//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Keyblade // Story: Kingdom Harmony // by Kingdom Harmony //------------------------------// The Keyblade Train to Canterlot Twilight told Spike to watch the castle and keep an eye on the town and then left as fast as she could. Since Sora had to be exhausted after fighting those things again and he hadn’t had a chance to eat anything yet, she decided to send Pinkie to get some food for him. However that was the only distraction she allowed, and only because she wanted to make sure Sora stayed in good health. When they got on the train Twilight and her five friends sat together and discussed what they knew so far. Sora on the other hoof took his food and sat in the corner, staring out the window. Twilight decided to let him be for a while. After all, he must have been more confused about the letter than the rest of them. It didn’t take long for Fluttershy to figure out that Discord must had told Celestia about Sora, but Sora was new to Equestria. He didn’t know who Discord was, or Princess Celestia for that matter. Her knowing his name must have been unnerving, no matter how she found out. And to have the ruler of an unfamiliar country demand his presence definitely didn’t help the situation. To make things worse for him, his friend ran away. Twilight had some suspicions about that, but didn’t want to impose, or at least not yet. Sora needed some time to collect his thoughts and Twilight decided that would make this the best time to review what she and her friends knew. “...and that’s when we got the letter,” Rainbow finished summarizing the events so far. “So... there are those living shadows things,” Pinkie stated. “And that key… thing” Fluttershy added softly. The six sat there in silence for a few seconds as they realized that everything they knew only lead to more questions. “So is there anything we know for sure?” Twilight asked confused. “Yeah,” Applejack answered, “that we got no clue what’s going on.” Twilight sighed. No matter how much they find out, they are only left with more questions. "Okay, is there anything we didn't go over all ready?" she asked in desperation. “Not that I can think of," Rainbow answered. Twilight dropped her head in defeat. She couldn't believe that after all they have been through she and her friends knew nothing about the situation they were in. Who is Sora?, she thought, How did he get here? And what happened with Riku? Wait, that’s it! Twilight looked over to Rarity. “How did you know about Riku?” she asked. “What do you mean?” Rarity asked back. “Well, he seems kind of distant,” Twilight explained. “He’s also very reluctant to talk about himself. I guess, now that I think about it, he did mention Riku to me once. When we first met he mumble to himself that he wondered how Riku and Kairi were doing. However, he wasn’t actually talking to me, more like thinking out loud.” “Oh yeah,” Pinkie interrupted, “that happened to me to. When I went to check on him this morning he was talking in his sleep. He was saying something about Riku and Kairi leaving him behind. When I asked him who they were, he seemed to answer with as little info as possible.” “That’s what I thought he’d be like,” Twilight responded. It felt like such a shame though. Sora seemed like a nice guy, but he placed this barrier around him. It was almost like he was afraid to make friends. Twilight wished she could help, but with these creatures attacking there wasn’t anytime. She turned back to Rarity “So when did he tell you? And did he tell you anything else?” “Well I suppose I was lucky then,” Rarity began. “To answer that first question he told me over a lunch we had as I was distracting him so Pinkie could set up his party. And yes he did tell me more.” “Really! What?” Rainbow asked eagerly. “Well,” Rarity picked up, “he said he was from a place called Destiny Islands and seemed absolutely positive that I never heard of it before. And well I might not be too savvy with world geography, you are Twilight. Have you ever heard of it.” “I have studied a map of the world to a point where it is almost is memorized, “Twilight began to answer, “and that name is unusual, but I can’t even memorize every country on the planet. Is there anything else about that he told you?” “Of course,” Rarity remembered, “he told me about a star shaped fruit with the most interesting legend about it. He said that it is said if two ponies share one their destinies become intertwined. They’ll remain a part of each other’s lives, no matter what.” Rainbow stuck out her tongue and made a gag noise. “Talk about sappy!” she blurted out. “Oh quiet Rainbow Dash!” Rarity replied insulted. “Can’t you take the least bit of a romantic notion!” “What matters is that it a famous legend,” Applejack intervened “Right Rarity? “Oh yes, quite, at least according to him,” Rarity continued, “he even said it’s common for ponies to make lucky charms based on them.” I’ve studied many different legends, but not once have I ever came across a star shaped fruit,” Twilight replied. “I can’t believe how far this is out of my area of expertise. Did he tell you anything else?” “Well… um…,” Rarity began, “oh yeah, he did say something else but it was very vague.” “What was it?” the other five ponies asked in unison. “Well he told me something about being in a crime fighting group, and there was something about a crime organization that needed him for some plan, and being left on the island, and then getting sucked here though a magical doorway.” The group just sat