//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 - Bastion 
// Story: Kingdom of Friendship Part 2 
// by SkyFlare 
//------------------------------//

	“Twilight, what are you talking abou… You’re human!” Spike shouted, before looking over to Grey and seeing another human.  He could easily recognize it as the bat pony, if for no other reason that the blood gushing out of her shoulder.
“Spike… you’re human too…” Twilight gasped out.
Spike looked down at his claws… hands, and let out a gasp.  “I’m not a dog this time!” he shouted joyfully.
“Who’s there?” shouted a voice.
Twilight looked around to find the source of the voice.  She saw floating white stones and that they were surrounded by a water fall… rise.  The water around them was flowing up instead of down.  She kept scanning the area until she saw another human up on a higher up stone.
The human had messy brown hair that fell to his shoulders.  He wore an un buttoned, or unzipped, from her distance Twilight couldn’t quite tell, short sleeved shirt.  On his shoulder, he held a long sword.
“My name is Twilight!  We need some help down here!  Our friend is very badly injured!” Twilight called back, hoping that the human would be kind enough to lend them a hoof, hand, whatever the term here was.
“I’ll be right down there!” the voice called back.
Twilight could see the human jumping between the floating rocks as he approached them.  When he finally made it to them, Twilight was able to get a much better look at him.  He was a little taller than she was, definitely older.  Between his blue eyes, there was a scar going down his face.  The collar of that shirt that she noticed before was fluffy, like a pony’s mane.
“My god…” the human’s mouth gaped as he saw the condition of Grey.  “Twilight was it, can you move?  I can only manage to carry one of you, and this place is too dangerous right now for multiple trips.”
“Yes… I can move…” Twilight struggled to climb to her feet.
“Do you see that castle up there?” the man pointed to a large castle that he had been standing in front of earlier.  “We’re going to that castle’s library.  Stay close.”
Twilight nodded, picking Spike up.  Miraculously Spike was the only one out of the three of them who didn’t get injured, or worsen preexisting injuries during the teleportation mishap.  The man picked up Grey in a fashion similar to the way a mother Ursa Major picks up her baby.
Twilight watched in amazement as the person leapt from one stone to another, this time going back up.  She didn’t know how she was supposed to follow him though.  She could barely run around a kick a soccer ball, much less jump six feet up and move forward about the same distance.
“What are you waiting for?” the person asked.  “Gravity is weak in the Rising Falls, trust me, you can do it.”
Twilight nodded hesitantly and began to follow the person up the stones.  She couldn’t believe how easy it was to jump like that.  When she was in the air, she felt weightless, like she was flying.  A sensation that her newly found wings back home helped her with back in her pony form.  As a human, she had no wings.
Once they reached the top, Twilight set Spike back down on the ground and took a good look at him.  His hair was the same shade of green that his spines used to be, and it was messy and shot out in every direction randomly.  His shirt was the same purple that his scales had been, but one the chest, there was an image of a green fire.  Another thing that she noticed was that nobody had the Technicolor appearance that people back in Canterlot High School had.
Twilight watched as the human that was escorting them touched a floating spike ball and it turned from red to blue.  A platform that reminded the princess of a birdcage came down and the man led them inside of it.  Once the four people had climbed inside, it started moving, almost as if it knew that everyone was in there.  It took them up to the castle where the man took them to a large door.  They followed him inside to a room that felt cold.  Not physically cold, but cold because of horrible memories within the room.
“This way.  Come on before they notice us.” the person stated before walking to a set of stairs on the left side of the room.
“They?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
The man didn’t answer her, but she followed him anyway.  If he was going to do anything bad, he probably would have done it back outside.  Also, he’d mentioned a library, and Twilight really wanted to see it.
“Here we are.” the man stated as they stepped into a room that was filled with books.
Twilight gasped, it was like a maze of bookshelves.  She didn’t know where to start, but she wanted to read them all.  It was a whole new world of knowledge, and there was nothing that she sought more than to learn.
“Yuffie!  Come here and bring a potion and a first aid kit!” the man called out, yelling to who Twilight presumed was one of his friends.
“On it Leon!  Did one of them getcha?” a girl’s voice called back.
Twilight took note of the name that the man was called, Leon…
“It’s not for me.  There was a bright flash out there.  At first I thought that it was one of them, but it was two girls and a little kid.  One of the girls is seriously injured but the other is awake.” the man called back, proving that he was Leon.
