//------------------------------// // Pinkie's Destiny...on the Island // Story: My Little Pony: Sora's Misadventures in Equestria // by Codex92 //------------------------------// Sora walked down the road of his neighborhood, all the memories of his childhood coming back to him at the familiar looking town that hasn't changed in the slightest. It was still pretty early in the evening, lights still on in all the houses he passed, everyone either getting ready for bed or deciding on staying up later to enjoy the night. Small towns like Destiny Island and Ponyville are the kinds of places the teen loves to live in: calm and peaceful land with scenic views, not too much noise from loud music or annoying vehicles in the middle of the night, and clear skies during the night, seeing all the stars and the full moon clearly. While lost in the nostalgia, he didn't notice he was passing by a park, someone out on the court accidentally kicking a ball outside and heading straight toward Sora's head. "Hey! Heads up!" Hearing the warning, Sora turned and saw the incoming projectile headed for him. Reacting quickly, he flipped backward, kicking the ball back hard to the players. One of them yelped and barely avoided getting struck in the face by the returned pass. It bounced off a nearby fence, bouncing back to the person that had ducked, Sora turning to face the park after landing back on his feet. "Next time, try to keep the ball in the-" He paused as he recognized the two boys, both of them awestruck at the hard return Sora made. One of them had sandy blonde hair, sort of similarly spiked as Sora's, but a lot less and more messy, wearing a white and yellow shirt and a pair of oddly uneven pants, the right leg reaching his knee while the left stopped at his mid thigh. The other had a coifed orange hairstyle, wearing a blue bandanna around his head, a white tank top, and a pair of baggy yellow pants. "Tidus? Wakka?" "Sora? That you, man?" Tidus asked, both teens approaching the Keyblade wielder. "Holy crap! We haven't seen you in ages!" "Around a whole year, ya? It's like you've gone and disappeared," Wakka said, carrying the ball that nearly hit him and Sora under his arm. "What'cha been up to?" "Oh, you know me. Always looking for an adventure," Sora chuckled. "Yeah, like when you three tried to go exploring other places on a raft you made. Didn't seem to last that long with that freaky storm a while back, huh?" Sora remembered that horrible day: the day Destiny Island was struck by that dark storm, Heartless appearing out of nowhere, losing his friend and crush, and watching in horror as his home and world was torn to pieces and faded out of existence. No one else seemed to know about what had happened when the world came back, claiming it was all a terrible storm and they had no memory of being trapped in darkness. "But, it seems like you guys succeeded, off on an adventure to whatever islands you could go to before running out of food or water." "Right...We've been on...quite the journey," Sora said, not exactly lying, though he had to keep everything on the worlds he's been to a secret. "So, you here to stay for good, or are ya going to run off on another crazy adventure?" Wakka asked. "Well, I'm gonna be staying for a day. I gotta leave tomorrow night, do some important...stuff," he explained. "You know, you, Riku, and Kairi are lucky," Tidus said with a hint of jealousy. "You three barely go to school anymore, and it's so boring every new grade we're in! It's bad enough my deadbeat dad doesn't give a care in the world with what I do." "The only good thing out of all the studying are the sports, ya?" Wakka said. "Tidus and I are the top athletes when it comes to blitzball, and no opposing team can match our teamwork." "Yeah. So, before you escape from reality again, how about you play some blitz with us? If you came to school more often, all three of us could be unstoppable and the coach wouldn't need the other players." As much as Sora would love to catch up with Tidus and Wakka, his real reason for being here was to get rid of his homesickness he was feeling since the previous night in Equestria. "I would, but maybe not tonight," Sora sadly said. "I actually want to just head home and relax. I've had a long day today, and you do not want to know what kind of trouble I got into." "Alright, tomorrow then. Oh, and we'll bring Selphie too. Maybe we'll see just how good you are compared to Riku in a three-on-one, like old times." Tidus smirked, reminding Sora of his competitive nature against Riku when it came to being better than the other. "We've gotten a lot better than the last time ya faced us," Wakka said. "Selphie's actually got herself a pair of nunchucks and replaced them with her jump rope. Be a lot harder to block with a shorter reach now." "...Ok. I'll take that challenge," Sora said, holding his hand out as Tidus and Wakka did the same and shook his hand. "I haven't been slouching either, so don't you three hold back." "Good. We'll all meet up tomorrow at the island, high noon." With a nod in agreement, the trio set their plans for tomorrow, Tidus and Wakka heading back to the court to continuing training and Sora continuing his walk down the road to his house. It wasn't long before he reached his house, only a quarter mile from the shore, his bedroom window showing the perfect view of the island he played on out in the distance. The kitchen lights were on, a sure sign that his mother was still awake, either cleaning dishes or making herself something for dinner. As excited as he was to return home, Sora began to feel nervous. Even though she knew of what he had been up to in the past couple years, he was afraid to find out how she would react after not telling her he had to leave to a far off world for an important mission from his master. He took in a deep breath and approached the door, unable to hold back his nerves and emotions for too long. He felt like a complete stranger asking to come into his own home, his hands shaking as he forced himself to knock on the front door. From inside, the sound of dishes placed down on the sink was heard, then a pair of footsteps approaching the door, each second making the teen more nervous. Soon, the door opened, and standing behind it was his mother. He had her hair and eye colors, her hair long and straight, reaching a couple inches past her shoulders, wearing comfortable clothing that was fit for a port town during the summer. "Sora," she said, surprised and happy to see her son after over a year. "Well, you must have been pretty busy saving the worlds if you can't bother to visit your mom every now and then, or even send a letter. But that's the price of being a Key-sword warrior, huh?" The woman giggled, messing with Sora, understanding how important it was for him to stop dangerous creatures of darkness from destroying the worlds. Not hearing a smart remark like she would have expected from her wild and adventurous child, Sora just stood there, staring at her, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "...Sora? You ok?" Sora surprised his mother as he walked up to her and hugged her tightly. She had no clue what was wrong with him, but she hugged her son back, the teen feeling a lot better just being in his mother's embrace. "I really missed you, mom," he said, his tears finally rolling down his face. She smiled and held Sora tighter. "I missed you too." Sora's mother pulled away and looked at him, wiping away his tears with her thumbs as she cupped his cheeks. "I know a mother always has to expect their babies to leave the house and pursue their careers, but you left a lot earlier than the average age of eighteen. And you haven't cried since you were six after scraping your knee from a bad fall. You sure you're Sora and not an impostor?