there and stared at Rarity. “Ya do know that sounds ridiculous, right?” Applejack spoke up. “Yes, but I think he was telling the truth, just something about him,” Rarity replied. “So you believe him, just like that!” Rainbow busted out. "I think he’s telling the truth too.” Fluttershy spoke up. All five of the others looked at the usually timid pony in shock. Twilight shook her head back and forth to recover from the shock. “I have to agree with Rarity and Fluttershy,” she intervened. “It may sound ridiculous, but so does this whole situation.” The other five now looked a Twilight in shock. “What?” Twilight asked confused. “It’s just,” Rarity stated. “Your the one who always wants facts to prove anything,” Applejack finished. “Well look at the facts,” Twilight responded. “ We have a pegasus who is not from Equestria and came all the way to Ponyville without knowing about it, and fights creatures made out of shadows with magic and a giant key. The facts we know so far seem to support his claims, outlandish as they may…” Twilight slowed down and paused as she noticed that Pinkie was looking over to Sora over and over. “be… Pinkie, what's wrong?” “He just looks so sad,” Pinkie whimpered. “He’s under a lot of pressure,” Twilight explained. “I think it’s best to leave him alone until he sorts out what he needs to.” “But he hasn’t even touched the food we brought him,” Pinkie countered. “Wait, what? Twilight responded and she turned to look at Sora. Sure enough, all the food they gave him was still on the plate and Sora himself just continued to stare out the window. “Okay, I’ll go see if I can talk some sense into him.” Twilight got up and walked over to Sora. “ Are you okay?” she asked. Sora quickly turned around to face her and he had an expression that looked like an assassin just snuck up behind him. “Oh, yeah I’m... fine...princess,” he answered half heatedly after shaking off the shock. Twilight looked at him partly concerned and partly annoyed. “Didn’t I ask you to call me Twilight?” she commented. “But, that’s what your friends call you,” Sora stated and Twilight stared at him confused. “Look, I’m not stupid. I know you want me to tell you what going on, and I know you don’t trust me, so you don’t have to act like it.” Twilight’s annoyance faded away as the concern took over. “Sora I may be confused to about what is going on, but I’m not oblivious to how your feeling," she began to explain. "I know you are worried about telling us and the reason I haven’t asked you about what know yet is that you shouldn’t have to explain it more than once. I can tell you are trying not to get close to us and avoiding making friends. Also I know our audience with Princess Celestia isn't the only thing on your mind." She paused. "I may not be Riku or Kairi, but if you want to talk about it, I will listen.” Sora sighed. “I just don’t get why he would run away like that,” he admitted. "I wasn't going to tell you this until a little later, but I have some suspicions about that myself," Twilight admitted. “What?" Sora responded in shock. “I'm not completely aware of the situation but hear me out. As soon as you saw him, he ran away and you chased after him. He ran straight for the Everfree forest and as soon as you ran in after him an invisible wall came up to stop us from coming in after you. And then, when you were in there you were attacked by those creatures." "Yeah, but what's your point?" "My point is that there is no way that was just a coincidence. By all means, this was a trap. You don’t think..” “No! Riku would never do that!” “Sorry, I may not know what’s going on exactly, but the way I see it, either you're wrong, or that wasn’t Riku.” Sora’s eyes widened. “That could be it,” “What?” “There is a possibility that that wasn’t Riku.” “Well definitely, but it’s not all that like…” Twilight stopped herself. Not only was it good that Sora was feeling better, but she also knew nothing about the situation. For all she knew there was zero chance that was Riku and she would never know the difference. “Actually come to think about it as much as I know right now, it’s more that just a small one. Now do yourself a favor and eat up before we get there. You need to keep you strength up.” “Wait, before you go, can you tell me about this, Celestia? I kinda what to know what I’m in for.” “Twilight giggled. “I suppose I can spare some time to tell you about the princess.” ----------------------------- Unknown location A unicorn covered in a black clock paced back and forth. “I can’t believe my illusion failed,” he said. “It didn’t fail,” said earth pony also covered in a black cloak. “It succeeded in luring him to the forest. We just didn’t account for that zebra to interfere. Or that chaos being. He is a strong opponent in particular." “So I guess this will require a more hands on approach,” The unicorn said, slightly annoyed. “Yes,” the earth pony replied, “I’d say it’s time... for an experiment!” ----------------------------- Canterlot Station Sora couldn’t believe who he was about to meet. He has met some powerful rulers before, King Trident came to mind, but none that could raise and lower the sun and moon at will. Not to mention the fact that these two sisters were over a thousand years old. Saying Sora was nervous to meet such beings would be an understatement. As the train pulled up to the station Twilight tried to ease his concerns. “Don’t worry,” she reassured, “You're on our side, right?” “Of course,” Sora answered. “Then you have nothing to worry about,” she responded. “Well, it