Inside the Golden Oak Library, Sora sat patiently in the living room, watching Kairi as she laid on the sofa, still unconscious. So many questions ran through his head, many of them more about how she had found out where he was. His orders were meant to be secretive, and Master Yen Sid had kept silent about it, unless Celestia told him the teen crash landed and was stuck here. He had completely forgotten about the able communication between Equestria and the Mysterious Tower, but he didn't want his friends to freak out and make sure he didn't lose half of his face when he blew up. Guess it's too late to hide where he was. If Riku found out he's living in a world of talking, colorful horses, he would be constantly teased until the day they die.
He looked at Kairi, now a unicorn mare, and was surprised to see she looked exactly how he imagined she would look in this world. Her mane and tail remained the same color and style as her hair, her coat was a bright pink, not like Pinkie Pie's, and he wasn't going to lie, she looked incredibly cute. Now those thoughts of her wearing all those dresses in Rarity's boutique could come true, depending on which outfits would make her look adorable or cute. As much as Sora had an inner child, that Poison Joke turning him into a mare must have left behind a little feminine essence in him.
"Hey, Sora." Spike came walking into the living room with some warm water in a basin and a washcloth. He saw Sora carry in the unconscious unicorn and laid her on the couch, helping him take care of her. "She doing ok?"
"Yeah. She's just knocked out...I'm really glad Pinkie came to get me before that Stealth Sneak got them." Sora took the washcloth and gently pressed it against Kairi's forehead, being mindful of her horn.
"Do you know her?" Spike asked.
"Sure do," he replied. "This is Kairi. My...f-friend..."
"Oh. So this is that mare you like so much." Sora blushed as he glared at the baby dragon, having no clue how he knew that when he wasn't in the library during that sleepover. "Hey, Twilight wrote her letters to Princess Celestia and mentioned her when she asked me to pre-read it for you."
"Oh for goodness sake," Sora grumbled. "Is Twilight telling Celestia everything about me in those letters? Not everything in my life is supposed to be known in other worlds. Especially what I did to save Kairi."
"Well, I thought it was a pretty heroic thing to do." Spike's praise didn't help lift Sora's mood. "I mean, giving your heart to somepony you care about? That definitely shows you like her and want to be with her...If only I could do that for Rarity."
"Yeah, I wouldn't if I were you, casanova." Sora groaned, remembering what Rarity had said to him earlier if he ever saw Kairi again, and she was laying right on the couch. He scratched his frazzled head, regretting ever making that promise. "This is going to be harder than I thought..."
"At least you can finally tell her how you feel. Can't be that hard." The teen leered at the baby dragon, unaware of his own infatuation with Rarity being more obvious than a piece of hay in a stack of needles.
"Have you told Rarity how you felt about her?" Spike stammered as his cheeks turned red, giving no response. "Yeah. Not that simple, is it?" While Sora was too busy talking to Spike, Kairi had squinted her eyes open. Both boys were too busy talking to each other to notice she had woken up. She stayed still as she listened to Sora. "I want to tell her how much I love her, but I just can't."
"Why?" Spike asked. "Is it because she's a princess from another world?"
"I don't care about that," Sora said. "I liked her before I knew she was a princess. Ever since Riku and I became friends with her when we were little, I've had a crush on her, and I didn't care what she was back then or who she is now. I cared about her, worried about her safety when she was lost out in the worlds, heck, I even begged a member of Organization XIII when they told me they were holding Kairi hostage! I love her too much to let anything happen to her, and like I had done to give my heart, her own being inside mine, I would gladly give up my life to make sure she's perfectly safe!"
"Then why won't you tell her?" the baby dragon asked.
"Because I don't want to hurt her!" Spike backed away as Sora shouted, both the baby dragon and Kairi staring at him in confusion. The pegasus sighed, knowing he was going to have to explain why. As long as he can trust Spike to not tell anyone else, he could at least get this worry off his chest a little bit. "I know what you're thinking. How can someone like me, someone who will risk his life to save anyone from danger, sacrifice himself to save the one he loves, and keep fighting for his friends until he breathes his last breath, hurt someone he cares about?...It's...a part of me I'm afraid will come out.