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "You have no idea what's been going on the past year. It's a pretty long story." "I've got time to hear whatever crazy adventures you've been on. Come on in and tell me everything while I fix you something to eat. You look like you're getting skinnier every single day." Both mother and son headed inside and walked into the kitchen, Sora's mom began cooking up a home cooked meal for him, his stomach in need of something after barely eating any dinner at Fluttershy's no thanks to Discord and his antics. While she cooked and served his meal, he began telling her all about what he'd done in Equestria, as embarrassing it was to talk about living in a world that was every little girl's dream come true. He continued talking about his time in Equestria and the friends and enemies he made as he ate, though he left out the worst parts: turning into his Anti-Form and almost hurting his friends, losing Sombra even after he was freed from being a monstrous tyrant, and Applejack's parents, the real reason why he was home in the first place. "...Oh my goodness. I don't know if I should be jealous or mock you." "It's not such a bad place, actually...except for the dangerous beasts that live in dangerous forests, Heartless, crazy ponies who find magical artifacts that make them power hungry nutcases. Aside from them, it's quite peaceful." Sora finished eating his dinner, full and satisfied, nothing able to stand up to his own mother's cooking. He only hoped that Applejack didn't hear him say that, seeing how their apple-based recipes are just as incredible. "I was a bit worried I'd get picked on if Riku found out where I was at after a few months staying in Equestria, but he didn't say anything." "Oh, if only I was able to come along with you and live out my childhood fantasy," she said, taking Sora's dishes and walked over to the sink to clean them. "I loved horses as a little girl, and colorful talking ponies, being unicorns, pegasi, and even normal ones that actually exist in some other world out in the universe is like a dream come true!" The woman sighed, the plate and utensils clanking as she scrubbed them clean. "But, I can't exactly go since I'm not a Keyblade wielder, and I would probably end up meddling and go crazy being around those ponies." "Kairi's already gotten that covered," Sora said as he grabbed his glass of water. "I had to reel her back a few times when it came to anything cute and huggable in her path. Like with a pair of twins I babysat for one day. A pegasus colt and a unicorn filly, recently born, and as soon as she saw them, she pressed her face up to the viewing window in the hospital, hoping to phase through the wall and snatch them up." "You should have brought pictures. Now I'm really dying to see what they all look like." Sora just shook his head and took a sip of his water. As his eyes roamed around the kitchen, he nearly choked on his drink as he spotted a familiar pink earth pony peeking into the room from outside, sputtering his water as he coughed. He stared out the window, still seeing her standing there and began to wave at him as if there was nothing wrong. "Sora, are you ok?" "...U-Uhhh...Yeah!" he lied, quickly getting up from his chair as he coughed a little, clearing his lungs of any water he accidentally inhaled. "Just went down the wrong pipe!" "You need to learn to be patient, both with activities and eating or drinking anything." Sora's mom rolled her eyes as she finished cleaning, unaware of the teen pointing at Pinkie Pie to get away from the window. "You can be such a glutton, mostly for getting into trouble." "Yup! Such a troublemaker! When will I ever learn!?" Sora quickly stopped commanding Pinkie to hide as his mother turned to face him, nonchalantly leaning against the table with a fake grin. "...Ok, you're acting weird. You sure you're feeling ok?" she asked. "Yeah. I'm fine. Buuuuut, I think I should go outside. I thought I saw a pair of yellow eyes glowing outside the window. Better make sure there's no Heartless around before it gets too late." The teen backed out of the kitchen and headed to the front door. He didn't notice the suspicious look his mother had, knowing full well when he was lying and trying to hide something from her. As soon as he was outside, he looked around his house, shocked at Pinkie's sudden appearance here in his world and angry at her presence here, though knowing just how illogical the pink earth pony could be, almost as bad as Discord, she could have popped in out of thin air. "Pinkie! Pinkie Pie!?" Sora snuck around his house, reaching the window where he saw Pinkie peeking in. She was nowhere to be seen, either taking his pantomimed advice and staying hidden or wandered off in a world she shouldn't exist in. A pony like herself, being an unnatural color for a normal equine, being able to talk and defy logic, she could get herself captured by a horse-loving little girl, or even authorities that could keep her trapped in a cage. Though, those cases would be impossible since she can slip out, but he can't help but worry sometimes. He made his way to the backyard, finding the pony sitting there, waiting for him to find her. "Hi, Sora!" she said, Sora quickly shoving his hand against her muzzle, keeping her quiet before she alerts his mom. "Pinkie, keep quiet!" he hissed, thankful to have no windows in the back of the two story house. "What are you even doing here!? HOW did you get here!?" "Mmmph mm mmph mmm mmm mmmph, mmph mm mmmm mm mmmph." Sora rolled his eyes as Pinkie tried to explain with his hand over her mouth, pulling his hand away to finally hear her clearly. "Oh, right. I was all muffled. Oopsie!" "Pinkie! Explain! And quieter!" Sora resisted the urge to facepalm, trying to keep the excited mare to speak at a whisper so they don't alert his mother. "Okie dokie lokie. So, while you were unconscious after running into a brick