are. You've shown them what is in your heart."
Sunset looked up at Twilight, tears dripping off her face, "I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry! I didn't know there was another way!"
"The Magic of Friendship doesn't just exist in Equestria, it's everywhere."
Pinkie jumped up and pulled Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy into a big hug, except for Applejack, Sora, and Donald, who just smiled.
"You can seek it out," Twilight's expression turned somber, "or you can forever be alone. The choice is yours."
Sunset climbed halfway out of the crater, leaning on the edge, "But... But all I've ever done since being here is drive everyone apart. I don't know the first thing about friendship."
Twilight and Sora each grabbed one of Sunset's hands and pulled her out of the giant, magic-created hole and on her feet, gesturing to their friends, "I bet they can teach you." Twilight said.
Sunset looked briefly at Sora, who just gave her a kind grin. After everything that's happened, he's smiling at me?
"Those are my girls! Whoo-hoo!" Spike cheered.
"Way to go, Sora!" Donald shouted with glee.
A guy who took notice of the two said, "Did those animals just talk? Whoa, weird."
Spike and Donald showed looks of annoyance, until Spike spoke up, "Seriously? The talking animals are the weird thing about all this?"
"You said it." Donald agreed while deadpanning.
Rarity picked up Spike and scratched him behind the ears, "I, for one, think you're adorable."
"Oh yeah." was all Spike could say.
Fluttershy then picked up Donald and petted him on his head, "I think you're adorable too, Donald."
"Ah, that's the spot." Donald said in bliss.
Twilight and Sora smiled at their animal friends, until Principal Celestia came up behind them with Twilight's crown in her hands, "I think this... belongs to you." Twilight turns around and kneels, "A true princess in any world leads, not by forcing others to bow before her, but by inspiring others to stand with her." Celestia places Twilight's crown upon her head as she continued, "We have all seen that you are capable of just that. I hope you see it too, Princess Twilight."
Twilight looked up at Celestia and said, "I do."
Twilight stood up and the entire student body cheered, causing her to slightly jump in surprise.
"Would now be a completely awkward time to ask you for that dance?" Flash asked as he held his hand out to her.
Twilight turned to see his smiling face and blushed. She looked up at the moon and saw that she still has plenty of time before the portal closes. With that in mind, she reaches for his hand—
"Awkward? No. Inconvenient? Yes."
Everyone was taken aback from the sudden comment as a Corridor of Darkness appears next to the school statue and coming from it was a man with a ponytail, an eyepatch, and a black coat.
"Xigbar!" Sora shouted.
"Heh. It's Braig now, kiddo."
The former Xigbar turned his attention to Sunset Shimmer, who was hiding behind her new friends.
"Man, Kitten, you really screwed up, didn't you?" Braig sneered.
"Wait, what?" Sora asked.
"Ahh, so you haven't told them?"
"Told us what?" Twilight asked, which made Sunset tremble.
Braig chuckled, "I gave your little Kitty-cat over there every bit of information about Sora and his Keyblade, even gave her the power to control the Heartless, all to get her to deliver Sora to me."
Twilight's group broke away to see Sunset with fear plastered all over her face.
"But she went back on her end of the deal, and took his Keyblade, thinking that she could conquer Kingdom Hearts."
That got Sunset's attention, "W-What do you mean?"
Braig explained everything about X-blade, the 7 Guardians of Light, the 13 Seekers of Darkness, and how Sora was supposed to be the 13th Darkness. All of that information left Twilight, her friends, and the entire school in shock, since the latter heard the whole thing.
"Personally, I thought YOU could be the 13th Darkness as a back-up plan if this went south, but then you got blasted by those Elements of Harmony thingamajigs and lost the darkness inside you." Braig said to Sunset.
"Wait, you mean..." Sunset finally understood.
"You were NEVER gonna get Kingdom Hearts, Kitten, but luckly, you managed to wear Sora down enough for me to overpower him and drag him back myself." Braig sneered once more for good measure, "Couldn't have done it without you... sucker."
Sunset looked as if she was going to burst into tears again; she had just helped Braig reach his goal, just when she finally saw the light beyond the darkness that she built up within her for years. Her heart ached.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
Sunset turned to see where those words came from, and she saw Sora, standing up for her.
"Hasn't she suffered enough tonight!?"
"You can't be serious." Braig deadpanned, annoyed, "After everything you just heard, you're STILL gonna play 'The Hero' and defend that pathetic excuse for a friend?"