"Twilight told you about my Drive Forms, right?" Spike nodded his head, recalling the lavender unicorn mentioning his clothes changing color and using two Keyblades at once. "Well...that's the reason why."
"You mean you lose control of the magic from those transformations?" Spike guessed, but Sora shook his head.
"Not the ones I can turn into at will." The teen pulled out Kairi's charm, staring at it for a while before he continued. "Five of my forms I can use to gain more power if I'm overwhelmed by my foes: a form of strength, Valor, a form of magic, Wisdom, two forms that use both, Master and Final, and a form that recalls my first ever journey with the Keyblade, Limit. Using any one of these forms, my style of combat changes, as well as my physical and magical power...But, sometimes, they might force me to turn into something else..."
"Something else?" the dragon asked, Kairi straining not to move her ears as she wondered what Sora meant.
"...Every heart has two sides; light and darkness. It's up to the person to decide which path they want their heart to travel down, some of them wishing they could turn back and go down the other road...It's obvious mine is light..." He held the charm up to his chest, over his heart. "...At any point, I'm scared that my Drives will end up twisting the light of my heart and unleash the darkness inside...A dangerous form I don't want anyone to witness or be around me if I'm forced to change into it; a form of darkness, uncontrollable, wild, and deadly...Anti Form, a temporary Heartless form."
Spike gasped in shock while Kairi's eyes widened. "A-A H-Heartless!?"
"I'm still me right now...but when I turn into that thing...I'm like a wild animal on the loose, escaped from its cage and causing havoc, while the real me is trapped in that cage and forced to watch the horrible actions the darkness in my heart does." Sora trembled as tears welled up in his eyes, the deadly speed and ferocity of his Anti Form terrifying him, even though he's normal now. "Back when I first used them...I thought using my Drive Forms would be helpful. I gained the ability to use the others, utilizing all the power they had to aid me in combat, using my friends' power to give me that strength I need...But one day, I tried using one of them, but as the light was about to give me my form, the energy backfired and darkness formed around me.
"Both my friends' power were used, and I'm thankful they don't remember what had happened to them...but I always have." His tears began flowing down his cheeks, clutching Kairi's charm tightly to his chest. "I can never forget...how dangerous it is...I move so fast, my hands turning to claws as my Keyblade rejects the form I've taken. My Anti Form can't tell which is friend or foe, and it goes on a rampage...Darkness is uncontrollable, even if someone who uses that darkness thinks they can truly empower it.
"That's why I can't tell Kairi I love her, or I want her to be with me. I don't want to hurt the ones I care about if I turn into that thing. I don't want to hurt her..." Sora sobbed, Kairi watching in pity as she saw his tears drip to the floor.
She had no idea he was suffering from his own darkness for a while, and even after hearing him admit his love for her, he was afraid of losing control and hurting her. He and Riku are so much alike, but their serious friend had been forced to travel down that path of darkness due to envy and anger. Where Riku was able to fight back against the darkness, freeing himself from the form of the Heartless that took control of him back then, Sora couldn't when he uses his powerful forms when it happens against his own will. Though temporary, it really seemed to affect him greatly, his voice practically shaking as he mentioned how scary it was just to see himself move on autopilot and attack without any self control. Kairi wanted to comfort him, assure him he would never hurt her, but only when he was alone with no one else around.
She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep as Sora wiped away his tears, calming himself down a little. Spike felt bad for him, not knowing how badly it was. From Twilight's description, floating around in a sea of darkness when becoming a Heartless, it was a scary thought.
"...Sora..." The baby dragon was speechless, unable to find the words to help console the Keyblade wielder.
"Spike, I don't want you to tell Twilight, or anyone else about what I just told you, ok?" Sora pleaded. "I don't want anyone to know about this. They would panic...or think I'm dangerous..."
"...Ok. I promise. I won't tell anypony...But, what if you do turn into that...thing?" Spike asked, growing worried.
"...Then I hope none of you are in my line of sight if I do..." Sora turned back to look at Kairi, gently taking one of her forehooves in his own.