wall and Discord turned everything back to normal after Fluttershy said she wasn't his friend anymore, I was really curious about how your ship worked, and if it really does taste like candy because of the word 'Gummi', sounding just like Gummy, only with an 'I' instead of a 'Y'. It did not taste very good and decided to see what pretty stuff there was inside, but I know no touchy anything that might be dangerous. The only problem was that there was no buttons; just a big old empty box. Then, I got really sleepy and decided to take a nap, which is quite cozy in there, but I woke up when it began moving, and I didn't want to open it because I was actually out in space! I wish I'd seen it since there were no windows, but it would look so cool and pretty! Then, the ship landed, I got out of that small room while landing on my belly, and that hurt, and I saw a town almost like Ponyville, but near the ocean, and I saw an island out at sea, and I thought 'This must be Sora's home! But where is Sora!?', so I wandered around the town, surprised to see no other ponies but strange tall primates with barely any fur and wearing clothings, then I found your place and waved hi through the window and you were pointing at something to me, but I didn't know what you meant and now we're out here talking." Pinkie grinned, a squeaking sound blurting as she flashed her teeth at the incredibly long explanation. "...You snuck onto my Gummi Ship?" he asked, the pink pony nodding. "...Without telling anyone where you were?" She shook her head. Sora sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, slowly regaining his migraine from the concussive blow to the head as he flew at Discord. "That explains it..." "You look funny, but I know it's you because of your mane: brown, spiky, and never disturbed by anything else." Sora quickly shoved his hand back against Pinkie's mouth, keeping her quiet as he had a lot to say. "First, Pinkie, you're not even supposed to be here. And you can't wander around in a place with other people, especially out in the open. Second, the reason why you weren't able to see space or any of the controls was because you snuck into the cargo hold, not the cockpit itself." Pinkie let out a muffled noise, sounding like a little kid who understood the misunderstanding she said. "But now I can't take you back because I wanted to spend a whole day here at home to relax and take some time away from being a pony." Sora moved his hand again to let Pinkie talk, but is ready to silence her if she raises her voice. "But why? Is it because you don't like Equestria anymore?...And what are you and the other ponies here?" "Well, you weren't half wrong when you called me a primate," he said. "I'm a human, a more...intelligent kind of primate, in a sense...But you keep whatever you see or know while you're here a secret from the others, ok?" "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Pinkie performed her Pinkie Promise, keeping the knowledge of Destiny Island and Sora's true self from their other friends. "Good...And, as for why I wanted to come back home...I missed it. I began to feel homesick last night, and I was planning to come here, alone, this morning, but because of Discord..." The teen winced as he rubbed his head, just the thought of the draconequus and what he did to him today giving him a headache. "Oh. That makes sense. But why did you want me to keep quiet?" Pinkie asked. "Because if someone were to see a miniature pink pony walking, or in your case bouncing, around, talking and bringing attention to yourself, someone might snatch you and experiment with you to find out how you're as sentient as us." As Sora explained, Pinkie's eyes seemed to be looking at something behind him and not at him. "I thought maybe one day, I could take you and the others to some other worlds, but only to secluded areas where there aren't that many people, or places where equines aren't around in that world. You understand how dangerous it is?" She didn't respond, still focused on what was behind him. "Pinkie, were you even listening or did you wind up in your own little world?" "Sora." He flinched, hearing his mother's voice. Sora slowly turned around, finding his mother standing behind him, staring wide-eyed at the pink pony he was talking to. She snuck out after him out of her suspicion, always having to deal with the Keyblade wielder and some of his lies when he was younger. Now, she was staring at one of the ponies her son had talked about, from another world, staring right at her with those big blue eyes out of curiosity. "...W-Wha...?" "...Uhhh..." He was in quite a pickle. Sora's mother was stunned and speechless as the mare and older woman kept staring at each other. ""Why can't life just be easy on me?" "...Sora...Am I looking at...one of those ponies from this Equestria world you were in?" she asked. The teen sighed, unable to back out of the subject or lie when his mom grew too suspicious and spied on him to make sure he wasn't doing anything dangerous. "...Yes, mom, though she wasn't supposed to be here. Wacky, random stowaway. Mom, this is Pinkie Pie. Pinkie, this is my mother." "Hello!" Pinkie exclaimed as she waved at her. She slowly approached Pinkie and leaned closer to get a better look at the pink pony. "...Oh my gosh," she managed to say, Sora waiting for the moment his mom would blow up. "...She...is...SO CUTE!" The woman suddenly grabbed Pinkie, lifted her up, not surprised to feel how light she was compared to an actual pony, and gave the earth pony a bone crushing hug. "It's like she came out of a cartoon! She's so pink! And colorful! And her big eyes!" Even though the wind was knocked out of her and her eyes were bulging out slightly, Pinkie was still grinning. "I like your mom!" Sora chuckled nervously, half expecting his mother to immediately take a liking to something that every little girl wishes she had. "She is so adorable! AHH! Now I want to see your other pony friends in that world! I want to keep this one!" "Mom, we're not keeping Pinkie here," he said, their roles reversing as Sora was the parent telling his own mother they can't keep a pet that they found out in the streets, or from another world. "She's one of the six important ponies who keep Equestria safe from harm." The woman gasped in shock, ceasing death-hugging Pinkie while still holding her in her arms, turning to face her son. "She's supposed to help stop evil in her world!? This little thing!? What kind of sick person thought of such an idea, letting cute, colorful little horses fight against the bad guys!?" "Uhh, we prefer to be called ponies, ma'am," Pinkie said. "And it's our destiny to beat up the baddies since me and my other friends are the Elements of Harmony. Plus, Sora does most of the work. Have you seen how good he is at fighting?" "...Yes. He gets into more scrapes than any boy