A girl in boots that almost touched her knees and a pair of socks that barely passed her knees jumped down from the level above Twilight.  The girl was wearing a sleeveless shirt and very short shorts.  Her hair was also very short and black with a headband in it.  The girl made Twilight think back to the way that ninja ponies had been described in the history books.  At least, the headband and the predominantly dark colors did.  Ninja were supposed to be quiet and didn’t expose their coats or any other identifying features.  Qualities that this girl did not seem to share.
“Oh, there you are Leon.” the girl turned to face the man.
“This girl right here, she’s hurt pretty bad.” Leon said as he laid Grey on the floor in front of Yuffie.
“Now for you two.  Tell me what happened out there?  Who’s the girl that Yuffie is treating and who’s that little kid?” Leon interrogated Twilight.
“I’m not really sure what happened, it’s all a blur.  It just happened so fast…” Twilight answered.
“Then who are the others that you’re with?”
“This is Spike,” Twilight pointed to who had once been her baby dragon, “and that’s Grey.” she pointed over to the limp girl on the floor.
“And you’re Twilight?” Leon asked.
“Yes.”
As soon as Twilight answered there was a sudden scratching at the door.  Leon cursed under his breath and turned to face Yuffie.
“Where’s Cid?” Leon snipped.
“He went out to try and access the basement.  He was hoping to get the defense grid online.” Yuffie answered.
“Please tell me that he took his staff.” Leon shook his head, “They’re trying to get in here which means that they are probably hunting him down too.”
“Who are ‘they’?” Twilight asked.
“They’re Heartless.  Monsters that only seek out people with strong hearts so that they can tear them out and have a meal.” Leon explained.
“Where is this Cid?  I can help.” Twilight stated, putting a book that she was looking at back on the shelf.
“Trust me; these things aren’t a joking matter.” Leon shut her down.
“I wasn’t joking.” Twilight stated, summoning out the Dawn Star Keyblade.
“The Keyblade?” Leon shouted, getting Yuffie’s attention.
“She’s a wielder?” Yuffie asked without turning away from Grey.  One misstep could cost Grey her life, and Yuffie was not about to let that happen.
“I can fight them.” Twilight smiled.  “I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“You remind me a lot of another wielder I know.  But he’s not available right now, this world’s been cut off from the rest, so we’re on our own.  How you got here is a mystery to me, but I’ll go with you to make sure that you don’t get in over your head.” Leon stated, opening the door.
“I’m coming too!” Spike shouted, running up to Twilight’s side.
“Spike, I need you to stay here.  We need to make sure that Grey can get the help she needs.  If the Heartless attack, then it’ll be up to you.” Twilight shook her head before rubbing Spike’s already messy hair.
“Fine… but be careful Twi.” Spike demanded.
“Always.” Twilight smiled back at the child.
From the moment that Twilight and Leon left the library, the only thing that they could see were Heartless.  The creatures had swarmed, almost as if every Heartless on the entire world was told to go there.  Twilight had only seen an accumulation of Heartless like this once, and that was at Sombra’s castle before she used the Keyblade that destroyed it.
“I’ve got this!” Leon shouted, slinging out his sword.
The man fought through the Heartless horde like it was nothing, simply plowing a path straight through them.  Twilight followed close behind him, taking out the stragglers. Even though she had never used the Keyblade in hands before, it felt natural to her.  Almost like the Keyblade was guiding her actions, giving her abilities that she knew that she didn’t have when she was in Canterlot High as a human.
Twilight could run and react faster than her last experience as a human.  Most importantly though, she had that experience under her belt, so to say, and it left her with knowledge of the workings of her human body.    As a unicorn, and as an alicorn, she had to use her magic to hold her weapon, but as a human, she held it in her hands.  She controlled her strikes with her arms, and it almost felt more natural to her.
Leon led her into a room that was filled with the birdcage structures that had lifted them into the castle the first time.  He pulled her inside one of them and it sank below the platform that they’d been standing on.  Twilight watched as the Heartless hurled themselves into the pit in a futile attempt to catch her and Leon.  Their bodies flailed wildly as the fell into the darkness beneath the cage.
“Stay back!” shouted a hoarse voice.  “Ye dern Heartless!”
“Cid!  I’ve brought some help!” Leon called out as the cage touched the ground.
“A kid?” the man called back.
