//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: A Heart Eclipsed // by Show Stopper //------------------------------// Chapter 3 3rd-Pony POV "So Sora, why don't you tell us about yourself." The six Bearers, Sora, and the Royal Siblings were sitting around a large dining table, enjoying a dinner provided by the castle chefs. The Ceremony honoring the defeat of Discord had lasted only half an hour, followed by an hour in which they were allowed to mingle with the ponies who wanted more detailed accounts of the battle. While most of them had been happy to describe the amazing fight between Sora and Discord, Sora himself had decided to stay off to the side and out of the way of the ponies who still seemed weary of him. After that, Prince Solaris had invited them to dine with himself and Princess Luna. "Well," said Sora, skewering another forkful of salad, "what do you want to know?" "Well first of all, where did you ever obtain such... interesting clothes?" "Really, Elusive?" asked Rainbow, crumbs from his sandwich flying across the table. "He's a weird creature with weird swords and weird magic, and you ask about his weird clothes?" Sora laughed as Elusive wrinkled his nose at the pegasus' manners. "Well, it's kind of a long story. Basically, this is what I was wearing when I first arrived in Equestria. It's all I had for a while, and I've kind of grown attached to it." "And where did you arrive from?" asked Twilight. "I've never heard of a creature like you before." Sora hummed as he crossed his arms, looking up towards the ceiling. "That's... really a long story. Guess there's really no better time, though. See, it all started at my first ever convention..." Sora POV 3000 years ago Shock and awe. Deer in the headlights. Jaw on the floor. If there was a phrase that described someone who's brain had totally shut down from sensory overload, it described me. Half a day I'd been here at this gaming convention and I finally had a break between panels to check out the vendor hall. It was PACKED! At least a hundred stalls were sardine packed into the hall, with my fellow gamers shuffling around from vendor to vendor. Many were cosplaying, as I was, with weapons, armor and other accessories making it that much harder to maneuver. Thankfully, my Sora cosplay wasn't too awkward. The dorky clown shoes made walking a bit hard, but everything else fit well enough not to be a bother. Kind of makes me glad I couldn't find any cheap keyblades, I thought. I'd searched online for weeks, but I'd been looking for full sized metal replicas; nothing made from cheap plastic or styrofoam would do. Alas, everything had been too expensive,as I should have expected. Well, might as well look around here. Doubt there's anything I haven't seen online, but... hello? My eyes had fallen on a stall set up in the corner. In the over-packed hall, this one corner stood out in how empty it was. No-one around seemed to even glance at the stall as they passed. Which was strange, since there seemed to be some quality stuff here. Every video game gadget and symbol imaginable was laid out on the table, and weapons of all sorts hung on the back wall. Soul Calibur and Soul Edge. Leon's gunblade. Sephiroth's katana... "See anything you like?" I jumped, not having even noticed the hooded man sitting at the stall. He, like many of the vendors, had gotten into the convention spirit by dressing up as well, him as the merchant from the Resident Evil games. "No, not really," I replied. For all of his goods, I didn't see anything directly from Kingdom Hearts to fit my costume. "I see. I see," he replied, not seeming phased in the least. "Well, why not tell me just what it is that you're looking for? I may yet be able to help." I couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Not likely," I said as he began rummaging beneath his table. "Only thing I'm looking for would be a good keyblade. Metal, too, no plastic or foam crap. Unless you've got something like-" "Like these?" he asked, pulling a large case out from beneath the table. He opened it and I felt my jaw hit the ground again. Resting inside were perfect, full-size replicas of both Oathkeeper and Oblivion, along with a ring of every keychain imaginable. "Y-yeah," I stammered. "Like those." I could feel the merchant smirking behind his mask. My eyes drifted over every detail of the blades and keychains, exactly as they apeared in the games. My eyes finally found the price tag on the case. I pointed at it, glaring at the merchant. "Is this some kind of sic joke?" The merchant glanced at the price and chuckled. "$200. Not too shabby, eh?" "It's a rip-off is what it is," I accused, crossing my arms as I frowned at him. "I could sell one of these for 500 easy. The whole set must be worth more than a thousand. What's the catch?" The merchant shrugged. "What can I say? Money is no object for me. I just like to see my customers satisfied. I can assure you, these are the genuine article. Now, what do you say?" $200 later, I was wandering the vendor hall again, looking over my new keyblades in greater detail. So engrossed was I that I didn't notice the crowds around me getting taller. By the time I realized what was happening, I was up to my waist in a pool of pure darkness. I tried calling out for help, but people just walked around me, not even noticing me. I continued to look around, trying to find anyone who could see me. My eyes finally fell back on the merchant. He was selling the katana I'd seen earlier to an impressive Sephiroth cosplayer. He looked over and caught my eye. In that final moment I saw him nod and wave. Then, the darkness swallowed me. And it spit me right back out. I landed hard on my face, feeling soft carpet beneath me and hearing nothing but a ringing in my ears. I rolled over and opened my eyes, seeing stars. Literally, stars. Wherever I was, I could see the night sky spread out above me, clearer than I'd ever seen it before. I slowly got to my feet and looked around. The room I was in was lavishly decorated in dark blues and purples, a giant bed taking up most of the floor-space. A desk sat off to one side and did I just say I was in a room? My eyes shot to where the ceiling should have been, only to be met again with an endless starscape. I slowly turned my gaze down, noticing how the star-filled sky slowly seemed to become more solid until it joined with the walls. I whistled, impressed. Whoever the architect had been, he