should." The woman leered at Sora, the teen wincing under her gaze, knowing how often he gets into fight as a kid, especially when it came to competing against Riku. "And it's a lot worse now that he's a savior of many worlds in an ever expanding universe." Thankfully, the topic was dropped as they all heard Pinkie's stomach grumbling. "...Heh. Seems like I'm going to be cooking up a storm tonight. I'm a bit curious as to what your diet is, Pinkie, since you're a pony and all." "You got any cupcakes?" Pinkie asked as she was carried back inside the house by Sora's mom. "This is gonna be a long twenty-four hours," Sora groaned as he followed them back inside. The rest of the evening ended up being more lively than Sora thought. With Pinkie now joining in with his time to relax in his home world, his mother began feeling like a little girl again just from the excited mare's influence. He at least warned his mom about Pinkie and her randomness, telling her not to question whatever she does or say, and took her wild antics better than he, Riku, or Kairi had. And since there were no sweets in the household, Pinkie thought it would be a great idea to make some and eat them fresh. They were baked, they were delicious, and the pony and woman made quite a mess. After cleaning up the kitchen and storing the colorfully decorated cupcakes left over, it was time to head to bed. Pinkie was going to take the couch, but Sora's mom decided on snatching the pony up and snuggle with her like she was a giant stuffed doll. She didn't mind it at all, especially when the earth pony began to enjoy the wonderful feeling of being scratched by human hands, far better than her hooves could scratch or even reach. Sora just left his mom with her childhood fantasy being fulfilled and went to bed in his old room, always kept clean and tidy by his mother while he had been gone for so long. Before falling asleep, he looked out the window to the island, a slight impulse after the Heartless appeared and destroyed the world. The next morning, Sora woke up bright and early, a habit he can't let go after staying with the Apple family for over a year. He smelled breakfast being cooked in the kitchen, his mother also up as she began cracking some eggs in a skillet. As he helped himself to a glass of orange juice, the woman heard him opening the refrigerator, surprised to see him up so early. "Morning, Sora," she greeted. "This is a first, seeing you up right before the sun's fully risen." "I got used to it after living with a farming family," Sora said, taking a sip of his beverage. "Applejack and her siblings and grandmother are really hospitable, though I was always woken up earlier sometimes by a certain little filly who's become my annoying little alarm clock." He sat down at the table, surprised to not see Pinkie helping his mom with breakfast. "Pinkie still asleep?" "I'm awake." Pinkie walked into the kitchen, her mane a frazzled mess as she still looked tired. "Boy, no wonder pets love to get scratched. And with those hands...Lyra is gonna be jealous if she finds out." "That green unicorn from Ponyville?" Sora asked. "Why would she be jealous?" "She has a really strange fascination for humans, which are you and your mom, and she goes crazy when she mentions anything about hands. And she's a musician who plays the lyre, but rarely plays any music." Pinkie sat next to Sora and yawned, still not quite awake yet. "She's a bit crazy when it comes to talking about them. But, I Pinkie Promised not to let anything of my stay here be told to my friends back home. I don't want to be involved in mumbling." "It's 'meddling', and you're close to doing so if you fire off your party cannon." Sora paused as he was about to take another drink. "...You didn't bring it with you, right?" "Nopey dopey! It's back at home!" Pinkie said. "I got Gummy watching it for me. He even promised to clean it for me! He's such a good gator." At Sugarcube Corner in Pinkie's room, the mare's party cannon sat in the center of the bedroom. The blank staring green alligator, Gummy, laid upside down inside of the large barrel of the confetti blowing cannon. He let out a small hiss of boredom, staring into space with his purple eyes, randomly rolling about inside of his owner's cannon. He ended up rolling out of the party cannon, flopping on his belly, continuing lazing about, waiting for Pinkie to return home. "You have an alligator for a pet!?" Sora's mom exclaimed in shock, finished cooking their eggs and giving her son and pony guest their plates. "That's insane! And really dangerous!" "That's what I thought when I had that little reptile clamp on me," Sora said. "Ironically, he doesn't have any teeth. Just all gums in that maw of his." "Alligators grow several rows of sharp teeth. How can it still stay toothless?" the woman asked, only receiving a blank stare from Sora, Pinkie too busy munching on her breakfast to pay attention. "...Is it one of those 'Don't question Pinkie Pie' things?" "Pretty much. Even her own pet's as random as her." Pinkie nodded her head in agreement, her cheeks stuffed with scrambled eggs. They soon finished eating their breakfast as the sun finally rose above the ocean, everyone else in town beginning to wake up and start their day. Sora wished there was sausage or bacon to go along with his eggs, starting to crave meet after eating a diet of only fruits and vegetables, but because Pinkie Pie was here, he and his mom didn't want to scare her by cooking something that used to be alive, though not as sentient as she was. Sora and Pinkie cleaned up the kitchen and the dishes, thanking his mom for the food. Before Sora could head out and show Pinkie a closer look at his island hangout, he looked through his closet to find something for the mare to wear so no one would suspect her as a pony. "What'cha looking for, Sora?" "I'm not going to let you out of this house in the middle of the day and risk having everyone in town see you." He dug through some clothes that he hasn't worn in years, but most of them didn't look like they would fit her. "Urgh. And I thought girls putting sweaters on a chihuahua sounded simple. No human clothes could fit the build of a pony." Pinkie watched the random articles of clothing flying all over the room, going through a couple of clothes by her hooves. "Oooh. I got an idea!" The pony began to dress up in the clothing she decided to wear. As Sora turned around to figure out what Pinkie was doing, she was already fully dressed. "Ta da!" "...Uhh...wow." Pinkie was wearing a pair of Sora's old clothing back before his new black shorts, shirt, and jacket: a white and red shirt that was able to fit around her barrel, red shorts, an old pair of big yellow shoes that hid her hind hooves, her tail wrapped around her waist like a fluffy belt, and her ears and poofy mane hidden under a red cap worn backwards. It