looks like we’re here” The train came to a full stop and the doors opened. Twilight turned around and began to walk towards the exit and Sora followed. "Twily!” a voiced called and Sora looked up at a large unicorn stallion with a white coat, blue eyes, a blue mane and tail with both light blue and dark blue highlights going through them, and a cutie mark of a shield bearing the same pink magical star as on Twilight’s cutie mark and three small blue five pointed stars over the shield. “Big Brother!” Twilight called out cheerfully as ran over to greet him. “Brother?” Sora whispered somewhat surprised. “Twilight, it’s great to see you,” said a pink alicorn with purple eyes, a purple, pink, and yellow mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a blue crystal heart with two golden borders around the bottom. She also wore a golden crown with a purple gemstone in the middle. “Cadence!” Twilight called out again before the excitement on her face faded into curiosity, “What are you two doing here?” “Princess Celestia called for our presence,” Twilight’s brother explained. “We were told that it was of utmost importance and everypony would be here, including you and your friends, so we decided to meet you at the station.” “Speaking of which I don’t believe we’ve ever met him,” Cadence said as she pointed a hoof at Sora.” “Is it going to be my turn to receive a wedding invitation out of nowhere soon?” Twilight’s brother asked jokingly. “What!?” both Twilight and Sora shouted simultaneously and then looked at each other, slightly embarrassed. “No, it’s not like that, Princess Celestia requested his presence,” Twilight explained calmly. “So, are you going to introduce us?” Cadence asked. “Oh!” Twilight reacted and turned to Sora. “Sora, this is my brother, Shining Armor, and this is my sister in law, Princess Cadence.” “Just Cadence is fine,” the pink alicorn said. Humility is seems to be common amongst the royalty here, Sora thought. “Bother, Cadence,” Twilight picked up, “this is Sora, from what I can gather he’s the closest thing to an expert on the situation that is mostly the reason we were called here.” “Really?” Shining Armor said sounding slightly confused. “So you're an expert?” “I wouldn’t say expert,” Sora answered. “But I’m better than nothing.” Sora lowered his voice to an unhearable mumble. “Marginally.” Twilight looked at Sora concerned. “Come on,” Cadence spoke up, “We shouldn’t keep Celestia and Luna waiting any longer.” ----------------------------- Canterlot Castle Celestia sat at a round table that was set up for the upcoming meeting. Luna sat to her right and Discord was standing behind them. There was a tension in the air, and no one was sure that they were prepared for the truth about this matter. However, there was no time, if they put this off, innocent ponies would be at risk. “Princess,” Discord spoke up, “when I first brought the issue, you said there was nothing to worry about. If I may ask, why the sudden change in attitude?” Celestia’s face grew serious. “Because the measures I have taken appear to have little to no effect on the problem as a whole. It is defeated one day and pops back up the next. We need to be better prepared, there is no telling what these things are capable of,” she explained. There was a knocking at the door and it swung open. “They have arrived,” announced soldier of the royal guard as Cadence, Shining Armor, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy walked in. They were followed by a young looking pegasus stallion, with a light brown coat, blue eyes, a dark brown spiky mane and short tail, and a cutie mark that initially looked like a red crystal heart. However, to the princess of the sun, it was far too smooth and pure to be a crystal heart, it seemed more like the spiritual representation of the heart instead. The ponies all took a seat at the table, except for the caramel coated pegasus. Celestia looked directly at him. “You must be Sora. Please take a seat,” she suggested. Sora looked up at Discord. “There’s only one seat left,are you sure you don’t want it?” he asked. Discord smiled. “That’s very kind of you, but I prefer to stand. Gives me a better view of what's going on,” the draconequus explained. Besides, If I need to sit down I can always make myself a seat.” “Okay,” Sora said nervously before taking the the seat. "Alright,” Celestia began, “I must inform all of you that Equestria is under attack by an unknown entity.” “What?” Shining Armor interrupted. “The entity, has been in hiding and for the most part remains inactive,” Luna explained. “That is why we have Discord on reconnaissance,” Celestia picked up. “However, from what Twilight has told me, She and her friends had an encounter with it. Furthermore, Sora here seems to be familiar with such an issue.” “Sora if you would tell what you can about these shadows, it would be much appreciated,” Luna requested. Sora sighed. “Okay, but first you should know that there are certain rules and regulations I must follow,” Sora told the others. “The point is I can’t tell you everything.” “I understand,” Celestia replied before anyone else could. “Okay,” Sora opened up, “for starters these shadows are called heartless.” “What a dreadful name for such dreadful creatures, “Rarity commented. “Yes,” Sora continued, “and they come in many forms the ones that initially attacked Fluttershy…” Sora paused as Twilight horn began to glow and a magical picture of a small black creature with yellow eyes appeared on the table. “That’s the one. These are called