Twilight slowly trudged along sadly through Ponyville, heading back to her tree library home. She had spent the last hour crying to herself, having taken too long to tell Sora her feelings. Kairi had found Sora, and no she had no chance of confessing her love to him. Her eyes were red and puffy, ignoring the looks from the other ponies as she passed them.
"I can't believe this is happening so soon...I should have said something. Now I can't," Twilight mumbled to herself as a fresh wave of tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.
She finally reached her home and walked inside. Sora sat by Kairi as he wringed out some water from a washcloth in a basin of water, gently placing it on the pink unicorn's forehead, while Spike brought out some tea. The dragon noticed Twilight walk in, but as he was about to greet her, he noticed her puffy eyes.
"Whoa, Twilight. You ok?" he asked in concern.
"...Yes...I'm fine," Twilight lied. "Just...allergies."
"Allergies? I don't remember you having any-" Spike's lips were quickly sealed by Twilight's "zip-lip" spell, shutting the dragon up.
Sora looked back at Twilight, noticing her red and puffy eyes. "I ended up smelling some...uhh...lilacs on my way back to the library. Heheh...Bad idea."
"Well, at least that's a lot less dangerous than Heartless." They heard Kairi begin to stir, finally "waking up" after being knocked unconscious by the Stealth Sneak.
She opened her eyes, seeing the cheery expression on Sora's face, relieved to see she was ok. "Sora?" Kairi sat up, taking off the washcloth off her forehead, looking back at the spiky-haired stallion. "...Is that really you?"
"Kairi!" He lunged at the unicorn, hugging her tightly with a big, doofy grin on his face. She hugged him back, happy to hear his voice and be around his silly personality. Both ponies didn't notice the jealous gaze Twilight gave them, leering at Kairi intensely. "How did you even get here?"
"It's a bit of a long story." Kairi then explained how she found out about where Equestria was, even what had happened to Sora from Yen Sid's journal entries on this new world.
"I had no idea Master Yen Sid was actually recording everything Celestia told him," Sora said, staring blankly at the ceiling. "So much for keeping order in this world anymore."
"I was worried sick about you, Sora!" Kairi scolded. "When I read your Gummi ship malfunctioned and blew up, I thought you were badly hurt!"
"I've gone through worse." The pink unicorn conked Sora in the back of the head, the stallion rubbing the sore spot she hit him at.
"You're not invincible," she said. Her stomach soon began growling loudly, her cheeks turning bright pink in embarrassment. "Heh...I'm not either. I haven't eaten anything at all today."
"Ooh! I'll be back in a little bit with some food! Trust me, Kairi, you are gonna love what I'll get." He hugged her again, Twilight's eye twitching at their short embrace. "Chat with Twilight and ask her all about Equestria while I'm out. She knows everything, and she's awesome with unicorn magic!"
Sora flew out to get his crush some food, leaving Kairi alone with Twilight and Spike, the baby dragon unzipping his lips dispelling the "zip-lip" spell. Spike poured the girls some tea, the pink unicorn gladly taking a sip. The three sat in silence, Twilight keeping her envious gaze on the Princess of Heart.
"...So, Twilight...Did you get hurt by that Stealth Sneak?" Kairi asked.
"...No...Sora came in and saved me," Twilight said. "You're not exactly good at taking care of Heartless."
"Physical combat's not exactly my cup of tea," Kairi giggled as she levitated her teacup around, accenting her terrible pun. "I'm more useful from long range with my magic. And Stealth Sneaks...That was the first time I ever fought one."
"Mhmm." More silence lasted for a while, Kairi feeling a little awkward with the glare Twilight was giving her.
"...Anyway, since you seem to know I'm from another world...is it wrong for me to say that I want to pet you?" Kairi asked with a giddy grin on her face. "A world filled with colorful horses, unicorns and pegasi, all of them so cute! And I love your hair! That pink streak makes you look adorable!" Spike chuckled at Kairi's excitement, yelping in surprise as she picked him up with her aura and squeezed him. "And Spike is so cute! I didn't think a baby dragon could look so adorable! He's got chubby cheeks!"
"Yeah. Cute," Twilight grumbled.