was oddly a good look, but the only problem with her "human" disguise was her forehooves. "I can't believe those clothes actually fit you...Or your randomness made them fit. But, we need to do something with your hooves." "Oh. That I haven't figured out yet." The mare looked down at her hooves, then at the random assortment of clothes strewn about the room. She found a long-sleeved hoodie jacket next to Sora's bed, big enough for her to wear, and the sleeves were long enough to cover her hooves with a couple inches of sleeve left over. She bounced to it and put it on. "There we go! Now I look like a kooky human girl!" "...I'll be surprised if anyone actually falls for that. Think you can stay standing on your back legs?" Sora asked. "Yepper peppers! Now, let's go and see everything! Wheee!" Pinkie skipped out of Sora's room, surprisingly able to walk like a human, even while wearing those old, ridiculous large shoes of his. He quickly ran after her before she ran out of the house and explored on her own. His mother walked upstairs and passed Sora's room, stopping as she saw the state it was in. "Oh, come on, Sora!" she shouted. "You've been gone for over a year, I've kept your room clean, and you immediately turn it into a pigsty!" The woman sighed and began to pick up the discarded clothes. "Same old son of mine. Always on the move, making a mess in his wake." Sora and Pinkie headed out to the docks near the shore, their first stop at the island where the teen always hung out at with his friends during the summer or after school. His boat was still kept in good condition, sitting next to Riku and Kairi's. Pinkie leapt onto his boat, sitting near the bow of the small, bouncing with excitement and somehow not disturbing the boat's balance on the water's surface. He got in and untied the rope connecting the boat to the docks, grabbing the oar inside and pushed off across the calm ocean waves, gliding across the water as he steered them toward the island. It was a smooth ride to the docks on the island, Sora tying the boat up to keep it from drifting away while Pinkie bounced onto the island. "Hey, don't go too far, Pinkie! This island might be small, but I don't want to lose track of you if you managed to climb through the foliage!" "Sun! Surf! Sand!" Pinkie cheered as she leapt onto the sand near the shore, rolling around and acting goofy as she giggled. "Perfect summer vacation spots are always at the beach! I wonder why we haven't planned a day to hang out in a place like this?" Once Sora made sure the rope was tightly secure, he leapt up onto the docks and looked around at the island. Like last year, there was no change to the hangout like his hometown. The viewing deck to the left of the small boardwalk was still intact, giving a clear view of the ocean on one side and the mainland on the other. The tree house built around the top of the small spire of land next to it was still there, though not used all that often unless a terrible storm came around and they needed shelter. To the right was a waterfall with spring water flowing into a clean pond, a small shed that had a flight of stairs the led up to a bridge up above, where it connected to a small island with a curved tree that carried the legendary paopu fruit that brought two peoples hearts together as one when shared. "Really great to be back home," Sora said as he walked on the sandy beach. Pinkie shook off the sand that got on her while she was rolling around like a dog. "You're gonna need to behave like a human, not like Pinkie Pie." "But I am Pinkie Pie," the pony countered. "Yes, but a couple of my other friends are going to be here in a little bit, so less random pony Pinkie and more human Pinkie. Got it?" The pony nodded her head, earning a pat on the head. "Who we gonna meet?" Pinkie asked. "Hey, Sora! Right on time!" Skimming up across the water up to the docks were Tidus, Wakka, and another of his friends: a girl around their age wearing a yellow dress, her brown hair curled up slightly at the ends on both sides of her head. They tied their boats up and ran up to them, Sora waving at his friends. "I wasn't going to miss out on a three-on-one challenge." "It's been a long time, Sora!" the girl said, pulling Sora into a hug. "We never see you three around anymore. Though, Kairi does come by sometime and tell me a bit about what's been happening with you and Riku." She pulled away and smirked. "Sooooo...How are you and Kairi getting along?" "She told you, huh, Selphie?" he asked, Selphie nodding her head. "Wait, what about him and Kairi?" Tidus asked, both he and Wakka confused. "Oh come on, guys! You knew it was obvious as soon as Sora and Kairi began hanging out a lot more after she moved here!" Selphie scolded the two boys. "I can't believe it finally took Sora so long to admit his feelings for her, and they didn't actually share a paopu fruit with each other yet." "Well, physically, we didn't, but we did make the legend come true," Sora whispered as Tidus and Wakka finally got the message, staring at the embarrassed teen with shock. "You and Kairi are finally a couple, eh?" Wakka asked. "Lucky you, bruddah." He soon noticed Pinkie hiding behind Sora, the mare leaning over as her curious eyes glanced at each of the new humans. "Hey, who's this?" Tidus and Selphie now noticed Pinkie as well, the disguised pony waving at them. "Oh yeah." Sora didn't think of giving Pinkie a human name, wracking his brain for a name that didn't sound odd for a girl. "Uhh...This...is my cousin...From a few towns over." "Cousin?" Tidus questioned. "Didn't know you had other relatives." "Long-lost cousin," Sora quickly replied. "And her name is...uhhhh...It's-" "My name's Vanille!" Pinkie interrupted, Sora internally slapping himself in the forehead at the ridiculous name she came up with. "But my close friends call me Pinkie, because of my pink hair!" "Well, nice to meet you, Vanille." Sora couldn't believe that Pinkie had actually fooled them. "I'm Selphie, and this is Tidus and Wakka." "Hello, Shelpie, Teedoos, and Whackamole!" The trio stared at the earth pony pretending to be human as she mispronounced their names. "...She's a bit on the kooky side," Sora explained, placing his hand on Pinkie's head. "Don't mind her if she does anything weird. Or says anything odd." "Is my name really that hard to pronounce right?" Tidus whispered to Wakka, the taller teen still scratching his head at the odd nickname Pinkie gave him. "Anyway, Tidus and Wakka told me about wanting to fight you in a three-on-one match. I couldn't resist saying yes, but I'm sure they told you I've upgraded from a jump rope to nunchaku." Selphie pulled her pair of nunchucks, twirling them around her with expert skill. Pinkie watched the girl swing around her wooden weapon in awe. "We've gotten a lot better since the last time we dueled against you and