Sora turned to Sunset, "She apologized for what she did, and allowed friendship into her heart with me, Twilight, and her friends," he smiled, "and that's good enough for me."
Sunset just stared at him in awe, no one had ever forgiven her quickly and meant it. She didn't notice that she subconsciously said, "Sora..."
"Ignorant as always, huh?" Braig asked, "Alright then, less talking, more fighting!"
Braig summoned his Arrowguns as Sora and Donald readied their battle stances and prepared to fight.
Braig began firing pink-colored arrows at Sora, who held his Keyblade in front of him and bounced them all back at him. Braig suddenly disappeared, leaving the entire school to search frantically for him.
Rainbow looked up towards the roof and saw him, "Sora! Up there!"
Sora and Donald turned their heads to see Braig combine his two Arrowguns into one.
"I see you!" Braig said as he took aim and shot at Sora.
Sora knocked the arrows back like last time and weakened Braig even further.
"You clever, little sneak!" Braig sneered.
He teleported back to the ground and separated his Arrowguns into two again, he charged them up and blasted a massive light blue arrow at Sora, who dodged at the last minute. But the arrow rebounded off of the side of the school, the ground, and at base of the statue, hitting Sora from behind.
Twilight rushed to his side to see if he was okay, but then Braig appeared in front of them.
"Let's see if your, 'Magic of Friendship', can save you now!" Braig declared as he charged up his Arrowguns again and fired.
Twilight jumped in front of her friend to protect him from blast, "SORA!!"
BOOM!
Twilight and Sora didn't feel any pain and they wondered why. Didn't they get hit? They looked to see someone standing before them; a man with red, spiky hair that could easily rival Sora's, wearing a black coat, and wielding a silver, red-lined chakram with spikes every which way, but the strange thing was that there was fire swirling all round him.
"Axel!?" Braig yelled.
He brought his head up to face Braig, "C'mon, we've been over this already. The name's Lea, get it memorized!"
"Why do you always have to get in our way!?"
"I told you, I'll always be there to get my friends back." he turned to see Sora, "You okay?"
"Yeah..." Sora replied, "Lea, how did you know we were in danger?"
"Heh-heh, well, the King told me you and Donald were going on a mission to return some kind of 'magical disturbance' to its original world, and I thought, 'Oh, this is gonna end in disaster', so he told me to come help you out and..." Lea motioned to Braig, "Am I wrong?"
It was at that moment that another Corridor of Darkness opened and another figure in a black coat flew out, summoned his Keyblade, and tried to strike down Lea, but was stopped by King Mickey, who emerged from the crowd.
Twilight instantly remembered who that figure was and pointed at him, "That's the guy that tried to kill Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow whipped her head to see the figure in the coat and immediately scowled. She charged towards and punched him as hard as she could while he was preoccupied by King Mickey. He stumbled over and fell on his back, when he got up, his hood fell off and they could see his face; long, silver hair with a spiked-up point at the top, deep tan skin, and piercing yellow eyes.
"Xehanort of the past!?" Mickey exclaimed.
That said, Young Xehanort jumped really high and landed near Braig, "It's time to go."
Braig glared at Sora and all of his friends, "Ah, that last attack took a lot outta me anyway."
Young Xehanort turned around and held his hand out, calling the Corridor of Darkness. He and Braig slipped through without a second glance.
Sora breathed a sigh of relief when the two left, he and Twilight picked themselves off of the ground, then Sora turned to face King Mickey, "Your Majesty, how did you know we were in trouble?"
King Mickey turned around and gestured behind him, "Principal Celestia called me."
Said Principal walked up to Mickey's side as Sora turned his attention to her, "You two know each other?"
Celestia giggled, "Oh, we go way back, but that's another story for another time."
Sora was confused, but nodded to her and looked at Twilight...
She had her arms crossed and scowled at him.
"Alright," she began, "I want the truth. All of it."
Sora faced the large crowd of students, listening intently to them before he faced Twilight again.
"Can we talk about this privately?"
"No. Right here, right now."
Sora sighed deeply at the situation he was in, he turned to King Mickey, who had a sad look on his face and nodded, giving Sora permission to tell her. Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike gathered to Twilight's side to hear his explanation.
"Okay... you win."
Sora explained everything about what happened at the Mark of Mastery exam; Xehanort and his plans, the Seekers of Darkness, how he almost became one of them, even about the X-Blade and how it was supposed to open the door to all worlds, Kingdom Hearts.
"And that's pretty much everything I haven't told you..." Sora concluded.
"What I don't understand is why you didn't tell us everything from the beginning!" Twilight shouted.