shadows, there not much to worry about. they’re fairly weak.” The picture changed to a shadow creature wearing blue armor with a silver helmet and boots. It also had a weird black heart shaped emblem outlined in red with a red X going through it on their chest. “these are called soldiers. Unlike the shadows these are emblem type heart heartless, and tend to be a little stronger. There are also large heartless that seem to command the smaller heartless. However, the heartless as a whole are mindless. They have one goal and one goal only. To devour the hearts of others.” “The hearts?” Twilight said confused. “Yes,” Sora picked up, “Everyone has has darkness in their hearts, and that's what the heartless feed on. The more darkness in your heart the more likely they will be attracted to you. However, they will attack anyone.” There was a flash of light and a giant key appeared in Sora mouth and he then dropped it on the table. “This is a keyblade and it is a weapon only a select few can use. I told Rarity before that I was part of a crime fighting group. The group I was referring to were the keyblade wielders, and the crime was the heartless. The keyblade has many powers. The most important one being the ability to permanently kill a heatless.” “Permanently, what’s that supposed to mean?”asked Rainbow. “Yeah, I was able to defeat a bunch just fine,” Discord added. “You see,” Sora picked up again, “If a heartless is not defeated by the keyblade their energy will just return to the source and reform, unless the source was destroyed by the keyblade already. “I see,” Luna commented. “That’s about it,” Is there any questions?” Sora asked. “Um, what was with those hearts the came from these… soldiers?” applejack asked. “Oh, yeah,” Sora said, like he just realized he forgot to mention. “You see when a emblem type heartless is defeated by the keyblade it releases the hearts it has captured. That’s all that was. Anything else?” “Yeah, how did you use magic?” Twilight asked. “What do you mean?” Sora asked confused. “That attack you used to defeat the soldiers… it seemed like magic, but only unicorns and alicorns can use magic.” Twilight elaborated. “Oh, that. You see that’s another one of the keyblade’s powers. Using it I can cast many spells to help combat the heartless,” Sora answered. “Is that it?” The was a pause as everyone looked from one to the other. “Seems like it,” Applejack responded. “Okay then,” Celestia began. “This situation is more serious than we originally anticipated. I will need to contemplate the best course of action, but in meantime you all should relax. Go and enjoy yourselves in the city for the time being. Just come back in about an hour.” “Well, if you insist,” Rarity said as she and the others got up to leave. “A few more things,” Celestia interrupted, making everyone stop in their tracks. “Discord, if it’s not too much trouble I’d like you to keep an eye on the movement of the heartless. They could strike at any time.” “But of course,” Discord replied. “Mind if I join you?” Fluttershy asked. Discord looked at her in shock. “Not as long as you wouldn’t.” he answered. “Good, because we have a lot of catching up to do,” Fluttershy smiled. “Also,” Celestia interjected. “Sora, my sister and I would like to talk to you in private for a few minutes.” “Okay,” Sora said reluctantly. “Well then, that is all for now,” Celestia announced and the everyone but Celestia, Luna, and Sora left one by one. Sora looked at Celestia nervously. “So what do you want to talk about?” he asked. Luna looked at him as if to study him. “For starters how old are you?” she asked back. “Seventeen, why?” Sora answered. Luna and Celestia look at each other. “Nothing really it’s just…” Luna began. “Well when we were told that we were being sent help, we just assumed that it would be more experienced,” Celestia finished. “Wait...told...sent...What are you talking about?” Sora asked in shock. “Apparently he wasn’t informed,” Luna commented. “You see we were contacted by someone who warned us about the impending danger,” Celestia explained. “He said he could send someone who can take care of the problem with my help.” “The magic doorway.” Sora whispered. “And it seems that someone is you,” Celestia finished. “Still, it’s hard to believe the best they could send is a child.” Luna remarked. “No offense.” “None taken, I understand how you feel. Besides,” Sora said as he looked down at the ground. “I’m not the best, far from it. Celestia notice a deep cut sorrow in the pegasus. “Luna, go keep an eye on the city, this is going to take my expertise,” she told her sister. “Sora, why don’t we walk and talk?” “Okay.” Sora said emotionlessly and the two walked out of the room. “Sora, I can see you upset but I think being a little hard on yourself,” Celestia reassured. “Even if you're not as powerful as the other keyblade wielders, you're still better equipped than the rest of us.” “Not to insult you or anything, but that doesn’t help much,” Sora commented. “Okay then, try and look at this another way,” Celestia suggested. “How?” Sora asked. “Think of this as your chance to grow stronger.” Sora seemed to think about this as they walked out of the castle doors into the royal garden. “You know what, your right. I'll catch up to Riku and Kairi in now time.” “Now that's the spirit.” “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Princess Celestia,” said an ominous voice to Celestia and Sora’s side. They immediately turned around to see a unicorn completely shrouded in a black cloak. To Be Continued…