Riku, and my self defense classes are paying off." "Good luck with that," Pinkie said. "Sora's way better and can easily beat you three without a scratch. He's saved the universe from dangers you could never imagine!" Sighing, Sora gave Pinkie a hard noogie, forgetting that everything he's done was supposed to be a secret from everyone else, only hoping his friends heeded his warning on Pinkie's random behavior and stories. "She's also very enthusiastic and looks up to me, even though we'd just met each other today." "Yeah, like we believe Sora's that tough when he lost so many times against Riku," Tidus said, pulling out a handmade wooden curved sword in place of the red pole he used in duels a couple years ago. "He barely made it out alive when he tried to face all three of us, and it's gonna be a lot worse after practicing for a while." "Okie dokie lokie! But I warned you!" Pinkie skipped over to the sidelines, sitting on the concrete ground a few inches above the sandy beach. "Go, Sora!" "Boy, she really believes you've got this covered, ya, Sora?" Wakka tossed Sora his wooden sword, all three opponents getting themselves ready to fight as he held his blitzball tightly in his arm. "Show us what ya got!" Sora spun his training sword in his hand and got himself ready for the challenging fight, Selphie and Wakka slowly circling him as they tried to get in his blind spots while Tidus stayed where he stood. The trio got into position, the whole group silent as they all waited in anticipation to see who would make the first move. After what felt like hours, Tidus made the first move and charged forward. Sora prepared to parry him, but Tidus jumped to the side as Wakka was the one to attack first, throwing his ball right at the Keyblade wielder's head. He knew it was a ploy, rolling out of the way, but the hard curve the ball made as it struck the sand ricocheted right back at him. Slightly caught off guard, Sora quickly smacked the ball back at Wakka with his sword, the ball thrower ducking as Selphie ran at him and swung her nunchaku at him. He quickly backed away and dodged each strike of the chained sticks, the girl not letting up on her assault as she distracted him. Tidus ran up behind Sora and attacked, but he managed to block his sword with his own, leaping over the sandy blonde-haired teen. Selphie couldn't control her swing and smacked Tidus in the side with her nunchaku. Sora quickly ran at Wakka, the first opponent needed to be taken out in a surrounded situation is the long ranged shooter/attacker. Wakka had retrieved his ball, quickly spinning in place as Sora got closer to back him away from his counter. As he stopped spinning, he flung his blitzball, only to be knocked back and smacking him on the head, dazing him from the hard blow. He had the opportunity to take care of one of them, but Tidus got in front of his dazed partner and slashed, causing Sora to leap back in surprise. "Nice try! How about you try my Spiral Cut!?" Tidus ran forward, cartwheeled on one hand until he faced away from Sora, flipped backward, then leapt up high into the air as he flipped several times. As he came back down, he slashed down at Sora to deal incredible damage from his momentum, but Sora calmly blocked it, shocking Tidus. "Impressive move. Though next time, be a little subtle with your attacks." "Like this!?" Selphie ran up behind him and swung her nunchaku, only for the teen to duck the moment she attacked. Before Tidus could attack him, Sora parried his sword out of his hand and sent it flying far from him. He kicked the teen away and focused on Selphie, striking back at the mid-close ranged wielding girl, his strikes too fast for her to block or evade. Wakka shook his head, regaining his senses as he saw Selphie backing away from Sora while Tidus retrieved his weapon. With them needing his help, he spun his ball on one finger, taking careful aim as he dropped it and kicked it hard, sending the blitzball flying straight at Sora. The teen heard the smack the came from the ball and leapt up, the sphere barely missing him by inches as he leapt over it. Selphie, however, was unlucky, unable to react in time as the blitzball smacked her in the face, sending her tumbling across the sand, knocked out. "Oops," Wakka said, misjudging Sora's evasion as he watched his ball fly up into the air from the impact on the girl's head. Sora flipped back onto his feet and looked up, watching the ball come sailing back down. "Hey, Wakka!" He then leapt up into the air, sword ready as the blitzball came falling back down. "Catch!" He smacked it hard, sending the ball flying down at Wakka like a missile. He couldn't avoid the rebound in time as his ball struck him hard in the gut, sending him flying off the shore and landing in the shallow water, the wind completely knocked out of him. Now it was one-on-one, Tidus by himself as he watched Sora land softly on the sand, twirling his sword around with a sly smirk. "Whoo hoo! Go, Sora! Fight, fight, fight! YAY!" Pinkie cheered, now carrying a pair of pink and white pom poms in her sleeve-covered hooves, waving them around as she bounced around. "He's not gonna beat me." Tidus and Sora slowly began to circle each other, staring each other down. The teens rushed forward and clashed, slashing their swords at each other while either blocking or evading their opponent's swipes. Selphie and Wakka woke from their unconsciousness, staying out as they were bested as they watched Sora and Tidus duel it out. Sora wasn't breaking much of a sweat, having faced far more difficult opponents and creatures in the past few years, while Tidus was beginning to tire out. He couldn't keep going for long, his thrust parried by Sora, getting struck by several slashes as he stumbled backwards, unable to defend himself. With one final thrust, Tidus groaned and fell back onto the sand, unable to continue fighting. "HOORAY! Sora wins!" Pinkie leapt into the air as she cheered, shaking her pom poms and dancing around. "He won! Go, Sora! Perfect fight! No hit run! Uh huh!" Tidus groaned and sat up, having completely underestimated Sora's strength, even when he was triple-teamed. He looked up, finding Sora standing in front of him with his hand reached out to him. "Good effort, but Riku's more of a challenge for me nowadays," the spiky-haired teen said. "...Guess he is." Tidus grabbed Sora's hand, being helped back up on his feet. Selphie and Wakka approached them, feeling sore from the injuries that rendered them unable to continue fighting, but were surprised to see just how much stronger Sora had gotten. "Beaten again. You and Riku are something else, ya?" "Yeah," Selphie agreed. "It's almost like you and Riku were destined to be strong or something." Sora chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, her theory not exactly too far from the truth. Selphie looked at Pinkie as