"Because I didn't want you getting involved!"
"And why not!?"
"Because I care about you!"
Twilight was taken aback by his last comment.
"I mean... you guys are friends... and I don't want you to get hurt."
After a moment of silence, King Mickey walked up to them, "Well, those two are gone now, and I don't they'll be coming back anytime soon..."
"So why don't head back to the gym and celebrate?" Principal Celestia added.
The crowd cheered loudly and slowly began to return to the gym, so did Twilight, Sora, and all of their friends, until Flash stopped Twilight.
"Hey, uh, would it be alright if I ask you for that dance? Hopefully, no more power-mad people are gonna jump in this time."
Twilight giggled at his choice of words and alternated her gaze between Flash and Sora, the latter giving her an encouraging smile, telling her, "go ahead and have fun". Twilight smiled and said, "Actually... I was thinking I could dance with both of you."
"HUH!?" Flash and Sora said, shocked.
Twilight giggled again, "What? You didn't think I was gonna choose one of you did you?"
Flash and Sora continued to gawk to Twilight like she grew two heads, even when she turned around and resumed her walk to the gym, but not before turning her head back at them one more time.
"I'll see you two on the dance floor."
When she left them alone, Flash and Sora closed their mouths and turned to each other, with Sora just giving him a shrug. Diverting his attention on the subject, Sora saw that his red spiky-headed friend was just standing there and made his way to him.
"Hey, Lea! You wanna come party?"
"Ehh, no thanks, that whole 'song and dance' just isn't my thing." Lea said as he began to walk away.
"Donald, grab his legs!"
"What the—!"
Sora and Donald charged at him, much to Lea's displeasure.
"Grab his arms!" Donald shouted.
"Hey, let me go!" Lea protested.
Sora and Donald picked Lea up and carried him to the gym while he was kicking and screaming for them to put him down. Flash just chuckled at the little scene they made. He remembered that he was supposed to give Twilight a dance (and apparently Sora too, for that matter), and rushed back to the gym.
* * *
As the students began to pile back in, Sora dropped the end of Lea that he had and rushed to the DJ's area, ignoring Lea yelling "OW!" when he hit the floor.
"Hey, um..." Sora pulled out a CD from his pocket, "Could you play this song? I forgot I had it with me before I came here, and I thought it would be a good song to dance to."
The blue-haired, shade wearing DJ smiled and took the CD. When everyone was accounted for, Principal Celestia made a quick announcement.
"Alright everyone, this next song was requested by our Keyblade hero, Sora!"
Pinkie jumped up in the air and declared loudly, "LET'S PARRRTTTYY!!!"
With that, everyone in the gym was dancing to the music; Fluttershy was dancing in the background, Applejack and her brother stomping their dance steps, Rarity and Pinkie were in a conga line with the former in the front and the latter in the back with party noise blower, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were having a great time too (even if their dancing is a little out of practice), then Rainbow Dash swooped down and grabbed Scootaloo, tossing her on her back and flying past the disco ball, Twilight's dancing was, in human standards, like she had two left feet, but in pony standards, like she had four left hooves. For a moment, the people around her stopped to see her strange moves, even Flash and Sora. But the two boys smiled and joined her, copying Twilight's moves with Flash forcing a smile while Sora's was a little more enthusiastic. Mickey, Donald, and the DJ were dancing to the music as well with the DJ thinking in the back of her mind that she really needs to ask Sora for another copy of the CD for herself. At that moment, a girl with pink shades and silver short hair held a camera up Twilight and Sora, wanting to take their picture. As Twilight and Sora's friends began to gather, Sora, Donald, and Mickey went to grab Lea, who decided to lean up against the nearest wall and chill, and pull him in for the group photo, despite his protests. Once everyone was altogether, the silver-haired girl took the picture; everyone had big smiles on their faces, except Lea, who sported an exasperated look.
* * *
After the Fall Formal, and after Sora got his CD back (but not before the DJ quickly copied it), Twilight's new friends were wishing her well in their group hug, which Sora got to join. Once they separated from their embrace, Twilight had to ask about Sunset Shimmer, "You'll look out for her, won't you?"
Sunset was standing at the threshold of the destroyed entrance, watching them when Rarity said, "Of course we will," then she crossed her arms, "although I do expect some sort of apology for last spring's debacle."
"I have a feeling that she'll be handing out a lot of apologies." Twilight said as Vice Principal Luna handed Sunset a cement spatula and Snips and Snails wheeling up a wheelbarrow full of bricks.