must have been an absolute genius. I was drawn from my musings by the sound of a door opening. I turned quickly to see a very strange figure standing in the doorway. It seemed to be a large horse with the most expressive face I'd ever seen on an animal. Its coat was a dark blue, its mane and tail an ethereal starscape that flowed on a non-existent breeze. It also sported a horn on its forehead, two wings on its back, and teal eyes filled with shock. This shock quickly turned to anger and its horn began to glow. "Guards!" it, she called, "intruder in the royal bedchambers!" I saw the bolt of energy flying toward me. I could have dodged. I could have done something. But no, I stood there like an idiot as the blast slammed me into the wall behind me. One last thought passed through my mind as my consciousness faded away. Her voice is cute. 3rd-Pony POV Six jaws dropped as Solaris and Luna laughed. "Seriously?" Blitz asked. "You just got blasted into a wall, and all you can think about is hitting on the Princess?" Sora shrugged. "To be fair, I didn't know that she was a princess at the time." "Indeed," said Solaris, raising an eyebrow as he smirked at Sora. "In fact, as I recall, your first words after I came to you for interrogation were a request for a chance to apologize to 'the horse with the cute voice' for landing in her room." "Aww," said Fluttershy, smiling sweetly. "That's so nice." "That it was," said Luna, leaning over to give Sora a peck on the cheek. "Though I did shout at him for nearly half an hour before he was able to get it in." "Not like I chose to land in your bedroom," Sora defended. "So what happened next?" asked Applejack. "Prince Solaris said somethin' about an interrogation?" Sora nodded. "Yeah, that was interesting, to say the least. Ever wake up in a dungeon?" Sora POV 3000 years ago Dark. Dank. Dreary. Damp. Must be a dungeon, I thought. I woke up on a bed of moldy hay in a room built out of gray stone. There was no window, and the only door was made of solid stone as well, with two metal slots, one at the bottom and the other about half-way up. A collar was around my neck, connected by a chain to the wall opposite the door. There was nothing else in the room apart from a large chamber pot that was, mercifully, empty. "Well," I said aloud, "this is interesting." I looked down at my clothes to confirm that I was still wearing my cosplay outfit (I was) and looked around to see if I could find my keyblades (I couldn't). "Well, there's 200 bucks down the drain," I muttered. "Heh, unless I can just hold out my hand and will one of them to-" A small flash emanated from my hand, and I was left holding Oathkeeper. I stood there for a moment, frozen in shock. "Okay," I muttered, pointing it at the keyhole in the cell door. "I wonder." I focused a bit, trying to will the lock open. Almost instantly, a small beam of light shot from the keyblade, striking the keyhole with a clearly audible click. "Huh, 'genuine article' indeed." I stepped forward and placed both hands on the door, pushing hard. The door swung surprisingly easily, and I was soon faced with a spear. I blinked, looking past the spearhead ready to take my head off to see who was holding it. A small, blond maned white horse stood there, dressed in armor that looked in no way efficient for actual protection. He had a horn on his head which glowed with the same blue light that surrounded the shaft of the spear. "Um, hi?" He wasn't amused. "Back in thy cell, prisoner," he stated calmly, glaring at me all the while. "The Prince will be here to pass judgement on thee shortly." "Right! Judgement." I rose my hands and backed up slowly. "Let me just head back in and not get myself killed by a miniature horse, eh? Good plan!" He simply snorted as he slammed the door shut. A click was heard a moment later as he locked me back in. I sighed, laying back down on the hay bed. Might as well get comfortable, I thought. They'll come and get me eventually, whoever they are. I looked at my hand. Oathkeeper had vanished after I'd unlocked the door, but it probably wouldn't take much to... Soon enough, I was twirling around the cell, slashing the twin keyblades through the air. I somehow knew just how to swing them, exactly how much force to apply, when to jump into a somersault, how to jump into a somersault. Basically, I could fight. Somehow I'd picked up Sora's ability to fight. I began to wonder if that meant I could use magic too. I was just about to try casting a Fire spell when the upper slot in the door opened. I looked over to see two blue eyes glaring in at me. "Sheathe thy weapons and stand against the back wall." I shrugged and dismissed my blades, leaning casually on the wall facing the door. The slot closed and I heard a key being inserted and turned. The door opened a moment later to reveal a VERY imposing figure. The being who walked in was another winged horse, a little taller than the blue one who's room I'd landed in. His coat was pure white, and his mane and tail looked like two flames raging out behind him. His lavender eyes looked me up and down, his mouth curled up in a calm smile. "So," he said, his voice fatherly and commanding, "hast thou anything to say before we begin?" "Um, yeah," I said nervously. "Is the mare with the cute voice with you? I want to apologize to her for landing in her room." The horse blinked, his face going blank. Just as the silence was about to get uncomfortable, he belted out a hearty laugh. "Truth," he said, grinning at me, "We knew not what to expect from thee, strange creature. We thought that we had prepared for everything. It appears that we were mistaken." He looked down at the guard who stood beside him. "Release him, and return his weapons. We would meet with him someplace more hospitable." The guard nodded, levitating a small key to the collar around my neck. "At once, your highness. Pardon the correction, but it would seem that he is already in possession of his weapons." The horse raised an eyebrow, looking over me again. I quickly summoned Oathkeeper, causing his other eyebrow to join its brother. "Well that is surprising. How didst thou-" He was interrupted as a high-pitched scream rang out from somewhere above- 3rd-Pony POV "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Everyone's attention jerked to the closed doors where they'd heard the shout come from. Sora gulped nervously, standing and summoning his keyblades. "Yeah, just like that one."