After a few minutes, Kairi occupying herself by cuddling Spike, who didn't seem to mind her attention, Sora came back in the library, carrying a few of his favorite apple meals, freshly made by the Apple family. "Early dinner is here!"
The pink unicorn dropped Spike, her nostrils flaring at the delectable apple products invading her senses, her mouth watering in hunger. "Mmmmm...Those smell good."
"And they taste good, too," Sora said. "I should know. I've been eating this stuff for the past couple months, and I can never get enough."
As soon as he laid down the dishes of apple goodies, Kairi immediately dug in, carrying one of each piece in her telekinetic grip. Her taste buds exploded as she moaned in delight, each bite of each meal feeling like heaven. Sora watched his friend/crush enjoying her food, grinning at her face as she stuffed her cheeks full of apple strudel, apple pie, apple fries, apple sauce, and apple cinnamon rolls. Within at least ten minutes, Kairi had surprisingly finished off every single plate, even licking each one clean.
After having her fill, she noticed the odd reactions from Twilight and Spike, though Sora was grinning like his usual self. "...Uhh, I guess I was a lot more hungry than I thought."
"Were you starving yourself?" Sora asked, receiving a light bump on the shoulder from the pink unicorn.
"I forgot to eat today," Kairi said. "You should probably eat something too, Sora. You're a lot more skinnier than I am."
"Hey, I've got muscles! I've been working on the farm for a while, and I think I've got some more meat on my bones!" Sora flexed, though it didn't seem like his appearance had changed much.
"Yeah. Your stick limbs are only a few centimeters thicker," Kairi teased as she shook his forelegs.
While the two giggled, Twilight grumbled, struggling to keep herself from blasting Kairi with her magic. She soon realized that she was actually getting mad at the otherworldly unicorn mare, shaking her head in confusion at her depression suddenly turning into a small flicker of rage. She had to remember that Sora was in love with Kairi, and that no matter what happens, she would be happy for him and try to move on. The only problem was that it was hard to move on if her crush was also her friend, afraid to make their relationship awkward if she tells him how she feels.
"Twilight?" The lavender mare snapped out of her thoughts as Spike called out to her. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? You're acting really strange."
"...I'm fine...I think I'm just tired. I'm going to bed early." Twilight headed to the stairs, though she wasn't sure if she could sleep tonight. As soon as she reached her bedroom, she climbed up on her bed and looked down at the bandanna Sora gave her. A tear slowly trickled down her face, her emotions so conflicted as the friendly gift was something she wished was more, and her sudden mood swings as she looked at Kairi with almost an intent to harm her. "What's happening to me...?"
Later that evening, Sora and Kairi walked out to the fields, the unicorn leading him to where she left her Gummi ship. Sora didn't really have enough time to show her every part of Ponyville, but maybe tomorrow, if no Heartless decide to interrupt them. The two sat in the fields, looking up at the stars and full moon.
"It's really beautiful out tonight," Kairi said. "Almost like it is back on the islands."
"Sure is..." They sat in silence, sitting closely together. Sora looked over at Kairi, unable to hide his blush as her body glowed under the moonlight.
This was the perfect setting to finally tell her, but he just can't do it. He could practically feel his Anti Form breathing down his neck, his darkness feeling like it could break free at any moment without accessing his Drive Forms. So many terrible scenarios flashed through his mind, and all of them were worse than the last. Sora wanted to be with Kairi. He loved her so much that he gave her his heart, but he's so afraid of what could happen if she knew of his dangerous form that could come out at any moment in the heat of battle, where he needed to use his forms in case it got too life threatening.
Kairi looked over at Sora, seeing the pained expression on his face. She knows how much he loved her, even before he told Spike about how he felt. Ever since their hearts merged into one, she had seen everything Sora had gone through trying to search for her and Riku. She even felt how madly in love he was with her as he plunged that Keyblade made of the other six Princesses of Hearts' hearts, almost screaming at him not to do this to save her. He sacrificed so much, and in the end, he felt like he was suffering from his own darkness. Now was a perfect time to confront him about this, and finally bring their relationship closer as something more.
"Sora?" He snapped out of his stressed out state and looked at her. "...I heard what you told Spike earlier when I woke up in the library."