"We'd better get going." Spike said.
Twilight nodded, "I know we've only been friends for a short time, but I'm gonna miss all of you so much."
Her new Canterlot High friends either had a happy look, because Twilight became such a good friend to them, or had a sad look, because Twilight had to leave so soon. Before they left, Twilight approached Sora one more time with tears forming in her eyes.
"So... I guess, this is goodbye?" Twilight asked.
Sora shook his head, "No, not goodbye."
"Huh?" everyone said in confusion.
"After me and my friends report back to Master Yen Sid, I'll find you. And then, we can friends for real, for who you really are... Princess Twilight."
Twilight looked away as his words touched her heart, "...I'm not sure if you'll find Equestria."
"Of course I will! In fact..." Sora raised his pinkie, "let's make a promise right now."
Twilight returned her gaze to him, "A promise?"
"That no matter what happens, no matter where we are, as long as our hearts are connected, we'll always find our way back to each other."
Twilight stared in awe, letting a couple of tears freely glide down her face. Slowly, she raised her own pinkie and intertwined it with Sora's and shook it. After letting go, Twilight looked away again, her face telling Sora that she still isn't sure.
"Here," Sora began as he took off his necklace, put it over her head, and around her neck. "this necklace was given to me by a good friend, when I find Equestria, be sure to give it back to me."
To say Twilight was shocked was beyond an understatement, "Okay... I will."
"Promise?"
More tears ran down Twilight's face, "P-Promise."
Then, after a few moments, Twilight and Sora embrace each other into a very meaningful hug, they didn't even separate when their friends said, "Awwww!", or when Lea said, "Ugh."
Twilight leaned up to his ear and whispered, "I wish you could come back to Equestria with me..."
Sora lightly brushed her hair with his hand, "Me too."
Reluctantly, the two pulled away and stared at each other until Twilight spoke up, "Well, I'll see you later."
Twilight began to walk towards the portal with Spike in tow.
"That crown really does suit you, Princess Twilight." Spike said with a wink.
"You know what, Spike? I am starting to feel a little more comfortable wearing it." Twilight replied.
"And the wings?"
"I've been walking on two legs and picking things up with these." Twilight raised both of her hands, "Wings? I'm thrilled that's all I'll be dealing with back in Equestria!"
Twilight stopped for a moment to look back at Sora one more time, subconsciously gripping the silver crown around her neck, and continued on through the portal after Spike jumped in. The second they passed through, the moon rose higher in the sky and over one of the three brightest stars above it, and then the girls lost their pony ears, tails, and for Rainbow and Fluttershy, wings. When Pinkie noticed this, she frantically ran to the portal, only to bump into a plain old mirror, leaving her in a brief daze as she fell to the ground and on her butt.
"Oh, bummer." Pinkie said, defeated.
Then, a light began to shimmer from the center of the moon and when it died down, it revealed something that Sora knew all too well: a keyhole.
Letting his instincts take over, he jumped backwards, summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it at the moon with a beam of light coming from it and unlocking the keyhole, thus making it disappear.
"What in the hay was that?" Applejack asked.
"Hooray! The gate is open!" Donald declared.
"Gate?" Rainbow's eyes widened, "You mean..."
"I have a hunch that the gateway to Equestria is open now." Sora guessed.
"YAY! Sora can go see Twilight now!" Pinkie cheered.
Sora smiled for a moment, but then frowned when he remembered something, "Not yet."
Everyone looked confused at Sora words, but he ignored them and turned behind him, seeing Sunset and her more-than-likely-now former lackeys rebuilding the school.
"There's something I have to do first."
Sora didn't even give them a chance to speak when he ran back to the school.
"Vice Principal Luna!" Sora called.
Said Vice Principal turned see Sora running up the steps, wondering what he could need.
"Can I... borrow Sunset for a minute? I need to talk to her."
Luna, Snips, Snails, and especially Sunset was surprised by his request. Luna looked at Sunset for a brief moment before shifting her gaze back Sora.
"Are you certain?"
"Yeah."
Luna gazed at Sunset once more before letting out a deep sigh, "I'll give you five minutes."
Sora nodded in thanks as Sunset set down her spatula and followed Sora down the steps. The tension between them began to build up once they made it down the last step and on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Sora asked, concerned.
"...Why are you talking to me?" Sunset asked in a slightly cold tone.
Sora didn't respond.
"After everything that's happened," Sunset began to raise her voice as she continued, "after how I treated you and your friends, after everything HORRIBLE thing I've done to you, why are you talking to me!?"