she continued dancing and cheering for Sora, though she didn't recall the pom poms she was holding onto. "Uhh, when did Vanille have those?" The boys looked at the mare, Sora wincing as Pinkie had managed to pull something out of thin air in her own personal hammerspace, defying logic right in front of his friends. "You know, I have no idea myself," he said with a sigh. "Vanille's just...random..." After getting badly beaten from the "challenging" three-on-one match, Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka headed back to the mainland to put some ice on their new bruises, leaving Sora and Pinkie alone on the island. He gave the earth pony a little tour of the rest of the island, showing her the other side of what the small mass of land had to offer. The back of the island was considered to be a course for him and Riku to race in, ledges and obstacles needed to overcome to reach a star shaped tree on the other end, then race back to the starting line to win. Pinkie actually tried the zip line tower, having fun swinging down from it, but forgot to let go and rammed into the top of the tree where it ended. Luckily, she was able to bounce right back up and do it again, only to crash again, not learning her lesson. It was too bad to not see the raft Sora, Kairi, and Riku put together to go off on their epic journey to see other worlds, all their hard work having gone to waste after it was destroyed. Though, Sora was the one who gathered more of the supplies and materials they needed, and they called him lazy when he was in the middle of a dream that forced him to pass out in the middle of their planning. At least their Gummi ships were considered an upgrade, and could travel out in space. After Pinkie had her fun playing on the zip line, Sora lead her back to the other section of the island and headed into the Secret Place, a small cavern in the island he and Kairi would occasionally be in when they were younger. "Ooooooh. Scary dark cave." "It's not that creepy, Pinkie." The human and pony squeezed their way through the tight passage and entered the bigger area of the cavern, where dozens of drawings made by Sora and Kairi were carved all around the walls. Along with the childhood drawings, sitting in the back of the room was a wooden door with a large keyhole in the center, but no handle. This door was the start of the Keyblade wielders' journey, and also lead to Destiny Island being swallowed by darkness. "So many memories here. Good and bad." "But lots of good!" Pinkie said as she looked at each of the drawings. While the mare observed each drawing as if she was an art critic, Sora slowly walked along one of the walls, running his hand along it as memories of him and Kairi in their Secret Place still held strong as if they happened yesterday. He soon stopped at the one drawing that had surprised him when he saw the added piece and signified how close he was with his girlfriend: a slightly sloppy drawing of Kairi's head, the one he drew, looking at a better drawing of himself, made by Kairi, both of them giving each other a paopu fruit to tie their hearts together, and forever. He didn't expect Kairi to return the gestured drawing after stopping Xemnas and escaping from the Realm of Darkness with Riku, and it made him want to share a paopu with her just for the sake of fulfilling the legend they made into a reality. "Kairi..." Sora sat down in front of the drawing, picking up a nearby stone that looked perfect for carving into the wall. He decided to add one more little feature to make it even more complete, a big heart in the center of their "portraits" of each other. He added some lines around the outside of the heart, making it look like it was shining and radiating light. After filling in the empty heart, he lowered the rock and looked at the now finished collaborated drawing. "There...perfect." "Yup. Looks perfect, too." Pinkie sat right next to Sora, having stayed silent as she watched him working on his drawing. "Your drawing of Kairi looks pretty bad, though." "Hey, cut me some slack," the teen said. "I was like nine when I did that. I'm not that artistic." "Well, while you were busy with your old picture, I decided to make my own." Pinkie suddenly latched her sleeved hooves over Sora's eyes, turning him around in his seat to a section of the room. She uncovered his eyes, surprising him with her artistic creation. On a blank section of the wall, Pinkie had drawn hers and their other friends' cutie marks, each drawn with a colored chalk she somehow carried with her that matched the colored gems of their Elements of Harmony. "Viola! I call it 'The Light of Friendship'!" "Hmm...Looks pretty good to me." He pulled Pinkie into a hug, the mare hugging him back as she grinned proudly at her work. The duo soon left the Secret Place and headed out to the small inlet and relaxed on the paopu tree. As they watched the sun set, Sora grabbed a ripe paopu fruit, planning to share it with Kairi after all these years. He even grabbed a second one to tease Riku with it like he had before. They headed back to the mainland before it got too dark, Sora's trip back home nearly over as they headed back to his home. "This place sure was fun!" Pinkie said as she skipped along the path. "We've got to bring everypony else here and see the island!" "That might be a problem, unless Twilight can cast multiple transformation spells to turn you all into humans without exhausting herself," Sora said. "It didn't last all that long when Kairi and I turned into dragons when we followed Spike during the dragon migration." "Yeah, that can be a problem...But how come you, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy can stay transformed for longer?" Pinkie asked. "I'm not really the expert on magic. That's Donald's department, and Kairi's if she spends some time learning about unique spells." The Keyblade wielder looked up at the orange sky, slowly beginning to turn black as stars began to appear in the soon-to-be night sky. "Our magic transforms us like a passive trait, making us fit in with the environment in a world so none of the inhabitants will suspect us from being an alien of sorts. Keeping the world order secure and all that, but the Heartless sometimes ruin that rule half the time. Kind of like how Rainbow and Twilight got suspicious of me, and I had to tell all six of you about me so I could protect Equestria and keep it from being destroyed by darkness, and free Luna from being forever lost in her own darkness." "Oh...That makes sense. I wonder what I would look like as a real human instead of pretending to be one?" The mare wiped her brow, stretching out the hoodie to get some air circulating after wearing it in the hot weather for several hours. "Should have thought more about my clothing choices. Winter clothing on a beach is not a fun combination." "Well, you went with