The man’s hair was blond and he wore goggles just above his forehead.  His shirt was a plain white and short sleeved.  There was an orange looking band of some kind between his pants and his shirt.  The pants were excessively baggy jeans.
“She’s a Keyblade wielder.  Show him Twilight.” Leon said as he aimed the point of his sword at a Heartless and shot a large fireball at the creature.
Twilight summoned her Keyblade again and smacked away one of the Heartless that was falling from one of the levels above.  When the Keyblade appeared in her hand, a large group of Heartless made a jump at her.
“Well I’ll be… she really is.” Cid mumbled as he swung his staff, knocking away about five or six Heartless in one strike.

“Just… about… done!” Yuffie cheered as she finished reapplying the bandage to Grey’s shoulder.  “That was rough.”
“She’ll be okay, right?” Spike asked, staring at the door.
“Which one?” Yuffie asked.
“Both…” Spike muttered, looking down to the floor.
“Yeah, that one girl went with Leon and he’s really strong. This one will probably need a good bit of rest, but she will make it.” Yuffie smiled at the relatively short child.
The scratching at the door only stopped when Leon and Twilight left and seconds later, it had started back, louder than before.  The two of them had been gone for nearly fifteen minutes and Spike was beginning to grow worried.  
“She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” Yuffie walked over beside Spike.
“She raised me since the day I was born.  She is my family.” Spike stated.  “I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“I’m sure that she’s fine.  Leon will take really good care of her.” Yuffie comforted Spike.
“I know but… It’s just… He’s probably still looking for her.” Spike stuttered out.
“Who?” Yuffie asked.
“I don’t know really.  I just know that she and Grey teleported to me and…” Spike had to watch the way he spoke; he couldn’t mention anything about the attacker being a stallion, that probably wouldn’t go over too well.  “Some… guy attacked us.  There was a blinding light and we were all here, but he wasn’t.”
“Over… lord…” Grey grunted from a cushioned chair that she was resting in.
“Overlord?  Who’s that?” Yuffie asked.
“A murderer.  He killed off entire cities, leaving nothing but ruins in his wake.” Twilight stated, stepping into the room alongside Leon and Cid.
“Tron’s keeping up the security.  He should be able to hold the Heartless off for a while.” Leon explained, “You’ll have plenty of time to tell us about this guy.”
By the time that Twilight and Leon had reached Cid in the basement, he had already turned on the defenses and was waiting for them to activate.  Only seconds after he knocked away a good deal of Heartless with a single swipe, a strange looking white circle with a ball floating above it started zapping the Heartless.  Twilight assumed that the strange light was the defense system that Leon was talking about.
“I would explain, but I’m not entirely sure myself.  If anyone knows about what’s going on, it’d be Grey.” Twilight answered.
“And that’s the unconscious girl, right?” Leon asked.
“Semiconscious…” Grey responded from the chair.
Her eyes were still closed, but she was awake enough to hear them and understand them.  Her mouth was about the extent of her functional motor skills.  She was unable to even feel the rest of her body.
“Let me talk to her first.” Twilight ran up to Grey’s side.
“Where… are we?” Grey asked weakly.
“We’re on another world.  Don’t mention anything about Equestria being inhabited by ponies.” Twilight whispered.
“Why?”
“Right now, we’re creatures called humans.  I went through a mirror that’s located in the Crystal Empire that did something similar to this before.  Don’t say anypony, everypony, or nopony; instead, try to say anybody, everybody, and nobody.  Trust me, this will make sense soon.  I’ll try and explain everything that I know once we get some time away from everybody else.” 
“All right.” Grey whispered back.

“Where’s Twilight?” Rainbow Dash shouted, charging into the castle throne room.
The answer that she’d received was far from what she had been expecting.  Both of the princesses that resided in that castle were on the ground, lying limply.
“Omigosh!” Rainbow shouted as her friends entered the room behind her.  “Are they alive?”
The unicorn guard was the first to rush in, checking for a pulse on Celestia and then Luna before letting out a sigh of relief.  “They’re breathing, but weakly.  Pegasus!  Go get a doctor!” Raid addressed Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash saluted before flying away as fast as she could manage.  Rarity galloped to Raid’s side and looked over her shoulder.
“Is there anything that I can do to help?” she asked.
“I- I don’t know…” Raid was on the brink of going into a full on panic.  Without the princesses there to help maintain order… she had to avert her mind from the worst case scenario.