Sora still didn't respond.
"How come you don't hate me!? You stood up for me when that jerk with the eye patch told you everything that I was trying to do, and you're standing here, asking me if I'm okay!?"
Sora began to walk towards her...
"What's wrong with you—"
...And gave her a hug. Sunset was in complete shock, so much that her body can't function properly to push him off and slap him. Sora backed away after a few moments, which to Sunset, felt like hours, and looked her in the eye.
"I know you can change, Sunset." Sora said suddenly, "If you ask me, I think you've suffered enough tonight."
Sunset was just staring at him, tears flowing freely now.
"I'll be back soon to visit, and I hope when that time comes... we can be friends."
Sunset's bottom lip started to quiver and sniffled as she began to wipe away her tears. Sora spread his arms, welcoming Sunset into a hug if she still needed to vent out her emotions.
"No hard feelings?"
Sunset stared for a moment, then walked up and embraced him, soaking his shirt with her tears, "None... whatsoever."
Sunset and Sora just stood there for a little while before they let go and the two saying their goodbyes. Sora turned to rejoin his friends and prepare for takeoff.
"Sora..."
He turned around and saw something that he never thought he would see from Sunset: a genuine smile.
"Thank you... for everything."
Sora returned her smile with one of his own, "...You're welcome."
He turned and rushed back to the Gummi Ship, where his friends were waiting for him. Sunset walked back to the school, only to be stopped by Vice Principal Luna.
"Why don't you go home for the night, Sunset Shimmer?"
Sunset was surprised at Luna's change of heart.
"Sora is right, you have suffered enough."
Sunset was now at a point where she couldn't stop smiling even if she tried. She turned to catch a glimpse of Sora before he left, tears of joy welling up and blushing at the same time. ...My hero.
Sora joined his friends and began to say his goodbyes as Mickey, Donald, and Lea prepped the ship.
"Y'all don't be a stranger, ya hear, Sora?" Applejack said.
"I won't." Sora said, smiling.
"Don't forget about us! I still need to throw you a 'Thanks For Saving The Entire School and All of Kingdom Hearts' party!" Pinkie said quickly.
"I'll keep you guys in mind."
"Do come back and visit soon, I would love to make some dashing new outfits!" Rarity said.
"I will."
"H-Have a s-s-safe trip, S-Sora." Fluttershy stuttered while blushing.
"Just don't let him drive." Donald commented.
"DONAAAAALD!" Sora whined.
Everyone laughed at their expense, though Sora knew they weren't laughing AT them. He smiled, knowing he's really going to miss all of them. Before Sora could even think about getting on the ship, Rainbow caught his attention.
"Hey, Sora..."
"Yeah?"
"If you ever come back—"
"You'll kill him?" Pinkie asked out of the blue.
"What—No! I was gonna say if he came back, could he bring Fire Spikes over there?" Rainbow pointed to Lea, who was leaning up against the school building near the ship, "He looks like he could be a fun guy."
Lea chuckled, "Ya hear that, Sora? This girl knows a fun guy when she sees one."
Rainbow looked away to keep her blush hidden from him.
"Sure thing, Rainbow." Sora replied.
"Well," Lea stood up straight and stretched, "we should get goin'. You ready, Sora?"
"Yeah, let's go." Sora answered.
Sora and his friends boarded the Gummi Ship, Donald turned it on and began to hover it above school and steering it upwards. Sora looked out of the cockpit window and saw his new friends waving goodbye, and Sora waved goodbye as well.
"BLASTOFF!" Donald declared.
The Gummi Ship rocketed into space, at an extremely fast speed.
"GAAAH!" Sora shouted as he was thrown backwards.
Everyone in the ship laughed as Sora tried to pull himself back into the room was tossed out of by gravity with an unamused scowl on his face.
"Didn't Donald tell you to strap in?" Lea smirked.
* * *
The girls watched as the Gummi Ship disappeared into the night sky, leaving them in their own world. They smiled at each other, knowing that they'll see their new friends again.
"Lea..." Rainbow murmured.
Applejack looked at her and grinned, "Ooooooh, somebody's got a crush on the fire guy."
"S-Shut up!"
Rarity brought Pinkie in close to her, "Isn't Lea a little too old for our dear Rainbow Dash?"
"Eh, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Pinkie waved it off.
To Be Concluded...
OBTAINED
Friendship is Magic
A keyblade that has an enormous amount of magic.
The symbols are astrology, zodiac, and planet symbols.