that disguise, 'Vanille'," Sora teased, rubbing Pinkie's head. After reaching the house, the two found Sora's mother fixing up dinner for them: fruit salads with their own choice of fruits, all freshly grown in the tropical environment of Destiny Island. Once they finished eating, it was about time for Sora and Pinkie to head back to Equestria. They soon headed out of the town to the Gummi ship, Sora's mom following them as they walked down the path to the hill where he parked his vessel. As soon as it was uncloaked, the woman stared in surprise at the oddly shaped spacecraft, looking more like a giant building block creation than an actual ship. "Wow...These are the Gummi ships you told me about, Sora?" she asked. "Looks more like one of your crazy toys grown to gargantuan size." "I know. And the shocking thing is that it does fly. And also shoots lasers and missiles when Gummi Heartless show up," the teen uttered. "Hope you don't need a license for that thing." While Sora talked with his mother, Pinkie began to take off her human disguise, sighing in relief as the cool air hit her body after taking off the sweltering hoodie. "When you leave, promise me you won't get into too much trouble and get yourself killed?" "Heh. I'll try," Sora said with a nervous chuckle, though it was broken after he had lost his heart to save Kairi a couple years ago. "You'd better. And when you see Kairi, you'd better share her that paopu you got from that island and seal the deal for real." The teen flinched and blushed, never once mentioning his relationship with Kairi to her. "Oh, come on, Sora. It was obvious the day you came home from school several years ago with a big bump on your head. You kept talking about her when she moved here like a lovesick puppy. I knew you had a thing for her...That, and Pinkie Pie confirmed my theory last night after making those cupcakes." Sora looked back at Pinkie, free from her disguise as the clothes were scattered around her, the teen leering at the mare as if he was betrayed. "What!? She broke me! She offered me belly rubs if I told her I knew about you and Kairi being together!" Sora facepalmed while his mother giggled. "It was my weakness..." "Pinkie behaves more like a hyperactive puppy than a pony," the woman chuckled as Sora picked up his old clothes and bundled them up. "Ten times worse than that if you knew exactly how random she can get." He lowered the clothing to the ground next to him, sighing as Pinkie approached them. "Time for us to head back." "Guess so." Sora's mother kneeled down to Pinkie's height, giving her a scratch behind the ear. "You make sure Sora doesn't get in too much trouble, ok, Pinkie?" "Yes, indeedy!" she said, rearing up on her hind legs and hugged the woman. "Aunty Pinkie Pie will keep your boy from getting too hurt in Equestria!" "How old are you exactly?" the woman rhetorically asked as she giggled at Pinkie's enthusiasm. After hugging the mare, she stood up and hugged Sora. "Be careful out there. And don't forget to come back sometime and visit, along with your other pony friends." "I will." After the long hug goodbye between mother and son, Sora and Pinkie walked inside the Gummi ship. Pinkie sat in one of the passenger seats, finding more to what was inside the cockpit than when she climbed into the cargo hold. "Oooooh. Pretty buttons." Sora lightly slapped the pony's hoof before she could push any of the buttons on the console. "No touching." "Aww," Pinkie whined. The teen turned the engines to his ship on, activating the navigational map as he placed the coordinates for Equestria in for the Warp Gummi to take them there. He looked out of the protective glass dome and waved to his mother, the woman waving back as she carried the discarded clothes in her arms. He flew the Gummi ship out into space as soon as he was far enough away from land to activate the thrusters, giving Pinkie a look at what it was like outside of a world's atmosphere. "I suggest you buckle up, Pinkie," Sora warned as he hovered his finger over the warp drive. "Buckle up?" she asked, Sora pressing the button and sending them through the warp to the other end of the universe. Pinkie screamed as she was thrust back into her seat, not used to the G-forces that came with warping from world to world. In a matter of minutes, they exited and slowed to a stop, floating in front of Equestria. Sora looked over at the seat Pinkie was sitting in, snickering at the indent in the back of the seat Pinkie made. "You good, Pinkie?" he asked, slowly receiving a hoof pulling out and waved it like she was giving him a thumbs up. "You get used to warping around through space after a while." Sora flew the ship down into Equestria, his body turning back into a pegasus as he reached the world's atmosphere. He hovered over the fields outside Ponyville where Riku's and Kairi's Gummi ships were resting, and waiting for them to return were the Keyblade wielders. Once he landed and shut his vessel down, he helped pull Pinkie out of her seat, the mare wobbling as she stood, her limbs feeling like jelly as her body slowly recovered from the warp. While she regained her footing, Sora walked out first, caught in a tackled hug by Kairi. "Had fun up there?" the pink unicorn asked. "Yeah. Though, it was a little more crazy when I realized I had a stowaway on board." The moment he said that, Pinkie stumbled out onto the ramp and tumbled down to the ground. "I was wondering where Pinkie was today." Pinkie stood up and stumbled into Riku, helping her stay up while slowly recovering. "Space is fun," she said, passing out a second later. "Eh, she'll be fine," Sora said. "Oh. I even picked up a little something back on the island." He pulled out a paopu fruit, showing it to Kairi. "I think we should share one after finally fulfilling its rumored legend and going through so many years of trouble with the Heartless, Maleficent, and the Nobodies." "So true," Kairi agreed. "I wonder how it tastes." "Well, let's have some for dessert." Sora was about to lead Kairi back onto his ship to try out the star-shaped fruit, quickly turning around and pulled out the second one he grabbed, tossing it at Riku. "Catch!" "Huh?" Riku caught the fruit, confused as to why Sora got another one, and feeling a little deja vu. "Another one?" "I think it's time you find yourself a girlfriend, Riku," Sora teased. "W-What are you-?" The tan pegasus chuckled as he walked inside his ship with Kairi, leaving Riku and the unconscious Pinkie Pie outside. Riku grumbled and looked down at the fruit, definitely getting payback for teasing Sora with one before. He sighed and tucked the fruit under his wing, picking Pinkie up on his back and headed into Ponyville to take her back to Sugarcube Corner. "As if I'm going to find the right girl for me. The fruit's probably gonna get rotten before I even share one with someone."