“Step aside!” Cocoon shouted as he shed his disguise and lifted the princesses with his changeling magic.
“Changeling!” Raid shouted before launching a blast of magic at the shiny black pony-like creature.
“Raid!  Stop!” Rogue glided into the room and grabbed Raid and pulled her away from the changeling.
“You’re protecting it?” Raid shouted angrily.  “My brother was right about you…” tears streamed down her face.  “Traitor!” she wailed out, flailing her front hooves at Rogue who just took the beating.
“Please… Raid, just trust me like you used to.” Rogue pled.  “I would never betray you, Twister, or Tempest.  He’s here to help; he was part of a group that was going to offer us aid to stop the Overlord.”
“I- I hate you!” Raid cried back before galloping from the room.
Rogue turned around, keeping his eyes hidden by his own shadow.  Nopony could see him cry.  “Cocoon,” Rogue shook, “how does it look?”
“They’ll be fine; they were each only struck once by fairly weak magic.” Cocoon answered after setting the alicorns back down onto some pillows that he’d brought over with his magic.
“Weak?  It knocked out the princesses!” Rogue shouted back, not seeing how the attacks could be considered weak, or how any pony would be capable of knocking out either princess.
“Considering the fact that they are still breathing, I would consider this relatively weak.” Cocoon stated at the precise time that Twister entered the room.
“I- is that a- a changeling?” she gasped.
“He’s on our side.” Rogue stated without turning around.  “I’m having him help the princesses.”
“But he’s a…” Twister repeated.
“Changeling, yes I know.” Rogue turned to face her.  “I’m going to tell you the same thing that I told Raid, you have to trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
“You’re face…” Twister gasped.  “Did somepony hurt you?”
Rogue hadn’t noticed it, but he had received a worse beating from Raid than he’d originally thought.  His eye was blackened from a direct hoof to it and both cheeks were flushed from impacts to his face.
“It’s my fault…” Rogue muttered back.
“You can’t just keep blaming yourself.  You never told me what happened between you two, but you need to get over it right now, Equestria’s in deep crap.” Twister said, knowing that her words would be just what the stallion needed.
“That rainbow pegasus should be returning with some doctors, I want for you to retrieve any medical supplies from the medical tent out in the training grounds.” Rogue commanded.  There was still a faint hint of sadness in his voice, but he was working through it.
“On it.” Twister nodded back before flying out of the room.
Rogue walked over to the princesses, and looked over their bodies.  Celestia had a large black smudge across her face; like some sort of fire spell was used on her while Luna looked unharmed.  A physical attack on Celestia and a psychological attack on Luna was all that Rogue could think of.

“All right, so this guy leveled entire cities?  I’m sorry but he sounds like he’s out of your league, kid.” Cid commented as Grey finished the first part of her story.
“As I was saying, once I was thrown through the portal, I went into hiding.  I managed to hide for ten years before I heard of the death of Valley.” Grey continued.  “I confronted Twilight and asked about him.  I told her what I had just told you, she needed to go to sleep, so I left her.”
“What next?” Leon asked, leaning in to the story.
“I stayed close for most of the night, after I saw one of the Fissure.  Before the Fissure just had a chance to do anything, four guards came in to take Twilight, at least that’s what it seemed like.  Three of them left, one didn’t.” Grey looked away from the group, her mind drifting back to Inkwell.
“And you mean to tell us that these things can’t be killed?” Leon interrogated as he covered his mouth in thought.
“No, they cannot be killed.” Grey paused.  “They can however be banished.”
“Banished?” Twilight asked, her eyes shooting over to Grey.
“This is news to you?” Leon asked.
“Yeah, she didn’t mention it before.”
“Let’s just say that there… is a little more reason to my injury than a fight.” Grey whispered, swallowing hard.
“How did you banish it?” Twilight asked, being the information seeker that she was.  If a non-magical pony was capable of banishing a Fissure, then she desperately wanted an explanation.
“I’ll teach you.” Grey smiled at Twilight.  “Just as he taught me.”
Twilight could have sworn that she saw a tear in Grey’s eye as she said that.  She watched as Grey stood up and walked over to the windows that lined the wall next to the stairs.  The former bat pony stared out through the windows into the orange sky.
“There was something that she didn’t tell us, wasn’t there?” Leon walked to Twilight’s side.
“The guy who threw her into the portal, she was in love with him.” Twilight looked over to the tall man.