"H-Huh!? W-What are you talking about?" Sora asked, feigning ignorance.
"I woke up and heard you talking. And I don't want you to ignore this, Sora. I know you care about me a lot, and I didn't know you were suffering so much from your own Drive Forms." The pegasus's face went pale. Everything he said to Spike was heard by her, everything from his love to her and his fear of his darkness threatening to come out to hurt her. He looked away from her, feeling her hooves wrap around his foreleg. "Sora, please talk to me."
Sora was on the verge of tears, Kairi moving herself closer and nuzzled his shoulder. "...K-Kairi..."
"I didn't know you were so scared," she said, feeling his body shudder as he struggled not to break down. "You don't have to be...No matter what happens, Sora, everyone will still be your friends. And I won't leave your side. Never." Kairi gently wrapped her hooves around Sora, his emotional walls crumbling as he leaned into her embrace, his tears streaming down his face. "I know you can fight this dark form of yours. You fought so hard to save me, and even when you turned into a Heartless, you found me and didn't attack us."
"But I can't control it," Sora said, his voice trembling as he sobbed. "I tried...and I tried...I can only wait until it wears out before I'm myself again...I can't break free..."
"Then let my light save you like it had back then." She gently rested a hoof on his cheek, turning his head to face her. "Our hearts are connected. Remember? We made the legend of the paopu fruit come true." Kairi gently brushed her hoof against Sora's cheek, wiping away the tears that stained his face. "And when I found our Secret Place when our island came back...I saw what you had added...It was really sweet, seeing your hand giving me a paopu fruit, and I completed it by giving you one."
"...I saw it..." Sora gave her a small smile, letting out a sad chuckle. "I must be pretty pathetic, huh? Unable to tell you how I feel about you, face to face..."
"You didn't need to. I had already known ever since our hearts became one." The stallion's eyes widened, being pulled closer by the mare as he looked at her eyes. His cheeks turned red, unable to look away from her twinkling eyes, shining brilliantly under the glow of the moon. His forelegs finally wrapped themselves around her, holding her tightly, never wanting to let her leave ever again. "We both rely on each other...and I don't want you to ever think you're dangerous. Your heart is strong, and so is your light. You can fight back your darkness. I believe in you. Do you believe me?"
"...Of course. Always," he said, feeling Kairi's other hoof gently wipe his other cheek free of tears.
"Good." She then placed her forelegs around Sora's neck, slowly inching closer to him. "Would you like to tell me how you feel about me now? Knowing I will be there to save you from your darkness?"
Sora nodded, pulling Kairi closer. "...I love you, Kairi. I'd do anything for you, even at the cost of my own life. I will protect you, keep you from harm...I wouldn't know what I would have been without you in my life, and I'm glad I got to know you."
"I love you too, Sora. With all my heart." Sora and Kairi gently inched their heads closer until their lips met, sharing their first kiss with each other.
Both their eyes were closed as they were lost in pure bliss, finally admitting their love for one another as fate had destined them to be. All of Sora's worries melted away, gently caressing Kairi's back as he kissed her luscious lips. They could feel each other's hearts beating as one, their connection strong and now forever unbreakable. They slowly broke away from their first kiss, both their cheeks blushing heavily as they lightly panted, staring into each other's blue eyes.
"Wow," Sora finally said, their foreheads gently pressed together as their muzzles softly nuzzled each other's. "...Is it weird to say our first kiss was shared while we were ponies?"
Kairi giggled, still being silly even after they relished their first official romantic kiss. "You're such a goof." She gently kissed his nose and nuzzled him. "And you're cute as a pegasus. Wish I could keep a big plushie of you as one in my room, or on my Gummi ship."
"You're cuter as a unicorn." Sora gently moved his hooves up, gently squishing her cheeks as he giggled. "You looked adorable making those faces when you ate earlier."
Kairi's blush deepened, moving his hooves back down and leaned forward for another kiss, catching Sora off guard as he fell on his back. Their kiss grew deeper and more passionate, both lovers rolling on their sides as they held each other close, their lips locked tightly with one another. They had no idea how long they were lost in each other's embrace, but they wished their make out session would last for an eternity as they laid together under the beautiful, starry sky.